It's Alive Animals

Cave-dwelling salamander comes pigmented and pale

Why bother with color when living in the dark?

cave salamander

GOOD LOOKING  Baby-doll eyes on the dark form of Europe’s cave-dwelling olm salamander (above) look almost ordinary compared with the atrophied eyes of white olms (below).

Domin Dalessi

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

Normal is the new strange for the world’s largest cave salamanders.

Biologists are thinking deep thoughts about why some of Europe’s olm salamanders living in darkness have (gasp!) skin coloring and eyes with lenses.