Axolotl
Scientific Name: Ambystoma mexicanum Average Life Span In The Wild: 10 to 15 years Size relative to a teacup:
According to legend, the axolotl is the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl, who disguised himself as a salamander to avoid being sacrificed. But these amphibians are impressive enough on their own.
Axolotls (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) can regenerate lost limbs and have a life cycle that allows them to stay 'young' their whole lives, a phenomenon called neoteny.
Their youthful traits include feathery gills sprouting from their heads like a mane, webbed feet, a dorsal fin that runs down the length of their body, and a tail.
Though they keep these external gills, adults also have functional lungs and can breathe through their skin. And as if being forever-babies didn't make them cute enough, they wear a permanent Mona Lisa smile.
A popular oddity
These cute critters have long fascinated the public, even more so when they were first brought from Mexico to Paris in 1864. Europeans across the continent began breeding them. That began a robust pet trade in the animals, which breed easily in captivity.
In the wild, they're mostly grayish-brown in color. Lighter colored specimens, especially those with white bodies and pink gills, are usually bred as pets.
Yet in most countries, axolotls cannot be traded across international borders, partly because of poaching concerns.
They're illegal to own in some parts of the United States for the same reason. Some are also concerned that they may escape captivity and interbreed with native salamanders.
Thanks to their regenerative abilities, axolotls are a common research subject for biologists. They can regrow lost or damaged limbs, hearts, spinal cords, and even parts of their brains—all without permanent scarring.
Since scarring prevents tissue from regenerating, finding out how and why axolotls don't scar could unlock human's ability to regenerate tissue. One study deciphered how the axolotl's molecules communicate to promote regeneration.
A 2025 study may have cracked the code. A particular enzyme and gene work with retinoic acid to grow the right body part in the right spot.
(Scientists may have found the key to amphibian regeneration.)
Axolotl reproduction and behavior
Axolotls are solitary creatures, but they reach sexual maturity at a year old. Their spawning season in the wild is in February. Males seek out females, possibly using pheromones, and perform a courtship 'hula' dance. He shakes his tail and lower body. She responds by nudging him with her snout.
The male then deposits spermatophores, or sperm packets, on the lake floor, which the female picks up with her cloaca, a body cavity, and fertilizes her eggs.
Females can lay up to a thousand eggs (though the average is about 300) 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.
There's a theory for why axolotls don't change appearance as adults. Because their native lakes never dry up, as is the case for many other water bodies, axolotls didn't have to trade in their aquatic traits, such as a tadpole-like tail, for terrestrial ones, such as legs.
(Axolotls and capybaras are TikTok famous—and that could be a problem.)
Axolotl habitat and diet
These lentic amphibians live and breed in Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, located just south of Mexico City. During the day, axolotls hide from predators by burrowing in the mud or hanging out among aquatic plants.
They become active at night, when their sweet little smiles quickly turn into vacuum cleaners. Axolotls suck in their prey, which includes crustaceans, mollusks, insect eggs, and small fish. They may also suck up gravel, which can help grind up the food in their belly.
Conservation and threats
An assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Species found that only 50 to a thousand axolotls are left in the wild. And their numbers are dropping.
They once inhabited the high-altitude lakes around Mexico City, but habitat degradation has limited them to a few inland canals in the area.
Further habitat loss from tourism and residential housing development, in addition to agricultural and industrial pollution, have drastically reduced the axolotl population. So has the introduction of tilapia and other invasive fish species, which eat baby salamanders and compete with adults for food.
The Mexican government, as well as many nonprofits, are trying to save Mexican axolotls, in part by restoring parts of their freshwater natural habitat and offering ecotourism for people to see the quirky salamanders in the wild.
For instance, Luis Zambrano, a leading axolotl researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, is working with scientists and farmers to create chinampas, floating islands made of water plants, logs, and lake mud that help filter the polluted water.
Some travel companies offer tours of these gardens, whose proceeds support axolotl conservation efforts in the area.
(Here's how farmers and scientists are saving the axolotl in Mexico City.)
Fascinating facts about axolotls
(Learn how Mexican nuns are helping to save axolotls.)
See axolotls in the wild According to legend, this 'water monster' was a god who disguised himself as a salamander to avoid sacrifice. Nowadays, it is critically endangered in the wild because of the pollution and urban sprawl that threaten its habitat in the Mexican Basin.
