BABY DRAGONS

BABY DRAGONS 

Three rare aquatic creatures officially called proteus or olms, also known as baby dragons, are going on display in an aquarium at Slovenia’s Postojna Cave

Olms have pale pink skin, no eyesight, a long thin body and four legs

They live only in the waters of dark caves of the southern European Karsts regionOlm: Only species in the genus Proteus and the only European species of the family Proteidae, whose other extant genus is Necturus

Called as "human fish" by locals because of its fleshy skin colour 

The first written mention of the olm is in Johann Weikhard von Valvasor's The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (1689) as a baby dragon

The front part of the olm's head carries sensitive chemo-, mechano-, and electroreceptors

Olm's eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are acutely developed

Olm is capable of sensing very low concentrations of organic compounds in the water

They are better at sensing both the quantity and quality of prey by smell than related amphibians

Olm's sensory system is also adapted to life in the subterranean aquatic environment

It lacks any pigmentation in its skin

It has three toes on its forelimbs, but only two toes on its hind feet

Olm swims by serpentine bending of the body

Olm lives in well-oxygenated underground waters with a typical

Om's embryonic development is 140 days, but it is somewhat slower in colder water and faster in warmer. After hatching, it takes another 14 years to reach sexual maturity if living in water that is 10 °C

The black olm is the only other recognized subspecies of the olm

The black olm has a shorter head with more-developed eyes compared to the nominate subspecies

The black olm may occur in surface waters that are somewhat warmer 

It is endemic to the underground waters near Črnomelj.