Animalia > Chordata > Amphibia > Caudata > Proteidae > Proteus > Proteus anguinusProteus anguinus (Olm)Synonyms: Apneumona anguina; Caledon anguinus; Hypochthon anguinus; Hypochthon carrarae; Hypochthon freyeri; Hypochthon haidingeri; Hypochthon schreibersii; Hypochthon xanthostictus; Hypochthon zoisii; Proteus anguinus anguinus; Proteus anguinus carrarae; Proteus anguinus freyeri; Proteus anguinus parkelj; Proteus anguinus zoisii; Proteus carrarae; Proteus schreibersii; Proteus xanthostictus; Proteus zoisii; Siren anguina The olm or proteus (Proteus anguinus) is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic; it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. Living in caves found in the Dinaric Alps, it is endemic to the waters that flow underground through the extensive limestone of the karst of Central and Southeastern Europe, specifically southern Slovenia, the basin of the Soča River (Italian: Isonzo) near Trieste, Italy, southwestern Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) Unique (100) Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) Unique & Vulnerable (100) ED Score: 150.07 EDGE Score: 6.4 |
Adult Length [1] | 10 inches (25 cm) | Gestation [2] | 4 months 13 days | Litter Size [2] | 35 | Litters / Year [1] | 0.08 | Maximum Longevity [2] | 58 years | | Adult Weight [2] | 17 grams | | Diet [1] | Carnivore (Invertebrates) | | Female Maturity [2] | 7 years | Male Maturity [2] | 7 years |
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Name |
Countries |
Ecozone |
Biome |
Species |
Report |
Climate |
Land Use |
Dinaric Mountains mixed forests |
Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Yugoslavia |
Palearctic |
Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests |
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Illyrian deciduous forests |
Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece |
Palearctic |
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub |
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Name |
Location |
Endemic |
Species |
Website |
Mediterranean Basin |
Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey |
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Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database |
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0
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