Axolotl

The Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum; from Classical Nahuatl: āxōlōtl [aːˈʃoːloːtɬ]; Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic salamander related to the tiger salamander endemic to Mexico.

This animal was introduced or mentioned in The Last Stormtroopers, Historya Davvun, Seven Code Talkers, No Way to Seaway, Weather Dragons, Project Daejeon, Two Lights, Worldcraft, Equation, and Rescris as part of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Monster Hunter series, and Assassin's Creed series sequels.

Etymology

The species is named after the Aztec deity Xolotl, the god of fire and lightning, who transformed himself into an axolotl to avoid being sacrificed by fellow gods. They continue to play an outsized cultural role in Mexico. Axólotl also means "water dog" in the Nahuatl language. "Atl" for water and "Xolotl" for dog.

Physical Appearance

Axolotls have cylindrical bodies, short legs, a relatively long tail and feathery external gills. They have four toes on the front feet, five toes on the back feet and moveable eyelids. They are known for their blunt snouts and large mouths.

Furthermore, the amount, frequency, and intensity of the gold speckling vary greatly among individuals, and at least one variety eventually acquires a black-and-white piebald appearance. Double homozygous mutants, particularly white/pink animals with pink eyes that are double homozygous mutants for both the albino and leucistic trait, are widespread in the pet trade because pet breeders often cross the variable hues. Axolotls may also modify the relative size and thickness of their melanophores to modify their color in a limited way, which helps them blend in better.

Four or five pigmentation genes are present in axolotls; mutations in these genes result in distinct color variations. The typical wild animal is tan or brown, with olive undertones and gold flecks. The five more prevalent mutant colors are albino (pale pink/white with red eyes), xanthic (grey with black eyes), leucistic (pale pink with black eyes), and melanoid (all black/dark blue with no gold speckling or olive tone). Albino is more common in axolotls than in some other creatures. Additionally, the blue variation with orange gills is akin to the Mudkip.

Most amphibians begin their lives as aquatic animals that are unable to live on dry land and are often dubbed tadpoles. To reach adulthood, they go through a process called metamorphosis, in which they lose their gills and start living on land. However, the axolotl is unusual in that it has a lack of thyroid stimulating hormone, which is needed for the thyroid to produce thyroxine in order for the axolotl to go through metamorphosis; therefore, it keeps its gills and lives in water all its life, even after it becomes an adult and is able to reproduce.

Axolotls' bodies are capable of undergoing metamorphosis if they are provided with the required hormone, but they are unable to create it on their own and must be exposed to it from an outside source. Following this artificially induced metamorphosis, an axolotl transitions into a terrestrial species. Iodine injections, which are used to produce thyroid hormones, are one way to artificially induce metamorphosis.

Many physiological changes occur in axolotls during metamorphosis, aiding in their adaptation to life on land. These include developing eyelids, absorbing gills and fins into the body, increasing muscular tone in the limbs, and decreasing the permeability of the skin to water, which makes it easier for the axolotl to stay hydrated while on land. Even though they remain alongside gills until they reach non-metamorphosed adulthood, an axolotl's lungs continue to grow during metamorphosis.

A metamorphosed axolotl bears resemblance to an adult plateau tiger salamander, with the exception of the axolotl's larger toes. The practice of intentionally inducing metamorphosis in pet axolotls is generally discouraged for casual enthusiasts because it can often end in death during or even after a successful effort.

Variants

The axolotl was remodeled and it resigned for their new forms: Lucy, Melanie, yellow, enigma, lavender, and pure white variants. The wild one is the original form of axolotl and it is OG but the most common type of axolotl is Lucy or Leucistic.

Wild Form/Original - The wild type animal (the "natural" form) is brown or tan with gold speckles and an olive undertone, and possess an ability to subtly alter their color by changing the relative size and thickness of their melanophores, presumably for camouflage.
Leucistic/Lucy - pale pink with black eyes.
Melanism/Melanie - All black or dark blue with no gold speckling or olive tone.
Xanthic/Lavender - greyish purple, with black eyes.
Albinism - pale pink or white, with red eyes.
Pure White - All white with grey eyes.
Yellow - yellow with red gills.
Enigma - These axolotls start out all black and grow to be a grey and white with patches of an iridescent gold.

