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The axolotl’s name comes from the Aztec words “atl,” which means “water,” and “xolotl,’ which means “monster.” In Aztec mythology, Xolotl is the twin brother to Quetzalcóatl, the serpent god, but was disfigured and deemed a monster. Perhaps not as monstrous as its name implies, the axolotl is certainly unusual. It is basically a very large tadpole that never grows up. The axolotl is the larval form of the Mexican mole salamander, but it almost never undergoes metamorphosis, usually living and breeding as larvae. Though it grows small lungs and a reproductive system, it retains its 2 sets of 3 feathery gills and can’t survive out of the water.
Though the axolotl is dark gray with small scattered spots in the wild, the most common form is white with black eyes. The white form is a genetic mutation in which there is no pigmentation in the skin, not a true albino since the eyes remained colored. Rare in the wild, the axolotl’s white form was produced through selective breeding in laboratories, where there are more axolotls than in the wild.
Once found in Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in Mexico, it is now found only in small fragmented areas at the southern end of Lake Xochimilco, its associated canal system, and the remnants of the system around Lake Chalco, which was built over as Mexico City expanded. The IUCN lists the species as Critically Endangered, citing the destruction and pollution of its environment and the introduction of predatory species like carp.
Nature picture credits (left to right): Photo © Stephen Dalton / Minden Pictures (swimming); Photo © Stephen Dalton / Minden Pictures (closeup).
