The axolotl is a fish with limbs, characteristic of Mexico, which is currently in critical danger of extinction, the endangered axolotl It has had to go through a lot to survive all this long time without becoming extinct. We invite you to continue reading to learn a little more about these animals.
Taxonomy
This animal comes directly from the tiger salamander, even when it first appeared, it was suspected that it had been a cross between types of salamanders, however, when they studied it further they discovered that it is an amphibian that evolved over the years , until it became the axolotl we know today.
Physical characteristics of the endangered axolotl
Although its characteristics are not many, it is rare to see a fish with limbs, its characteristics are:
- Size: Thirty centimeters long the male and fifteen centimeters the female
- Appearance: With the naked eye you can see that it was a slightly larger tadpole, however, it cannot survive outside.
- To breathe like any aquatic animal, it has three gills on the top of its head as if they were horns that sprout from it.
- Its skin is slimy and white in color, while the legs are small and with calluses on them, without claws or nails.
- Wild species: They have spots on the skin of the following colors:
- Café
- Black
- Captive species: They have spots on the skin of the following colors:
- Grey
- Verde
- Orange
- Gold
Geographical distribution
It is a characteristic species of Mexico that can be observed in all its rivers or lakes, but this is only in small quantities since its disappearance is imminent. This type of animal can be found in deep waters, below, we will give a list of the distribution of the endangered axolotl:
- tijuana river, with a depth of three thousand two hundred and thirty one.
- Large system of Santiago Lerma, seventy-six thousand four hundred sixteen deep.
- Colorado River, its depth is five thousand one hundred and eighty meters.
- Lake Chapala, its depth is still unknown and this is due to its murky waters in which many hikers are terrified to enter.
- sonoyta river, with a depth of seven thousand six hundred fifty-three meters.
- Atoyac raft system, its depth is one hundred seventeen thousand four hundred six meters.
- Magdalena river, twenty-five thousand eight hundred eight meters deep.
- Papaloapan-Santo Domingo-Grande-Tehuacan System, with a depth of forty-four thousand six hundred and sixty-two meters.
We continue with the list:
- sonora river, with a depth of twenty-seven thousand seven hundred and forty meters.
- Laguna de Bacalar, with a depth of three hundred meters.
- May River, fifteen thousand one hundred and thirteen meters deep.
- Montebello Lagoons, with a depth of exactly six thousand meters.
- Sinaloa River, this being the lowest depth with two hundred and sixty meters.
- Patzcuaro Lake, Due to its frozen waters, this lagoon is currently unexplored.
- Ro Culiacani, fifteen thousand seven hundred thirty-one meters deep.
- Valle de Bravo Lagoon, four hundred and eighteen meters deep.
- Rio Grande de Santiago, its depth is equal to that of the large Santiago Lerma System.
These rivers and lakes and lagoons are characterized by having a lot of vegetation in their depths and that is where the axolotl lives.
Food
His diet is very similar to what do whales eat, the axolotl feeds on plankton, krill and fish despite its small size, when it is in captivity it usually eats meat and this is what has kept it alive, this animal adapts to any type of diet, if instead of meat he has to eat vegetables the endangered axolotl did it without any inconvenience.
Reproduction of the endangered axolotl
The reproduction of this animal is usually a mystery for many people, even inhabitants of Mexico itself, this animal does not undergo metamorphosis throughout its life, it is born as a small fish with legs, when sexually mature many fish undergo metamorphosis, but this is not In the case of the endangered axolotl, it has the facility and ability to regenerate certain parts of its body such as:
- limbs.
- The tail.
- The jaw.
- The skin.
- Organs.
- Some parts of your brain.
This makes the reproduction of the axolotl easier, since it can kill the female in the sexual act due to a certain force that it exerts on her, giving way to him losing his reproductive member, without a problem of regenerating it again when he needs it. .
This is also one of the capabilities of this creature, recovery and one of the reasons why Mexico is so interested in this fish and in studying its anatomy, since it is considered a unique fish in the world.
