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Olm
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===External appearance=== [[File:ProtΓ©e aveugle.jpg|thumb|The olm as depicted by the French biologist [[Gaston Bonnier]] in 1907]] The olm's body is [[snake]]like, {{convert|20|β|30|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long, with some specimens reaching up to {{convert|40|cm|in|0}}, which makes them some of the largest cave-dwelling animals in the world.<ref name="WEB01">Weber A. (2000). ''Fish and amphibia''. In: Culver D.C. ''et al.'' (ed.): ''Ecosystems of the world: Subterranean Ecosystems'', pp. 109β132. Amsterdam: [[Elsevier]]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/27/slovenia-baby-dragons-postojna-salamaders-olms-proteus-anguinus|title=How Slovenia is helping its 'baby dragons'|first=Robin|last=McKie|date=August 27, 2017|via=The Guardian}}</ref> The average length is between 23 and 25 cm.<ref name="blackburn">{{Cite journal |last=Blackburn |first=Daniel G. |date=2019-07-01 |title=The oviparous olm: Analysis and refutation of claims for viviparity in the cave salamander ''Proteus anguinus'' (Amphibia: Proteidae) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044523119300555 |journal=Zoologischer Anzeiger |language=en |volume=281 |pages=16β23 |doi=10.1016/j.jcz.2019.05.004 |bibcode=2019ZooAn.281...16B |s2cid=190885637 |issn=0044-5231|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Females grow larger than males, but otherwise the primary external difference between the sexes is in the [[cloaca]] region (shape and size) when breeding.<ref name="AW" /> The trunk is cylindrical, uniformly thick, and segmented with regularly spaced furrows at the [[myomere]] borders. The [[tail]] is relatively short, laterally flattened, and surrounded by a thin fin. The limbs are small and thin, with a reduced number of digits compared to other amphibians: the front legs have three digits instead of the normal four, and the rear have two digits instead of five. Its body is covered by a thin layer of skin, which contains very little of the [[biological pigment|pigment]] [[riboflavin]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Istenic L. |last2=Ziegler I. |name-list-style=amp |date=1974 |title=Riboflavin as "pigment" in the skin of ''Proteus anguinus'' L. |journal=Naturwissenschaften |volume=61 |issue=12 |pages=686β687 |bibcode=1974NW.....61..686I |doi=10.1007/bf00606524 |pmid=4449576|s2cid=28710659 }}</ref> making it yellowish-white or pink in color.<ref name="animal" /> The white skin color of the olm retains the ability to produce [[melanin]], and will gradually turn dark when exposed to light; in some cases the [[larva]]e are also colored. One population, the [[black olm]], is always pigmented and dark brownish to blackish when adult.<ref name="SA01"/> The olm's pear-shaped head ends with a short, dorsoventrally flattened snout. The mouth opening is small, with tiny [[tooth|teeth]] forming a [[sieve]] to keep larger particles inside the mouth. The nostrils are so small as to be imperceptible, but are placed somewhat [[Anatomical terms of location#Left and right (lateral), and medial|laterally]] near the end of the snout. The regressed [[eye]]s are covered by a layer of skin. The olm breathes with external [[gill]]s that form two branched tufts at the back of the head.<ref name="animal" /> They are red in color because the oxygen-rich [[blood]] shows through the non-pigmented skin.{{r|ley196802}} The olm also has rudimentary [[lung]]s, but their role in respiration is only accessory, except during [[Hypoxia (environmental)|hypoxic]] conditions.<ref name="AW" />
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