The black olm

ABOUT ITS WHITE RELATIVE

In Bela krajina, the black and the white olm live in close proximity to one another. Currently, they are most often distinguished by their morphological differences. According to this distinction, two subspecies are known.

The white olm can often be found in the underwater streams of the Dinaric Karst, from the river basin of the Soča River next to Trieste in Italy, through the south of Slovenia and the south-west of Croatia, all the way through to the Trebišnica River in Herzegovina. The latest molecular research comparing olm DNA shows that there are probably as many as nine potentially independent olm species.

 

The black olm (Proteus anguinus parkelj)

The black olm (Proteus anguinus parkelj) (Photo: Gregor Aljančič)
Photo: Gregor Aljančič

The white olm (Proteus anguinus anguinus)

The white olm (Proteus anguinus anguinus) (Photo: Gregor Aljančič)
Photo: Gregor Aljančič