Wild Axolotl

Melanistic Axolotl

Leucistic Axolotl

Yellow Axolotl

Pure White Axolotl

Enigma Axolotl

Xanthic Axolotl

Abilities

The feature of the axolotl that attracts most attention is its healing ability: the axolotl does not heal by scarring and is capable of the regeneration of entire lost appendages in a period of months and, in certain cases, more vital structures, such as the tail, limb, central nervous system, and tissues of the eye and heart. They can even restore less vital parts of their brains. They can also readily accept transplants from other individuals, including eyes and parts of the brain—restoring these alien organs to full functionality.

In some cases, axolotls have been known to repair a damaged limb as well as regenerate an additional one, ending up with an extra appendage that makes them attractive to pet owners as a novelty. In metamorphosed individuals, however, the ability to regenerate is greatly diminished. The axolotl is therefore used as a model for the development of limbs in vertebrates. There are three basic requirements for regeneration of the limb: the wound epithelium, nerve signaling, and the presence of cells from the different limb axes.

The only real-life animals (other than anoles, starfish, and others) have biological regeneration. If an axolotl takes damage underwater or cuts parts of their body, it may play dead, dropping to the ground while gaining regeneration. Hostile aquatic creatures ignore healing and re-amputate axolotls back to normal. Axolotls locate food by smell and will "snap" at any potential meal, sucking the food into their stomachs with vacuum force.

Ecology

Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of developing lungs and taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. Axolotls are nocturnal animals that avoid light. They have weak eyesight and seem to find food by smell and by their lateral line organs, which are sensory organs located along the sides of their head and trunk.

Axolotls are not social animals and don’t actually require any company in their tank. Axolotls are carnivorous and feed on worms, tadpoles, insect larvae, crustaceans, and wounded fish. In captivity, axolotls eat a variety of readily available foods, including trout and salmon pellets, frozen or live bloodworms, earthworms, and waxworms. Axolotls can also eat feeder fish, but care should be taken as fish may contain parasites.

Young axolotls are cannibalistic until they reach a length of around 3 to 4 inches. If you’re planning to have more than one baby or juvenile, you need to house them separately, or they will most likely injure or kill each other. Fish in the tank can mistake an axolotl’s colorful gills for worms or other food and take bites out of them, causing great harm to your pet or allies.

Behavior

Axolotls are passive toward humans, and can attack all fish and tadpoles except all adult amphibians and other axolotls.

Distribution and Habitat

The species was originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City, such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, as well as Hidalgo lakes. These lakes were drained by Spanish settlers after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of much of the axolotl’s natural habitat. Axolotls spawn underwater in the lush cave biome, and when there is clay, mud, and other concrete to mud at various plant caverns in Xaltos on planet Reinachos.

This species is native to the ancient system of water channels and lakes in the Mexican Central Valley. It requires deep-water lakes (both natural and artificial canals) with abundant aquatic vegetation and is sensitive to changes in water quality. Structures, such as plants, are needed to lay eggs.

The axolotl is native only to the freshwater of Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in the Valley of Mexico. Lake Chalco no longer exists, having been drained as a flood control measure, and Lake Xochimilco remains a remnant of its former self, existing mainly as canals. The water temperature in Xochimilco rarely rises above 20 °C (68 °F), although it may fall to 6–7 °C (43–45 °F) in the winter and perhaps lower.

A large captive population of axolotls currently exist, with the specimens being used extensively in scientific research for their remarkable ability to regenerate parts of their body, including limbs, gills and parts of their eyes and brains. In general, they are model organisms that are also used in other research matters, and as aquarium technology developed, they have become a common exhibit in zoos and aquariums, and as an occasional pet in home aquaria.

Movement Pattern: Not a Migrant
Individual Type: Solo
Population Trend: Decreasing
Population:
- Wild: 50-1,000
- Captivity: ???
Locomotion: Aquatic
Habitat: Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Warm Pond; Cold Pond; Karst Spring; Lush Cavern; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.
Earth:
- Extant (Resident): Mexico (México Distrito Federal)
Reinachos:
- Extant & Introduced (Resident): Ascunsia; Angussia; Xaltos