Texas blind salamander

Found only in the water-filled caverns of the Edwards Aquifer around San Marcos, Texas, this salamander is smooth and unpigmented, with a large, broad head, reduced eyes and long, slender limbs. It keeps its external gills throughout life and averages about 12 cm long. It was listed as endangered on March 11, 1967, and its fate is tied to the aquifer's water: groundwater overconsumption and contamination are the threats. For anyone who knows only the olm, it is a useful comparison, a salamander on another continent arriving at much the same pale, gilled, nearly blind shape.