#axolotl but longer

[bethanythebogwitch]

This Wet Beast Wednesday is going to get dark. Not because of any grim subject matter, but because it involves caves. The olm (Proteus anguinus) is a cave-dwelling salamander classified as a troglobite, meaning it lives only in caves and cannot survive elsewhere. Compare to a trogophile (lives both in caves and outside) and a trogloxene (visits caves, but can't survive long-term in them). It is found in caves in the Dinaric Alps mountain range and can be found near Trieste, Italy, southwestern Croatia, and Bosnia, and has been introduced to a few other cave systems. Historically, they have been known for washing out of caves after heavy rainfall, where they were often though to be baby cave dragons. The olm sets the record for being Europes only trogolobitic chordate and the largest trogobite in the world at 20-30 cm (8-12 in) long.

(Image: a olm seen from above)

Unlike most salamanders, the olm is exclusively aquatic, living entirely underwater. To support this lifestyle, it is neotenic (retains juvenile characterists as an adult), having external gills for its entire life. The adult form does have lungs, but they are only used in ery low-oxygen environments. Despite sharing this adaptation with the North American axolotl, the two species are not closely related. They also have multiple adaptations for a life spent in complete darkness. Like many other cave-dwellers, olms are blind. Their eyes are very underdeveloped, but are still sensitive enough to detect light, which the olm flees from. To compensate, their other senses are more developed than those of other salamanders. They have powerful chemoreception through taste and smell, able to detect very low concentrations of chemicals in the water. It also has powerful hearing and a unique organ on its head that allows it to pick up electric fields. They are known to use this sense to orient themselves with the planet's magnetic field lines. Olm skin is thin and has no pigment, giving it a very pale coloration. They do retain the ability to create melanin and will gradually darken if exposed to light, though this is stressful for it. Their bodies are long, slender, and flexible, with underdeveloped legs. This allows them to have more sensory receptors along the body as well as helping them move through tight places.

(image: the head of an olm)

Olms live life in slow motion. The scarcity of food in their habitats is matched with a very slow metabolism that also gives them extremely long lifespans. They feed on small invertebrates and are capable of going on extremely long fasts between meals by reducing activity and metabolic rate. Olms can last up to 10 years between meals and one was recorded as staying in the same spot for 7 years without moving. They have an estimated maximum lifespan of 100 years and an estimated average lifespan of around 68 years. It takes a juvenile around 14 years to become sexually mature (though this rate in increased in warmer water) and females typically only reproduce every 12.5 years. Sexually active males establish a territory and chase other males away. This is notable because olms are otherwise gregarious, meaning they try to live around others. Mating pairs perform a mating ritual in which they circle around each other while touching each other with their snouts. The male then releases a spermatophore (sperm capsule) and the two wriggle together until it reaches the female's cloaca. Females lay their eggs in small cracks or between rocks and protect them as they develop. Some older references state that olms give live birth at low enough temperatures, but this has never been observed by scientists.

(gif: an olm moving around)

Olms have a subspecies called the black olm (Proteus anguinus parkelj) that is found in a very small cave system in Slovenia and has several differences from other olms. Black olms have pigmented skin, fully developed (though still small) eyes, and its other senses are weaker. This suggests that the black olm is a much more recent colonist of caves and has yet to fully adapt to an underground lifestyle. In addition, olms from different cave systems have minor physical variations, usually involving head size.

(image: a black olm from above)

Olms are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, though local populations may have their own classifications. Their biggest threat is from pollution, especially wastewater runoff containing pesticides, fertilizers, and PCBs. Olms are also targeted by the black market pet trade and many places have laws preventing the removal of olms except for scientific purposes. Caves are temporary structures and species specially adapted to live in them will always be in danger should the environment change rapidly or the cave collapses. Olms have been introduced to a few other cave systems. Olms are considered a national symbol of Slovenia, especially as their presence in Postojna cave was one of the inspirations for the beginning of cave biology as a field and they are still used to encourage ecotourism.

