Fans of ‘Game of Thrones’ are going to have a field day this week, as scientists at the Postojna Cave in Slovenia are waiting for the hatching of the nations’ rare ‘baby dragons’.

The 55 eggs that triggered commotion this week belong to the only cave-adapted vertebrate species in Europe, known as the olm. The olm is found mainly in Eastern European countries, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. The olm is a blind cousin of North America's well-known salamander.

The olm can lead a perfect life underground. Adult olms retain characteristics from their larval stage, including gills and absence of eyelids, and super sensitive hearing and the capability to hunt by finding out electric fields.

Knowing the olms' century-long lifespan, and their ability to stay alive in the absence of food for up to ten years, Slovenians could be excused for mistaking them for small dragons.

As per Sašo Weldt, a biologist who researches on the amphibious inhabitants of the cave, Slovenians initially recorded witnessing the olm back in the 17th century. Post heavy rains, the amphibians got washed up from underground, due to which locals gave them their dragonish name.

Weldt said, “People had never seen it and didn't know what it was. During winter time, clouds of fog often rose from the cave, so they came up with stories of dragon breathing fire from the cave, and they thought the olms were its babies”.

However, so far despite their nickname, the olm is not at all near as awe-inspiring as the dragons of legend. At their largest, Olms growth is up to 200-250 millimeters, or nearly seven to ten inches.

You don’t need to get excited regarding the dragon hatching, as olm eggs may take around four months to hatch.