Image: "Axolotl" by th1098 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
General Information
The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic (retaining juvenile features as an adult) salamander that lives underwater. Although it is native to the lakes of Maxico, it is now critically endangered by urbanization and water pollution leading to its status as "critically endangered", with a decreassing wild population of less than 1000 adults.
Physical description:
- Ranges in length from 15 to 45 cm
- Has external gills and a caudal fin extending from behind the head
- Wide Heads with lidless eyes
- Have three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) behind their heads.