(image: an official Slovenian coin depicting an olm)

[pokimoko]

Ace Week is upon us again, which means it's time for me to share some more silly little critters with you all! (If you like, you can also say hello to their friends from 2021, 2022 and 2023.) ✨Go and be as amazing as always, aces✨

[nenoname]

stan twins the canon cptsd brothers i will always think about all your unaddressed issues that would make perfect plot fuel for your spinoff

and also the whole 'stan getting that poem by bill via a website which contrasts with bill getting one from the axolotl via a website' foreshadowing thing

like idk i would love something like su future but like more optimistic, aka not an accumulated breakdown that has to be mostly resolved off screen at the end :/// but something thats being kinda addressed throughout? (although would love to see one of them turn into a monster thats always fun lol)

stan having severe issues from his dad and those years of being homeless that we keep on getting more info on but never really getting confronted on (the drifter catalogue and tijuana incident...), him being completely alone for like twenty years when running the shack before soos comes along to the point that 1998 is noted as his low point, and him not really learning about bill+what he did to ford until ages after he killed him if he ever did get the full context

while i think amnesia and everyone seeing him as a hero actually helped with stan's 'i'm a worse version of my brother' thing its still a lingering issue too and we now got him being insecure over his own hands

ford being immediately thrown from 'being tortured by bill' to 'being stuck in the multiverse and being chased by bounty hunters constantly', him fully expecting himself to die when destroying bill, and him only now being safe for the first time in 30 years ....relatively safe, he's still in constant danger because of course he is

idk in the end the series wants them to be happy and they deserve it, its why i wasn't too worried about the book being like 'ooh bill is back!! and the book is haunting ford' thing cos i knew they'll be ok

[theaxolotlkween]

Silly little comic I made.

[aardwoof]

this took me like 3 minutes. love me a man that’s easy to draw.

[thesinnersgallery]

behold: kinito 3d model (the gills were a bitch to make)

[askingtherapybill]

Uh, where did your hat go? we never took it.

are you doing something?

@malon-lonlonranch @deuterium-is-way-too-common

I STILL HAVE IT! IT JUST DOESN'T FLOAT ANYMORE. NOT AS FUN.

[lucent-nargacuga]

the fact that the old gownwyrm is longer than slinking mawphantom (which is the largest and most aggressive of the mawphantoms) is lowkey terrifying

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

There are 4 2010s cartoon villains i know of with the horned animal skull aesthetic and 5 2010s cartoon villains i know of with the big horns and glowing eyes in general. I love that shit the design fucks so hard. Does anyone have more examples im starting a collection

[the-august-axolotl]

Nightmarch Day 6- Nocturnal 

Axolotl!Nightmare is from @project-bestiary​! Co owned by @shiroinacoma​

I have wanted to draw this little lad for so long I love him so much :,,,,,D 

[godsfavoritescientist]

I finally did it. I fully outlined the first story arc for my fic

[silverislander]

last year for my birthday my friends got me a stuffed axolotl. THIS year for my birthday another friend got me another, longer stuffed axolotl

we just got back from secret santa christmas party and guess what i got. no just guess

[nenoname]

i wonder if theres any fics of ford finding out that an axolotl just so happened to be living in the mystery shack for over 30 years and the slow realisation that it was a god hanging out around stan (but also him not using the frilliam name for it lmao i think no one is happy with that name)

[the-isopodcalypse]

Handsome boy demanding worm

[paintedpawz]

Finally found the art program for me it seems, even though Krita gave me some troubles at first, I got comfortable pretty quickly once I worked out the tools. :D I’ve been wanting to practice with reference images, as well as it helps cement my fursona’s design!  Still might tweak the colors to be a little more pleasing to the eyes.  Even than, Pig looks amazing in digital art now that I got a better grasp on their design! 

Anyway, Pigment is happy because they woke up and remembered it’s pride the 1st!!! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Reference was this meme~

[eldragon-x]

Btw I've been thinking about writing a fic where Ford tries to figure out what the hell is going on with Bill post-canon because the fact that Bill willingly told Ford a little about his background and Ford just generally knowing a bunch about Bill's past has been rotting my brain.

On one hand it's the desire to understand one of the greatest and darkest mysteries of the multiverse but mostly? It's wanting to know how things got this way. Why things ended up like this for Ford. What the "reason" for his suffering was.