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Axolotl
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{{Short description|Species of salamander}} {{Other uses}} {{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}} {{pp-pc}} {{pp-move|small=yes}} {{Speciesbox | name = Axolotl | image = Axolotl ganz.jpg | image_caption = The [[wild type]] form | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |date=2020 |title=''Ambystoma mexicanum'' |volume=2020 |page=e.T1095A53947343 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T1095A53947343.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref name = "CITES">{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref> | genus = Ambystoma | species = mexicanum | authority = ([[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]] and [[Frederick Polydore Nodder|Nodder]], 1798) | synonyms = {{species list | Gyrinus mexicanus | Shaw and Nodder, 1798 | Siren pisciformis | Shaw, 1802 | Siredon axolotl | Wagler, 1830 | Axolotes guttata | Owen, 1844 | Siredon Humboldtii | Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854 | Amblystoma weismanni | Wiedersheim, 1879 | Siredon edule | Dugès, 1888 }} | synonyms_ref = <ref name=Frost>{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Caudata/Ambystomatidae/Ambystoma/Ambystoma-mexicanum |title=''Ambystoma mexicanum'' (Shaw and Nodder, 1798) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2018 |website=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=10 August 2018}}</ref> | range_map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|from=Ambystoma mexicanum range.map}} | range_map_caption = IUCN range of the axolotl {{leftlegend|#FF0000|Axolotl (''Ambystoma mexicanum'')}} }} The '''axolotl''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|k|s|ə|l|ɒ|t|əl|audio=en-us-axolotl.oga}}; from {{langx|nci|āxōlōtl}} {{IPA|nah|aːˈʃoːloːtɬ||Axolotl.ogg}}) ('''''Ambystoma mexicanum''''') is a [[neoteny|paedomorphic]] [[salamander]], one that [[Sexual maturity|matures]] without undergoing [[metamorphosis]] into the terrestrial adult form; adults remain [[Aquatic animal|fully aquatic]] with obvious [[external gills]]. This trait is somewhat unusual among [[amphibian]]s, though this trait is not unique to axolotls, and this is apparent as they may be confused with the [[Tadpole|larval stage]] or [[Ambystoma#Species|other neotenic adult]] mole salamanders (''Ambystoma spp.''), such as the occasionally paedomorphic tiger salamander (''[[Ambystoma tigrinum|A. tigrinum]]'') widespread in [[North America]]; or with mudpuppies (''[[Necturus]] spp.''), which bear a superficial resemblance but are from a different [[Family (biology)|family]] of salamanders.<ref name="axolotl bio">{{Cite journal| last= Malacinski| first= George M. |journal=American Zoologist |title=The Mexican Axolotl, ''Ambystoma mexicanum'': Its Biology and Developmental Genetics, and Its Autonomous Cell-Lethal Genes |date= Spring 1978 |doi=10.1093/icb/18.2.195 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=195–206|doi-access=free }}</ref> Axolotls originally inhabited a large [[lake]] in the Mexican [[highland]]s known as [[Lake Texcoco]], along with a number of smaller, interconnected lakes such as [[Lake Xochimilco]] and [[Lake Chalco]], being abundant enough to form a [[Staple food|staple]] in the [[Aztec]] diet, being sold as food in the markets of [[Tenochtitlan]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mythic Salamander Faces Crucial Test: Survival in the Wild|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/world/americas/struggle-of-axolotls-mexicos-mythical-salamander.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1|access-date=30 July 2015|newspaper=The New York Times| date=30 October 2012 | last1=Tickell | first1=Sofia Castello Y. }}</ref> These lakes were mostly [[Hydrogeology|drained]] by [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish settlers]] after the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|conquest of the Aztec Empire]], leading to the [[Habitat destruction|destruction]] of much of the axolotl's natural habitat, which is now largely occupied by [[Mexico City]]. Due to continued [[urbanization]] in Mexico City, which causes [[water pollution]] in the remaining waterways, as well as the introduction of invasive species such as [[tilapia]] and [[perch]], the axolotl is near [[extinction]], the species being listed as [[critically endangered]] in the wild, with a decreasing [[population]] of around 50 to 1,000 adult individuals, by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) and is listed under [[Appendix II]] of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).<ref name="CITES"/> A large captive population of axolotls currently exist, with the specimens being [[Animal testing|used extensively in scientific research]] for their remarkable ability to [[Regeneration (biology)|regenerate]] parts of their body, including limbs, gills and parts of their eyes and brains. In general, they are [[model organism]]s that are also used in other research matters, and as [[aquarium]] technology developed, they have become a common exhibit in [[zoo]]s and [[Public aquarium|aquariums]], and as an occasional [[pet]] in home aquaria. Axolotls are also a popular subject in contemporary culture, inspiring a number of [[Creative work|works]] and [[Character (arts)|character]]s in media.
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