Regeneration
As we explained earlier, the recovery capacity of the endangered axolotl is a characteristic that not all fish have, an example of this is that when cutting a leg of this species, it recovers it again without any problem, as well as its bone structure and all these parts that make up his body, including the eyes and nerves, everything remains as if nothing had happened and it may even happen that when recovering some of the exterior parts of his body, they come out of another color although this is not something that happen frequently.
We can highlight that even the heart can regenerate it in a very small way, let's say that 100% of its heart can recover 25%, making this a fish that can survive in the right environments and should not be in danger of extinction with so many qualities, for this reason Mexico calls it one of its most protected national animal species and wants to protect its life, since governments prior to the year 50 did not do their job and that is why the axolotl is in danger of extinction at this time in this serious situation.
We can also say that the axolotl is as important as the production of some food in Mexico, such as rice, for example, it must be harvested, cared for so that it can feed many Mexican families, the same thing happens with the axolotl, although it is in danger of extinction is an animal that has characteristics to be able to eat it, annually the Mexican government assigns a number of axolotls to fishmongers near the lake, where it is in danger of extinction.
Illegal fishing is carried out only when the axolotl is in rivers in the wild, that is, free. This is one of the reasons why the Aztecs considered that the soul of the God Xolotl it is reincarnated in this species of fish and that is why it resists dying again.
Conservation
This animal for being part of the Endangered Aquatic Animals and with a very serious risk, its conservation has been discussed and approved for several years, so much so that in order for it to be taken seriously, Mexico had to name it a national symbol.
The population of this animal that still remains in the rivers and lagoons of Mexico does not exceed a thousand specimens, basically the endangered axolotl is in that situation thanks to the serious state of pollution in which some of the country's waters are.
Another reason why this animal is in danger of extinction is due to the exaggerated capture that occurs towards this species in order to convert it into canned food or to sell it freely in the pet trade, where it is used to feed snakes which is a very common animal in Mexico. This is also the reason why the amphibian population globally has been rapidly declining.
Conservation measures for the endangered axolotl
The conservation of this species is concentrated in the Xochimilco Lake where the largest number of carnivorous specimens is concentrated, because as previously mentioned, their diet in captivity is red or white meat.
Distributed throughout the world, the axolotl has various colonies, however, it is not recommended that new specimens enter in formed colonies since the axolotl can be very aggressive and territorial.
The axolotl is protected by NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, which stood out in Mexico, which establishes the protection of the animal and the conditions of keeping them as pets.
The axolotl in Mexican culture
Mexico named this animal as a national symbol, due to the fact that in many nations of the world they did not want to protect it, this is because it is an animal without major impact if it were to become extinct.
mexican history
The axolotl comes from the time of the Aztecs, where they established that there was only one fish with legs left in the world, they even created a legend about the aquatic monster, which inhabited the rivers of Mexico, according to them it was carnivorous with Shark Characteristics.
They also directly related it to the God Xolotl, it is said that he was the creator of this species, as well as the dynasties that fought in the time of the Aztecs. The God Xolotl is the brother of the most recognized god by the Mexicans, the God Quetzalcoatl. The legend says that when Xólotl died he reincarnated in these kinds of fish and for that reason he gave it the characteristics of sharks and some of the marine predators when he created it.
After the Aztecs, this fish reappears in the year 1615, where they placed the characteristics of this animal and from there they began to carry out studies on this animal species, however, there were scientists who began to spread this animal around the world.
Culture
As we mentioned earlier, this fish has been known since the time of the Aztecs, for this reason it is still present in Mexican culture today, another reason why this fish is always in Mexican culture is because in past years they used the same for the manufacture of medicines and according to the natives of the country it was a very effective medicine that cured any type of disease, although science has not yet proven that the fish has healing qualities.
Its breeding farms are very famous and it is necessary to keep this animal alive, this happened in 1989 in different countries of the world where the animal was sent to fulfill its captivity, these countries are:
- for immigration to Canada.
- Holland.
- Japan.
- South Korea.
- EE. UU
- Sweden.
- England.
It is also considered a famous fish, it has appeared in several books and stories, as well as in movies and animated series, such as:
- The book by renowned writer Julio Cortázar, called Axolotl tale.
- Dune, by Frank Herbert.
