#Axolotl metamorphosis skin#
Salamanders generally have a biphasic life cycle, typified by an aquatic larval stage with external gills and a terrestrial adult form that utilizes lungs or breathes through moist skin (Larson et al. They have the characteristically slender bodies, short legs, long tails, and moist, smooth skin of salamanders. Nor are they to be confused mudpuppies (Necturus spp.), fully aquatic salamanders that are unrelated to the axolotl but which bear a superficial resemblance.Īs salamanders (member of the amphibian order Caudata), axolotls lack scales and claws, have the presence of a tail in all larvae, juveniles, and adults, and have forelimbs and hindlimbs that are typically about the same size and set at right angles to the body (Larson et al. Axolotls commonly are kept as pets in the United States, Great Britain (under the spelling Axlotl), Australia, Japan, and other countries.Īxolotls should not be confused with waterdogs, the larval stage of the closely related tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum and Ambystoma mavortium), which is widespread in much of North America which also occasionally become neotenic. Their ability to regenerate most body parts, ease of breeding, and large embryos are main reasons for their applicability as a model organism for research.
It uniqueness adds to the human wonder of nature and axolotls are used extensively in scientific research into such areas as regeneration ability, heart defects, and vertebral development. (There are exceptional circumstances when metamorphosis can be induced.) The species originates from the lake underlying Mexico City.Īlthough the axolotl is limited in distribution to just one small area of the world, it is well-known. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis to a terrestrial form, so the reproductively mature adults do not lose their larval characteristics, remaining aquatic with external gills.
Axolotl (or ajolote) is the common name for the salamander Ambystoma mexicanum, which is the best-known of the Mexican neotenic mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex.
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