Is it OK to have an axolotl as a pet?
You can legally own one from a reputable breeder, supplier, or rescue organization. Some states in America prohibit owning even legally obtained exotic pets or require a permit. Axolotls bred in captivity are typically pink or white, instead of brown. —World Wildlife Fund
Why can't you touch axolotls?
In general, you should not touch or handle axolotls unnecessarily. Their delicate skin is permeable, which means anything from natural oils to soap residue can cause harm. Additionally, their bodies are primarily made of cartilage, making them highly vulnerable to injury. —Environmental Literacy Council
Do axolotls live in the U.S.?
They are not native to the United States. They are endemic to southern Mexico City, in Xochimilco and Chalco Lakes. —The Natural History Museum U.K.
Why did my axolotl turn into a salamander? It is extremely rare for wild axolotls to turn into salamanders. Environmental changes can cause a transformation and certain genetic traits can make some animals more prone to metamorphosis.
In captivity, iodine or thyroid hormones can induce metamorphosis. However, doing so can cause stress and shorten the life of these fragile creatures, leading to ethical questions. Experts strongly discourage inducing metamorphosis. —Environmental Literacy Council
Do axolotls have teeth?
Yes, they have small, underdeveloped teeth. However, they eat by sucking in food. —PBS
This story originally published on September 10, 2010. It was updated on June 17, 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Geographic
6 hours ago
- National Geographic
Axolotl
Scientific Name: Ambystoma mexicanum Average Life Span In The Wild: 10 to 15 years Size relative to a teacup: According to legend, the axolotl is the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl, who disguised himself as a salamander to avoid being sacrificed. But these amphibians are impressive enough on their own. Axolotls (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) can regenerate lost limbs and have a life cycle that allows them to stay 'young' their whole lives, a phenomenon called neoteny. Their youthful traits include feathery gills sprouting from their heads like a mane, webbed feet, a dorsal fin that runs down the length of their body, and a tail. Though they keep these external gills, adults also have functional lungs and can breathe through their skin. And as if being forever-babies didn't make them cute enough, they wear a permanent Mona Lisa smile. A popular oddity These cute critters have long fascinated the public, even more so when they were first brought from Mexico to Paris in 1864. Europeans across the continent began breeding them. That began a robust pet trade in the animals, which breed easily in captivity. In the wild, they're mostly grayish-brown in color. Lighter colored specimens, especially those with white bodies and pink gills, are usually bred as pets. Yet in most countries, axolotls cannot be traded across international borders, partly because of poaching concerns. They're illegal to own in some parts of the United States for the same reason. Some are also concerned that they may escape captivity and interbreed with native salamanders. Thanks to their regenerative abilities, axolotls are a common research subject for biologists. They can regrow lost or damaged limbs, hearts, spinal cords, and even parts of their brains—all without permanent scarring. Since scarring prevents tissue from regenerating, finding out how and why axolotls don't scar could unlock human's ability to regenerate tissue. One study deciphered how the axolotl's molecules communicate to promote regeneration. A 2025 study may have cracked the code. A particular enzyme and gene work with retinoic acid to grow the right body part in the right spot. (Scientists may have found the key to amphibian regeneration.) Axolotl reproduction and behavior Axolotls are solitary creatures, but they reach sexual maturity at a year old. Their spawning season in the wild is in February. Males seek out females, possibly using pheromones, and perform a courtship 'hula' dance. He shakes his tail and lower body. She responds by nudging him with her snout. The male then deposits spermatophores, or sperm packets, on the lake floor, which the female picks up with her cloaca, a body cavity, and fertilizes her eggs. Females can lay up to a thousand eggs (though the average is about 300) 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. There's a theory for why axolotls don't change appearance as adults. Because their native lakes never dry up, as is the case for many other water bodies, axolotls didn't have to trade in their aquatic traits, such as a tadpole-like tail, for terrestrial ones, such as legs. (Axolotls and capybaras are TikTok famous—and that could be a problem.) Axolotl habitat and diet These lentic amphibians live and breed in Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, located just south of Mexico City. During the day, axolotls hide from predators by burrowing in the mud or hanging out among aquatic plants. They become active at night, when their sweet little smiles quickly turn into vacuum cleaners. Axolotls suck in their prey, which includes crustaceans, mollusks, insect eggs, and small fish. They may also suck up gravel, which can help grind up the food in their