The Tiny Habitat of the Endangered Axolotl
All wild axolotls live in the same small lake, and some of the qualities of this unique ecological context have allowed them to remain in their juvenile stage throughout their lives.
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Transcript
John Rafferty: It looks like a big tadpole with feathery gills.
Well, an axolotl is an amphibian that looks kind of like it's wearing a scarf. Their feathers are the breathing organs, their gills. Amphibians, in their larval stage or in their tadpole stage, many of them have gills that are external. Whereas most salamanders, they develop adult features, the axolotl does not.
We want to know why they remained in their juvenile stage. Axolotls are native to only one area of Mexico, and it's surrounded by the urban area of Mexico City now. Their habitat drives their evolution.
The lakes that they evolved in did not have large fish predators. It was safer to remain in the lakes. Because there was no need for them to change, they just didn't. But those two lakes have been developed and drained over time. This is all that's pretty much left of them.
Inside their native habitat, they believe there's only 500 to 1,000 axolotls that remain. So it's one of those critically endangered species. The captive population could be as many as 1 million.
Producer: Can you keep an axolotl as a pet?
John Rafferty: Technically you can. I would not.
Well, an axolotl is an amphibian that looks kind of like it's wearing a scarf. Their feathers are the breathing organs, their gills. Amphibians, in their larval stage or in their tadpole stage, many of them have gills that are external. Whereas most salamanders, they develop adult features, the axolotl does not.
We want to know why they remained in their juvenile stage. Axolotls are native to only one area of Mexico, and it's surrounded by the urban area of Mexico City now. Their habitat drives their evolution.
The lakes that they evolved in did not have large fish predators. It was safer to remain in the lakes. Because there was no need for them to change, they just didn't. But those two lakes have been developed and drained over time. This is all that's pretty much left of them.
Inside their native habitat, they believe there's only 500 to 1,000 axolotls that remain. So it's one of those critically endangered species. The captive population could be as many as 1 million.
Producer: Can you keep an axolotl as a pet?
John Rafferty: Technically you can. I would not.