olm

plural olms

1. Proteus anguinus, a cave-dwelling neotenous salamander with external gills, found along the coast from northeastern Italy to Montenegro.

   Olms have special sensors inside their ears that detect sound waves in the water as well as vibrations from the ground.

   2012, Ana Maria Rodriguez, Vampire Bats, Giant Insects, and Other Mysterious Animals of the Darkest Caves, page 32

   3 more examples

   O is for Olm. The Olm has teeny-weeny legs. Its eyes are covered with skin and it can barely see. Olms live in caves where there is hardly any light.

   1990, Jerry Pallotta, The Frog Alphabet Book, unnumbered page

   A fully grown olm is around 30 cm with a sinuous body and long tail. There are two pairs of stumpy legs and three pairs of feathery gills behind the head. In its natural environment, the olm is pink with semitranslucent skin.

   2007, Ross Piper, Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, page 266

   Also known as the proteus, the olm is a blind amphibian found only in the underwater caves of southern Europe, specifically parts of Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia.

   2012, Michael Hearst, Unusual Creatures, page 74