Axolotl
Scientific name: Ambystoma mexicanum (Shaw & Nodder, 1798)
Overview
The axolotl is a species of mole salamander. It is neotenic, reaching sexual maturity without undergoing metamorphosis, and the adults remain fully aquatic with obvious external gills. Axolotls may be difficult to distinguish from the larval stage of other neotenic adult mole salamanders, in particular the tiger salamander, or other species such as mudpuppies.
From the Wikipedia article “Axolotl”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Middle America.
Common names
Names in other languages (11)
- Arabic
- عفريت الماء
- Bengali
- অ্যাক্সোলোটাল
- Chinese
- 墨西哥钝口螈
- French
- Axolotl
- German
- Axolotl
- Indonesian
- Axolotl
- Japanese
- メキシコサンショウウオ
- Persian
- اکسولوتل
- Russian
- Мексиканская амбистома
- Spanish
- Ajolote, Salamandra ajolote
- Turkish
- Aksolotl
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q22718, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Axolotl”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Mattia Nocciola, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Mr. Fulano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026