olm (Proteus anguinus)

The olm (Proteus anguinus) is a kind of salamander that lives in cave rivers in eastern Europe. They’re long and small and pale with a slim head and an eerie lack of eyes. In the dark cave, olms have evolved beyond the need for sight. Fully grown, they’re a bit under a foot long. Unlike many other salamanders, olms don’t undergo metamorphosis and remain in their juvenile state for their entire lives. They share this trait with axolotls.

I did a school presentation on olms in Year 4. I think it was a good year. I can’t remember, but I want to imagine it was a good year. I knew a lot about animals then, more than everyone else, and a lot less than everyone else about other things. I lost the USB afterwards. I don’t know why I remember that and not the more relevant bits.

Olms remain in a juvenile state for their whole lives. They share this trait with axolotls. The first known record of olms is from 1689, when they were considered to be baby dragons by Slovenian naturalists. By the time scientists got their hands on live specimens in the nineteenth century, they were convinced that olms had another stage they could develop into under the right conditions. Does it matter who the scientists were? Why do you care who the scientists were? It was a Dr Edwards who said it, okay? I don’t know what else he said. The conference proceedings in which he says it also contain some genocidally racist content. Does that answer your question? The point is, there was once maybe a conversation about olms having an evolution. Olms remain in a juvenile state for their whole lives. They share this trait with axolotls.  Olms die easily. This is true of most species in an extreme ecological niche. They evolve to fit their place. Olms aren’t necessarily endangered, but their extreme and limited habitat makes them extremely vulnerable to environmental degradation.

There is one subspecies of olm, the black olm. It’s in a teeny tiny niche within a niche in Slovenia. We don’t know enough to know precisely how different or why, just that it is. It could be analysed however you like. Olms were the first troglobite species to be taxonomically classified. Olms remain in a juvenile state for their whole lives. They share this trait with axolotls. They live a very long time like this - around fifty years, up to 100 if they’re lucky. The average life expectancy of humans only surpassed that of olms in the late twentieth century. Olms have existed for around 110 million years, so they had a head start.

Olms don’t have much cognitive power. It’s very difficult to judge the intelligence of non-human animals. There are people who believe there’s no way to do it. I don’t know if there’s a way to do it. Why are you asking me? I don’t think there’s even enough light in the cave to take an exam. Olms remain in a juvenile state for their whole lives. They share this trait with axolotls. They can live for over a week without food. They - scientists - think it’s something to do with their metabolism. I’m not sure how good they are at being olms after a week without food. I’m not sure why you keep asking me these questions.