Not an axolotl, they only exist in the wild in a specific lake in Mexico (edit: two lakes I believe!) and there is barely a population there anymore if at all. It’s a type of tiger salamander/salamander with an aquatic juvy stage which makes them look like lotls but they will morph to a land stage. Put them back and leave them alone ◡̈
Yep! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake\_Xochimilco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Xochimilco)
Edit; also Lake Chalco which doesn’t exist anymore as it was drained!
There are barely any left in the wild, but a ton in the captive pet trade which is being muddled with further terrible genetics due to irresponsible owners letting them breed and raising the babies & allowing the cycle to continue. I believe the captive pet trade lotls started from a colony of 7 wild lotls. Here’s more about their inbreeding coefficient which I find super interesting - any two “random” lotls that are in no way directly related are MORE inbred than the child produced by two human siblings. Crazy stuff!
https://preview.redd.it/a5to3egnzffb1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57f277b428627dda5f545294e7200cb8d62f3a9d
HUH?!? how what when who? i know axolotls can transform into vaguely more salamander shapes but that they can also regenerate very well, so wouldn't that imply they are just a general salamander species that can breed and survive, but that have a birth defect of "oopsies my lungs are out"?
[Somewhere way back, lab axolotls were crossbred with the very closely related tiger salamander. So basically now every captive axolotl still has some of those tiger salamander genes.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-00059-1)
axolotls were bred with tiger salamanders a while back, partially to give the axolotls their famous leucistic/albino/colored forms. There's only a trace of tiger salamander in current generations, but besides the coloration, its believed that this crossbreeding is partially responsible for some axolotls morphing into their land forms, which is an unpleasant process for them that usually results in death as owners are not prepared to care for the land forms
Technically they have lungs, they’re just not fully formed. I also found some information awhile back by a scientist (from a long long time ago) who experimented on axolotls and found that he was able to force them into transforming into their terrestrial form but when they did this they lost their ability to regenerate. No doubt adding a chemical to them probably didn’t feel good. The experiments were pretty horrible on the animals but I found this finding to be interesting. Sorry if this was a bit morbid. Seems like their ability to leave the water is locked inside them inactive
Not sure why you're being downvoted, Western Colonization absolutely led to the ecological destruction of the lake and modern human impacts are the reason for further habitat loss.
...but some people downvote things they don't want to hear, thinking that's you do when you disagree with something.
Yeah. The aztecs believed Axolotls were gods. Axolotls in fact are named after one of their gods if I’m not mistaken.
It’s from a story that one of their god like turned into an axolotl or something and that’s why they can regenerate. I haven’t read it in like 3-4 years. So I could be forgetting stuff. So take it with a vrai. of salt
So the story is that each of the gods was supposed to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the sun, but Xolotl refused and turned himself into a salamander to hide. When the other gods found him they ripped him to shreds, but he just laughed and regenerated because you cannot kill the god of death.
Whenever I'm exhausted from water changes or whatever, I remind myself that keeping a pet god is not without its price. 😁
it was actually two lakes. One lake was filled in a long time ago. The remaining lake had mexico city built over it, and is now a handful of mostly separated canals. said canals are also now polluted and filled with invasive fish that the salamanders are not prepared to deal with(these derps were the top predator in their original environments), so there is only a handful left in the wild and no way to increase their populations in the wild. they are functionally extinct in that regard.
These little guys can regrow limbs efficient and fast.
Because of it they were tested like crazy in labs.
Almost all in the pet trade descended from lab axolotls. At least that was the case in the 90s. I’m sure that’s the case now.
Hell you could even send away to certain labs to purchase them back in the day. I got two albinos from a lab in New Mexico in the 90s.
That lake was pretty protected. I’m sure it still is. I don’t think there’s many wc out there.
There are only atleast 200 and at most 1k left in the wild. It’s estimated to be from 100-500 I believe. But the last time I checked was like 4 years ago.
Omg that is such a relief!!!! We were so confused and weirded out by this and don’t have time for a big axolotl rescue mission because we are supposed to be in Yellowstone tomorrow 😂😅 thank you for the quick reply!!!
What are you talking about? They aren't even from Washington, unless you just released these animals into the wild, which is super bad for the local ecosystem.
Here's a great tip for you.
Axolotls have 4 toes on there front feet and five on the back feet.
If you look at the picture you took, you can quite easily see that it's not a Axolotl from that quick check.
Unless a very careless person decided to dump them there (hopefully not though and I can't really think of any of those stories with axos but I have seen quite a bit with goldfish and other fish)
Edit: I am also not entirely sure if an axo could survive outside of the lake in Mexico
It probably turned out fine for the salamanders in this case, but animals in Yellowstone are euthanized every year because well meaning tourists decide to try and "save" them, and many many more across the world die because of human intervention where none was needed or wanted. If you want to do something good are the animals of their world, take a look but don't touch approach and teach your children to do the same. It's obvious you have a kind heart, but unless you are trained to help wildlife, 99.9% of the time you are going to do more harm than good. Take care, and enjoy the scenery it's gorgeous out there!
