SPECIES
Axolotl
Ambystoma mexicanum
A salamander with feathery gills that can regrow complex body tissues.
Adults usually keep their aquatic larval characteristics, a condition called neoteny.
Axolotls eat aquatic invertebrates and small animals in freshwater channels.
Native to the Xochimilco lake-and-canal system near Mexico City.
Where does an axolotl live?
Native to the Xochimilco lake-and-canal system near…
Worth knowing
- Adaptation Adults usually keep their aquatic larval characteristics, a condition called neoteny.
- Ecological role Axolotls eat aquatic invertebrates and small animals in freshwater channels.
- Home Native to the Xochimilco lake-and-canal system near Mexico City.
How it survives
Adults usually keep their aquatic larval characteristics, a condition called neoteny.
A salamander with feathery gills that can regrow complex body tissues.
Why relationships matter
Axolotls eat aquatic invertebrates and small animals in freshwater channels.
Where it lives
Native to the Xochimilco lake-and-canal system near Mexico City.
Pressures and responses
Water pollution, invasive fish and wetland destruction.
Restore Xochimilco wetland habitat with local communities.
Sources
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology — Animal Diversity Web, Ambystoma mexicanum
- GBIF — Ambystoma mexicanum accepted taxon
- UNAM Journal of Scientific Communication — Why do axolotls keep their gills?
- University of California Irvine, PLOS ONE — Can axolotls regrow limbs?
- UNAM Scientific Communication — Restoring wetland refuges
- UNAM original ecological study — Introduced fish compete
- Peer-reviewed regeneration review — Why study their life cycle?
Records of where it has been seen come live from GBIF; observed interactions from GloBI. Draft — not yet reviewed by a person.