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Olmology

About the Olm

The Olm is an amphibian species with many unique properties. Its distribution is very limited and its extremely strict environmental requirements make it a  rare sight. The Olm is endemic to european karst areas which can be found only around the adriatic sea, stretching from northern Italy down to Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. The Olms are white to pinkish in color, reminding of a light skintone. Because of that, they are called “human fish” in the languages of countries that harbor the olm. Being strictly limited to caves without any means to survive and distribute outside their natural habitat, the seperate olm populations have evolved to show some phenotypic differences between them. Whether some of those populations might be a seperate species is to be determined.