Olm Some of you might think this animal is weird because of it's name, well? It is! This unusual amphibian is blind, and lives to 100 years!
It can also go ten years at a stretch without food! Think about how many weight you can lose if you don't eat ANYTHING for 10 years!
It lives in the subterranean waters of Italy, Croatia and Herzegovina, where it skeeves out the locals with its strange, human-like skin. Its nickname, in fact, is the “human fish”. Unlike most amphibians, the olm lives in the water for its whole life. Another oddity of the olm: its neoteric (larval) gills.
This animal is most notable for its adaptations to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. It may be confusable with the axolotl. The olm's eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are acutely developed. It also lacks any pigmentation in its skin. In contrast to most amphibians, the olm is entirely aquatic, and it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. It has 3 toes on its forelimbs, but 2 toes on its hind feet (Imagine walking and carrying out your daily routine with that!). It also exhibits neoteny, retaining larval characteristics like external gills into adulthood.
It can also go ten years at a stretch without food! Think about how many weight you can lose if you don't eat ANYTHING for 10 years!
It lives in the subterranean waters of Italy, Croatia and Herzegovina, where it skeeves out the locals with its strange, human-like skin. Its nickname, in fact, is the “human fish”. Unlike most amphibians, the olm lives in the water for its whole life. Another oddity of the olm: its neoteric (larval) gills.
This animal is most notable for its adaptations to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. It may be confusable with the axolotl. The olm's eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are acutely developed. It also lacks any pigmentation in its skin. In contrast to most amphibians, the olm is entirely aquatic, and it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. It has 3 toes on its forelimbs, but 2 toes on its hind feet (Imagine walking and carrying out your daily routine with that!). It also exhibits neoteny, retaining larval characteristics like external gills into adulthood. Cave-dwelling animals have been prompted, among other adaptations, to develop and improve non-visual sensory systems in order to orient in and adapt to permanently dark habitats. (Like bats who uses echo-location.) The olm's sensory system is also adapted to life in the subterranean aquatic environment. Unable to use vision for orientation, the olm compensates with other senses, which are better developed than in amphibians living on the surface. It retains larval proportions, like a long, slender body and a large, flattened head, and is thus able to carry a larger number of sensory receptors. The front part of the olm's head carries sensitive chemo receptors, mechanoreceptors, and electro receptors that make up for his blindness (Wow, that sounds really important and difficult to understand).
Well that's all for today! And stop complaining in class that you can't see! Or that you are clumsy with your fingers, because, this animal is blind and has only 3 fingers! Imagine yourself in it's shoes!
No comments:
Post a Comment