Proteus anguinus fascinated the most famous savants like Lamarck, Cuvier and Darwin. However, the knowledge about this species was improved little because very few specimens were available, even less alive. To face this situation, The French National Center for Scientific Research built in 1948 the cave-laboratory at Moulis and started to breed in P. anguinus. The first hatchings date from 1959 (Vandel and Bouillon 1959, Juberthie et al. 1991). Since then, more than 160 egg-layings producing more than 4,600 eggs has occurred. The availability of a certain number of specimens and the continuity of this breeding for more than 60 years have made possible to better understand the biology of this species, for instance, the development (sexual maturity reached at 15 years old, lifespan estimated from 68 to 100 years old, see Voituron et al. 2010). The aim of this presentation is to make a review of the latest and prospective research conducted with partners on captive P. anguinus in Moulis.

olm, Proteus anguinus, breeding, research

Olivier Guillaume