Olm | The longest-lived amphibian, the olm can live to be 100 years old!”

One of the most fascinating creatures in a world full of fascinating creatures, the olm, like its distant relative the axolotl is a completely aquatic salamander, with gills and tailfins. It is born, lives its long lifespan, and eventually dies in the water. Unlike the axolotl, the olm, or the cave salamander is endemic to an area called the Dinaric Karst, which is found in the former Yugoslavia and Italy.
Though the olm’s skin is pinkish or white if it’s kept in the darkness of the cave, if it’s taken out, it turns dark. If it’s returned to darkness, it reverts to its pink or white coloration.
The olm can live without eating for at least six years.
Even though it has lungs and can breathe air, the olm is considered completely aquatic.
Being blind doesn’t stop the olm from being an efficient hunter. It uses an array of acute senses, including electrosensitivity, to find food.
The olm is believed to have split off from other amphibians about 110 million years ago.
As befitting its scientific name, the olm has a long, sinuous body like a pigmentless snake, with furrows at the edges of the skeletal muscles. It has a short, flattened tail that has a fin that helps the animal swim. The olm seems to be evolving out of its limbs because they are very small and losing digits.