Axolotl: The Mexican Salamander

The axolotl, AKA" The Mexican Salamander", is a neotenic salamander closely related to the Tiger Salamander. The Axolotl is classified in the domain Eukarya, kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Amphibia, order Caudata, family ambystomatidae, genus Ambystoma, and the species Mexicanum. Axolotls live in deep, freshwater with dense vegetation such as Lake Xochimilco and formerly Lake Chalco. The wetlands of Xochimilco has a tropical climate with an average temperature of 23.7 degrees celsius and an average yearly rainfall of 700 to 4000mm. The axolotl is a predator as well as a prey. It is classified as a seconday consumer. It eats bugs, mullosks, small fish, aquatic worms, and just about anything that they can fit in their mouth and swallow whole. Axolotls are preyed upon by Tilapia and
When they do communicate and interact, it is usually for mating reasons. The courtship ritual of axolotls consists of both the male and female nudging eachother and dancing in a circle until the male deposits the sperm and the female collects it. The female will lay the eggs that take 2 to 3 weeks to hatch; producing self sufficient offspring. Axolotls have the adaptaion of regenerating any lost limbs. This is why they are commonly found in science research labs. Unlike Salamanders, Axolotls do not leave water; so they use the feathery structures on either side of their head, which are gills, to breathe.However, if an axolotl spends a long time on land, its gills will be absorbed, so it can use its lungs to breathe. If an Axolotl stays underwater, it keeps its gills. Axolotls are a critically endangered species due to the drying up of Lake Chalco, invasive fish species being introduced to its ecosystem, and the fishing of these creatures. Some solutions to these problems would be to restore Lake Chalco so the species can repopulate faster, and to place a law to limit the amount of fishing that can be done of these