Scientific Classification

Common Name

axolotl, Mexican axolotl, Mexican salamander, Mexican walking fish

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Caudata

Family

Ambystomatidae [salamanders]

Genus Species

Ambystoma mexicanum

Fast Facts

Description

Axolotls may exhibit a variety of colors, including gray, tan, brown, white, golden albino, white albino, and blue

Size

20 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in.)

Weight

Up to 300 g (8 oz.)

Diet

Small aquatic creatures including worms, insects, crustaceans, and small fishes

Incubation

2 to 3 weeks

Clutch Size

200 to 1,000+ eggs in a single spawning

Sexual Maturity

6 to 12 months

Life Span

Axolotls may live more than 10 years

Range

Native to both Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco (no longer in existence) of Mexico

Habitat

Freshwater lakes, usually murky

Population

Global: Unknown

Status 

IUCN: Vulnerable
CITES: Appendix II
USFWS: Not listed

Fun Facts

1. One derivation of the name 'axolotl' references the Aztec god Xolotl, the god of games who could turn himself into an axolotl to escape his enemies.
2. An axolotl's skeleton is comprised mostly of cartilage. They exhibit neoteny, meaning they retain juvenile characteristics into adulthood.
3. They are aquatic, and although they posses rudimentary lungs, they breathe primarily through their gills and, to a lesser extent, their skin.
4. If axolotls spend prolonged periods of time in shallow water, their gills may be absorbed and they can begin using their lungs on land. However, if axolotls are in deep water for long, they will keep their gills for the remainder of their lives, or until they move to shallow water for a long period of time.
5. Axolotls have amazing healing abilities. Normal wound healing in animals occurs through the growth of scar tissue, and this means that most animals won't re-grow a lost limb. However, the axolotl is fully capable of complete limb re-growth.

Ecology and Conservation

Amphibians have porous skin and respond quickly to changes in the environment, the health of their populations can be an indicator of the health of the environment. Axolotls are important in medical and scientific research because of their unique regenerative qualities as well as their neotenic characteristics.

Bibliography

Beringer and Johnson. 1995. Herpetological Review. 26(2):98.

Duellman and Trueb. Biology of the Amphibians. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1986.

Halliday, Tim R. and Kraig Adler (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Facts on File, 1987.

Stebins and Cohen. A Natural History of Amphibians. 1995. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

axolotl.org

caudata.org