- Pokemon Animated Movie, where this fish is the water pokémon they call Wooper and then it evolves just like the endangered axolotl has evolved and becomes Quagsire and Mudkip, and then evolves a third time and becomes Marshtomp and Swampert.
Enemy species of the axolotl
This animal is characterized by being quite aggressive with the fish that are being born and some are responsible for killing their young by eating the product of their reproduction and others for eating the newborn fish, which science assumes that the axolotl thinks they are specimens enemies, the constant threat is when they are in the reproductive period, the male usually reproduces very aggressively and even the female can even die trying.
New species have also been introduced that have been accepted, however, the desired results have not been obtained since the purpose of this was for the axolotl to bond with these other species. Thanks to the failure of this project we can understand because the Mexican axolotl is in danger of extinction.
big city pressure
Man also plays an important role in the extinction of the axolotl and this is because he himself has been responsible for polluting the waters where he is in captivity.
The lake where Mexico has been in charge of placing the axolotl in captivity to protect its extinction, is a lake where small boat rides are given, where man can celebrate birthdays, organize lunches or breaks on Sundays with the family. This causes a lot of waste that goes to the bottom of the lake, harming not only the axolotl but also other marine species that live there.
However, this fish does not distribute throughout the lake, it inhabits areas with marine vegetation that is found on the bottom, this makes the axolotl more territorial and the populations are a bit distant. The quality of the water also plays an important role, the water must be almost pure so that the axolotl does not survive in murky waters.
It is not only affected by water, the axolotl is a very delicate fish, high volume sound can also affect it considerably.
The water contingency
Mexico has the largest amount of fresh water on the planet for all its lakes, because of this man has had to build contingency walls so that floods do not occur, this also influences the extinction of this animal.
People who had no way to pay for a construction to avoid flooding also placed tarantines and this is where the axolotl took refuge, for many years later the laws of Mexico changed, giving rise to many disasters in the waters of the country and there began the contingency of this animal.
When the rains begin in the country, the current of all its rivers is agitated, causing the waste that is static at the bottom of these waters to flow and thus carrying all the pollution in its path.
The lake where these fish are is considered stagnant water since it is supplied with water by a treatment plant, it can be said that its waters are artificial and that is why vegetation is not abundant at the bottom. Due to the great contamination due to everything mentioned above, the waters of the lake were contaminated, making the habitat of this fish impossible.
Restoration of their habitat
The government has set itself the goal of restoring the habitat of the endangered axolotl, in order to lengthen its life span a little more, however, this has become very costly due to all the waste and pipe branches that come out of he.
In turn, the government has established that changes in the administration of the country do not affect the continuity of the project, it is important to mention that if the axolotl in danger of extinction is in this way thanks to the bad activities that man ventures towards the animal species .
The community near this lake where the species is in captivity has also contributed its grain of sand, thus helping to conserve it a little longer, the cleaning work in the lake has not stopped since the government began with this magnificent project to protect a species that is about to become extinct.
Mexico assures that the process is slow but not impossible, the recovery of lakes like this is not easy, the easy thing is to contaminate it, but when animal lives are at risk, it is necessary to take action on the matter.
A large number of uninhabited haciendas are found along the shore of all this length, this has also caused the population of the scourge to decrease considerably, since it is an animal that seeks refuge among some useful things for humans, such as for example rubbers, wood, what humans normally do so that the lake at the time of a flood does not enter the fertile lands and all the crops are damaged.
The government is looking for farmers to want to invest again in these lands and for this a lot of money is needed, since they are large enough lands to work them and to build these anti-flood walls so that in this way the axolotl feels more protected.
To avoid extinction, the government has entered approximately two hundred thousand species of fish for a crossing to occur, something that is impossible. However, in other countries the measures with this fish are more extreme, its reproduction is equal to that of salmon and this makes the fish multiply its number of specimens.
It would be a great benefit for all if they could establish an agreement where they do work on the land around the lake, without fertilizers or artificial sprays, apart from collaborating with the preservation of the life of the axolotl, it would work with the protection of the water of the lake that At the same time, they do not want it to be contaminated, so the generation of pure water could arrive directly through pipes to these haciendas that are uninhabited and this would generate a lot of employment and social stability for the entire town.