Major Discovery Beneath Croatia’s Krka: Scientists Find Nine Evolutionary Olm Species

For years, scientists treated the olm as a single species. Long-term research in the underground world of Croatia’s Krka National Park has now helped show that the animal actually includes nine distinct evolutionary species.

One of them is the Dalmatian olm, Proteus carrarae, whose populations live in Dalmatia and neighboring Herzegovina. The population in Krka National Park is especially valuable for research because it represents the northernmost known location of the species.

It is also the only site where scientists carry out continuous long-term monitoring of the Dalmatian olm. Years of collected data have provided insight into population numbers, the animal’s ecology and changes in its underground habitat.

The animals may look almost identical, but modern analyses have revealed separate evolutionary lines. They developed independently for millions of years in different underground watersheds across the Dinaric karst.

The discovery adds weight to efforts to protect Krka’s subterranean ecosystem. Pollution, changes in water regimes and interventions on the surface can affect these sensitive habitats. Krka National Park said monitoring and research would continue, allowing scientists to track changes and detect possible threats to the species.