A blind, pale salamander that lives its whole life underwater in the flooded limestone caves of the Dinaric Alps, the only cave-only vertebrate genus in Europe. Long treated as one species, it was split into nine in 2026. It finds its way by smell, hearing and even magnetic fields.
Quick answers
What is it?Amphibian
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inEurope
HabitatRivers & lakes
ColoursPink, White
SizeSmall
Length20–30 cm; up to 40 cm
Legs4
Covered inSkin
Lives ingroups
Lives for60–100 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Underground waters of Slovenia, southwestern Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and northeastern Italy.
- What it eats
- Small crustaceans, snails and occasionally insects.
- Conservation
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Blind, cave-dwelling, and it can survive ten years without eating.
Local people once believed olms washed out of caves by heavy rain were the young of a cave dragon.
Adults live about 68.5 years on average, and the maximum lifespan is estimated at over 100.
Often confused with
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