belly. Conservation and threats An assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Species found that only 50 to a thousand axolotls are left in the wild. And their numbers are dropping. They once inhabited the high-altitude lakes around Mexico City, but habitat degradation has limited them to a few inland canals in the area. Further habitat loss from tourism and residential housing development, in addition to agricultural and industrial pollution, have drastically reduced the axolotl population. So has the introduction of tilapia and other invasive fish species, which eat baby salamanders and compete with adults for food. The Mexican government, as well as many nonprofits, are trying to save Mexican axolotls, in part by restoring parts of their freshwater natural habitat and offering ecotourism for people to see the quirky salamanders in the wild. For instance, Luis Zambrano, a leading axolotl researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, is working with scientists and farmers to create chinampas, floating islands made of water plants, logs, and lake mud that help filter the polluted water. Some travel companies offer tours of these gardens, whose proceeds support axolotl conservation efforts in the area. (Here's how farmers and scientists are saving the axolotl in Mexico City.) Fascinating facts about axolotls (Learn how Mexican nuns are helping to save axolotls.) See axolotls in the wild According to legend, this 'water monster' was a god who disguised himself as a salamander to avoid sacrifice. Nowadays, it is critically endangered in the wild because of the pollution and urban sprawl that threaten its habitat in the Mexican Basin. Is it OK to have an axolotl as a pet? You can legally own one from a reputable breeder, supplier, or rescue organization. Some states in America prohibit owning even legally obtained exotic pets or require a permit. Axolotls bred in captivity are typically pink or white, instead of brown. —World Wildlife Fund Why can't you touch axolotls? In general, you should not touch or handle axolotls unnecessarily. Their delicate skin is permeable, which means anything from natural oils to soap residue can cause harm. Additionally, their bodies are primarily made of cartilage, making them highly vulnerable to injury. —Environmental Literacy Council Do axolotls live in the U.S.? They are not native to the United States. They are endemic to southern Mexico City, in Xochimilco and Chalco Lakes. —The Natural History Museum U.K. Why did my axolotl turn into a salamander? It is extremely rare for wild axolotls to turn into salamanders. Environmental changes can cause a transformation and certain genetic traits can make some animals more prone to metamorphosis. In captivity, iodine or thyroid hormones can induce metamorphosis. However, doing so can cause stress and shorten the life of these fragile creatures, leading to ethical questions. Experts strongly discourage inducing metamorphosis. —Environmental Literacy Council Do axolotls have teeth? Yes, they have small, underdeveloped teeth. However, they eat by sucking in food. —PBS This story originally published on September 10, 2010. It was updated on June 17, 2025.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
How America's prairie was nearly destroyed — and why it should be restored
The American prairie was so vast, so alien, it shattered comprehension. Newcomers to the seemingly endless grasslands that once spanned approximately a quarter of North America often hit a psychic wall, descending into fits of mania. Prairie madness, as the phenomenon came to be known, was recorded by the journalist E.V. Smalley in 1893 after a decade of observing life on the frontier: 'An alarming amount of insanity occurs in the new Prairie States among farmers and their wives.' America's treeless, isolated expanse put early European settlers to the test. Drought, loneliness, and debt drove many to failure, forcing the homesteaders to retreat East. But those who stayed unwittingly launched one of history's largest terraforming projects, rewiring the land, the climate, and the future of the continent. In Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie, longtime Minnesota journalists Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty trace this staggering transformation.'The Europeans who colonized North America in the nineteenth century transformed the continent's hydrology as thoroughly as the glaciers,' they write. 'But, remarkably, they did it in less than one hundred years instead of tens of thousands.' In putting hundreds of millions of acres of prairie to the plow, settlers not only forcibly displaced Indigenous nations, but completely altered the region's ancient carbon and nitrogen cycles. They also turned the region into an agricultural powerhouse. The deep black soil once prevalent in the Midwest — the result of thousands of years of animal and plant decomposition depositing untold carbon stores into the ground — became the foundation of the modern food system. But the undoing of the American prairie also dismantled one of the Earth's most effective climate defenses. Grasses, like all plant life, inhale planet-warming carbon dioxide. As a result, 'earth's soils now contain one-third of the planet's terrestrial carbon — more than the total released by human activity since the start of the Industrial Revolution,' Hage and Marcotty write. A 2020 Nature study found that restoring just 15 percent of the world's plowed grasslands could absorb nearly a third of the carbon dioxide humans added to the atmosphere since the 1800s. Today, the tallgrass prairie, which covered most of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and the far eastern edge of the plains states, clings to about 1 percent of its former range. Even the hardier shortgrass prairie of the American West has been reduced by more than half. 