Axolotl

What is an Axolotl?

As legend has it, the Axolotl is the aztec god of lighting and fire, Xolotl, wich
disguised himself as a salamander to avoid being sacrificed. But these Mexican
amphibians are impressive enough on their own, with the ability to regenerate lost
limbs and stay “young” throughout their lives.
Axolotls have over 20 morphs such as
Butters, he is the rarest axolotl in the
world. He is 1 of 3 in the world who
look like this. Butters is the product of
naturally engineering new color and
variations that don’t yet exist
From an axolotl to a
salamander

Unfortunately, when an
axolotl is
unhealthy it turns into a
salamander that breathes
air
Why is it in danger to extinction?
Development for tourism and residential housing, in addition to agricultural and
industrial pollution, has drastically reduced the specie´s population.
So has the introduction of tilapia and other invasive fish, which eat baby
salamanders and compete with adults for food.
Nutrition
• Axolotls eat worms, insects, small fish, and just about anything else that can fit inside their mouth
and swallow whole, including other salamanders. In the lab, axolotls are fed brine shrimp,
California blackworms, and salmon pellets.
Reproduction

• Axolotls, which are solitary creatures, reach sexual maturity at a

year old, and their spawning season in the wild is in February.
Males seek out females, possibly using pheromones, and
perform a courtship "hula" dance, shaking his tail and lower
body. She responds by nudging him with her snout.
• Females can lay up to a thousand eggs on plant material or
rocks, which protects them from predators. After two weeks
they hatch and, with no parental care, the larvae are off and
swimming on their own.
Its regenerative capabilities
• The axolotls can regenerate and arm in about 1 or 2 months, and they can even regenerate its
hearth!
Conservation
• A 2019 assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Species
found only between 50 and a thousand axolotls are left in the wild—and their
populations are dropping.
• The Mexican government, are trying to save axolotls, in part by restoring parts of
their freshwater habitat and offering ecotourism for people to see the quirky
salamanders in the wild.
• For instance, scientists and farmers are working together to create chinampas,
floating islands made of water plants, logs, and lake mud that help filter the
polluted water.
 End
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