Evolutionary history of Proteus cave salamanders

The aim of this study was to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the olm, the European cave salamander. The olm is endemic to the Dinaric Karst in Europe. It is among the rarest amphibians in the world, but yet little is known about its life underground and its evolutionary relationships across the range. Using mtDNA and genome-wide SNPs we aimed to identify evolutionary relationships within olms, molecular diversity, divergence times and to reconstruct their transitions from surface to cave life.