'This is the paradox of the prairie,' the authors write. 'Feared by pioneers, shunned by tourists, dismissed today as a wasteland best viewed from thirty thousand feet, the North American prairie is nonetheless one of the richest ecosystems on Earth.' Americans, then as now, have struggled to make sense of the prairie. Hage and Martcotty spoke to Grist about the near collapse of the American prairie, and what its return would mean in an era of a rapidly warming climate. The prairie has been misunderstood at our own peril. Why is that and how do you make people care about grass? Josephine Marcotty: When European settlers first arrived, they were terrified by the open spaces and by the crazy weather that they encountered on the prairie. Wide open grasslands were not something they had ever experienced in Europe, which had been much more controlled by humans for a longer period of time. David Hage: The areas were so remote and a lot of these immigrants had come from sweet little villages in Norway or Sweden or Germany. Here, they landed, and they might not have a neighbor within 10 or 15 miles. People really suffered from terrible loneliness and even mental illness from the isolation. JM: But by the time Americans realized that the prairie was something to preserve, the tallgrass prairie was almost all gone. It had been plowed and turned into farmland. So the tallgrass prairie is almost something that we've never experienced. We don't know what it is. DH: We can talk about wildlife, we can talk about water, l but the thing that knocked me out is climate change. The world's grasslands are one of the planet's greatest buffers against climate change. When we plow open the grasslands, as we're doing now, a million acres a year out West, you're releasing huge amounts of carbon, you're making climate change worse, and you're taking out all those acres of grass that could sequester carbon in the future. One researcher we talked to, Tyler Lark, at the University of Wisconsin, said that the recent pace of plowing in the western grasslands is the climate change equivalent of adding 11 million cars to the roads every year. So it's a climate change disaster. Early settlers didn't just plow the prairie. They also forcibly displace Native peoples to do it. How do you see large-scale prairie restoration as a means of reparations? DM: We write about the bison herds out West on Native American reservations. There are now 25 or 30 of these wonderful tribal bison herds. This operation to rescue Yellowstone bison and distribute them to Native peoples has launched these tribal bison herds all the way from Alaska down to Texas. And it's a triple win: It saves this endangered, magnificent animal; it's good for the grasslands, because where bison graze, grass flourishes; and it's a wonderful way of preserving the threatened cultural heritage of the Plains tribes in South Dakota. There's also a great outfit called the Buffalo Grasslands Coalition, which is a tribal operation to raise money and restore grasslands and native ecosystems on tribe-managed land. JM: A lot of the tribes have both a sacred herd that they use for their cultural and the religious ceremonies, and they also have livestock herds that they use to turn into meat that they sell, not only to their tribal members, but to others. It's having that economic independence that grants a stronger sense of sovereignty. You can't do it without economics. The majority of the prairie is gone. Given its value, why does its destruction continue? Is it policy or profit or something else? JM: Because corn pays more than cattle or bison. DH: We came across an amazing statistic, that of all the major landscapes in America, grasslands were the last one to get their own national park. It didn't happen until 30 or 40 years ago, and one of the reasons was to protect that grass, they would be competing with farmers and people who wanted to earn a living on that land. JM: The EPA just raised the ethanol fuel mandate. In other words, they're creating an even greater market for corn. And it was ethanol that really drove corn prices up, and they've been up ever since we started mandating the use of ethanol in fuel. That's just going to continue as long as we don't subsidize other kinds of farmers that actually grow food for us. Otherwise, grassland will never be able to compete. The book makes the case that federal subsidies for ethanol have been disastrous for grasslands. Is it possible to dismantle a system that is both ecologically catastrophic and economically entrenched? DH: It is a huge source of revenue for farmers in the Upper Midwest. We ran into a lot of farmers who said, 'I wouldn't be able to sell my corn crop if it weren't for ethanol,' or 'I didn't make any money until ethanol came along.' So it's very hard for politicians campaigning