Subterranean ‘baby dragons’ found to sneak up to the surfaceAn adult olm active during daytime in a spring in the municipality of Doberdo del Lago, Italy. Scientists had never imagined the blind cave salamanders, called olms, willingly left their caves. The salamanders, a species called olms, were once believed to be baby dragons. Cave salamanders are so specialized for life underground, the thinking went, they could not possibly survive outside their native caves. “The border itself between underground and surface is something that we humans place,” Manenti said.

Source: New York Times March 13, 2024 20:07 UTC