Axolotl:

COMMON NAME: Axolotl

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ambystoma mexicanum
TYPE: Amphibian
DIET: Carnivores
LIFE EXPECTANCY IN FREEDOM: 10 -15
years
SIZE: Up to 30 cm
WEIGHT: 60 - 220gr
IUCN RED LIST STATUS: Critically
Endangered
CURRENT POPULATION TREND: Decrease

According to legend, the axolotl is the Aztec god

of fire and lightning, Xolotl, who disguised
himself as a salamander to avoid being sacrificed.
But these Mexican amphibians are impressive
enough on their own, for their ability to regrow
lost limbs and stay "young" throughout their lives.

Unlike other salamanders that undergo

metamorphosis, axolotls never outgrow their
larval, juvenile stage, a phenomenon called
neoteny. This means that it keeps its tadpole-
shaped dorsal fin.
Vaquita Porpoise:
Vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus). Considered
the smallest porpoise in the world, this cetacean
endemic to Mexico lives only in the Gulf of
California and is also considered critically
endangered.
The Mexican marine mammal was discovered in
the mid-20th century off San Felipe, Baja
California, but its population has declined
substantially as it was incidentally caught in the
gillnets and trawls of poachers who covet the
totoaba fish, thus that today researchers from the
Scientific Society Committee of the International
Whaling Commission estimate that there are only
between 4 and 17 specimens left with at least
three calves.