in the Midwest to stand up against ethanol. But it would only take very modest changes to the federal farm bill: Just wind down the ethanol mandate a bit, add a little more money to these proven federal conservation programs which reward farmers for conservation practices on working land. JM: The economics are a false economy. It's all driven by federal policy and not markets. DH: We met wonderful people in the course of reporting this book, generous, hard working people, but they're trapped in a system that's not of their own making. We have this federal set of subsidies that just pushes farmers in the direction of plowing more land, planting more corn, using more chemicals, and they don't have a lot of choice if they want to save the family farm and stay in business. The book has an alternative vision for agriculture — one that saves soil and may even provide a lifeline for the prairie. What does that look like and where is it happening? JM: It's going to be different wherever you farm. It's a lot easier to grow cover crops in southern Iowa than it is in North Dakota, simply because of the difference in the weather. A big piece here would be for farmers to plant more diverse crops. Nature does not like simplicity. Nature likes complexity, and if we had a more complex farm system, it would be better for everyone. DH: There's really good research coming out of Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota, which shows that when you have a slightly more diverse crop rotation, you have less flooding, less erosion, healthier soil, less diesel fuel and less fossil fuel-based fertilizers. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline How America's prairie was nearly destroyed — and why it should be restored on Jun 17, 2025.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Yahoo
Leprosy Was Lurking in The Americas Long Before Colonization, Study Finds
Historians have for a long time believed that leprosy was introduced to the Americas by European settlers, but the latest research offers strong evidence to the contrary – suggesting that Indigenous Americans had already been dying of the disease for centuries. The primary cause of leprosy is a bacterium called Mycobacterium leprae, and the researchers still think this was introduced to America by Europeans. However, it seems a lesser-known culprit was already established by that time. A new study from an international team of researchers found that another bacterium, Mycobacterium lepromatosis – a less common cause of leprosy infection – was present in the DNA of ancient human remains from Canada and Argentina dating back at least a thousand years. "This discovery transforms our understanding of the history of leprosy in America," says genomicist Maria Lopopolo, from the Institut Pasteur in France. "It shows that a form of the disease was already endemic among Indigenous populations well before the Europeans arrived." The M. lepromatosis bacteria was first discovered in a patient in the US in 2008, and since then it's also been found in red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the UK. It may well have spread from the US to the UK in the 19th century, the researchers suggest. In partnership with local Indigenous communities in terms of handling ancestral remains, the researchers analyzed the DNA from a total of 389 ancient and 408 modern human samples. From the results, they put together a genetic family tree of leprosy bacteria. Even though they were thousands of kilometers apart, the ancient Canadian and Argentinian samples were remarkably genetically similar. That points to a rapid spread of M. lepromatosis across the American continents. Based on the timeline put together from the DNA, the different strains of M. lepromatosis would have split from a common ancestor more than 9,000 years ago. With that many millennia of evolution under its belt, the team says there are likely even more diverse forms of the bacteria still waiting to be discovered in the Americas. "We are just beginning to uncover the diversity and global movements of this recently identified pathogen," says biologist Nicolás Rascovan, from the Institut Pasteur. "The study allows us to hypothesize that there might be unknown animal reservoirs." This all adds a valuable extra layer to our understanding of the history of the Americas, and of leprosy. It gives researchers some incredibly useful data points in terms of the progression and diversification of the disease. Infectious diseases play an important part in the story of North, South, and Central America, with the arrival of Europeans introducing a host of new pathogens that Indigenous communities weren't biologically prepared for. Now we know that the leprosy part of the picture is a lot more complicated than we previously realized. Around 200,000 new cases of the disease are reported worldwide every year, though it can now be treated and cured with modern drugs. "This study clearly illustrates how ancient and modern DNA can rewrite the history of a human pathogen and help us better understand the epidemiology of contemporary infectious diseases," says Rascovan. The research has been published in Science. Does Retinol Reverse Signs of Aging? Here's The Science. Meditation And Mindfulness Have a Dark Side We Often Overlook A Specific Kind of Birth Control May Increase Stroke Risk