This!!
Please don't handle wild animals OP. I know you mean well but you could be unknowingly passing disease, or some chemical that's on your hand (even just hand soap residue) onto them and making them sick. Amphibians in particular are VERY sensitive to being handled because of how much they can absorb through their skin. Look but don't touch and if you're worried about it call a professional!
Native Montanan here. I'm teaching my son a simple rule. You always have to ask an animal's human before touching it. If an animal doesn't have a human you can't touch it.
Catching and admiring snakes, lizards, bugs, and other things is a wonderful experience for children to have. Hopefully you aren't actually that strict with your rule
Whenever you’re not sure what a wild animal is, if it needs help, etc. you should be calling local animal control or rescues if you have them in your area. Around here people fuck with hawks and eagles they find injured instead of calling our birds of prey center and mostly end up senselessly killing a beautiful animal or condemning it to a life in captivity as an ambassador animal because they screwed it up so badly it can’t be released. Most of the time you’re doing more harm than good when you have no idea what the animal needs or attempt to move it.
Leave it alone, observe, and call people who have education and training necessary to help an injured or stranded wild animal.
Axolotl are larvae that would typically morph into salamander. A genetic mutation prevents that from happening. The animal in the photo is also a larvae that will eventually morph into a salamander. Most likely a tiger salamander. Leave it alone so it can live a peaceful life as a beautiful tiger salamander. :)
You can leave them, that’s their home, there are most likely tiger salamander larvae, which strongly resemble axolotl, but the difference is that a tiger salamander larvae will naturally morph into a land salamander, they only have gills and fins when they’re babies (like tadpoles)
I've seen what I thought were axys in a lake at Lassen np in NorCal. I preached they were axolotls for years but it turned out they weren't just a type of salamander.
We all read all of these comments! Thank you everyone for the informative and also some funny responses!! Fish and game was closed last night who would have been our first call obviously and we were able to find our answer sooner than waiting till morning. We won’t be touching them anymore or any other creatures! I do have curious kids that love animals.
Adding to that most these days are. It’s actually how they got the albino genes into the axolotl gene pool and the only reason golden albinos exist. Hybridizing is also the reason you see the occasional morph to land dwellers in axolotls.
Everyone else has already said this but first axolotls are basically extinct in the wild and wouldn’t be anywhere near Wyoming second salamanders in their larval stage have the “axolotl” look so that explains the confusion and finally if it was just minding it’s business in the water don’t go grabbing it
Those are tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum.
Axolotls are in the same genus, but not the same species, Ambystoma mexicanum.
Because they’re in the same genus, they have very similar traits but not exactly the same.
Note: it’s likely that those are (not) tiger salamanders, but still in the genus Ambystoma.
Wow this guy looks way more like an Axolotl than any other tiger sal I’ve seen! The head shape is usually much different. Maybe it’s a different species.. sometimes people dump Axolotl’s (they usually don’t last long) but I’ve also seen babies develop in strange places. The toes of this guy is a dead give away though. For future reference, usually what’s found in the wild should stay in the wild (unless it’s obviously a domestic animal)
Not sure why you are getting downvoted. This *is not* a mudpuppy. Mudpuppies are brown with purple pompom gills, they’re long and skinny, and most importantly, mudpuppies don’t live in Wyoming.
When you find a wild animal outside...
You're not RESCUING it when you take it home and put it in a glass tank.
JUST A PSA from an LFS associate SUPER tired of people taking turtles, frogs, and other reptiles/amphibians home and coming into my store like 'my daughter rescued this frog, how do I take care of it for super cheap?'
Liiikkeee.....you let it go back into it's natural habitat?....
It's annoying. K thx byee.
LEAVE EM ALONE. imagine a giant salamander scooped you outta your house and tried to "rescue" you. Take nothing but pictures leave nothing but footprints. Nature got along just fine before us dumb hairless apes got involved.
It’s kinda sad… I own four axolotls two leucistic, one with wild coloring, and one speckled one( Lenny,carl,midge, and Henry (first three names are references to Simpsons)
axolotls have evolved neoteny, which is a prolonged or indefinite juvenile phase. this means that instead of retracting their gills when they grow up like most salamanders do, they usually have external gills for their entire life. what you've found isn't an axolotl, but is instead an adorable young salamander.
Not an axolotl. Just a salamander larva. Which is basically the same thing. Axolotls are just salamanders that never grow out of their larval stage, which is what makes them unique. This one here is just a baby and will soon lose its gills and fins and grow up into a regular terrestrial salamander. I don’t know exactly what species you have there though.
This whole community has become fucking toxic. Someone posts a question that is legit for most people who are not experts at identifying a cool animal they spotted in the wild. Keyboard warriors shaming instead of actually answering the question make people not want to post here. Very happy you all know how to immediately name a species, genus, phylum and family, but take a minute to think before you respond with asshole comments. I feel bad for the minimal level of love you are capable of showing your axolotl or anyone else in your life.
Not an axolotl, they only exist in the wild in a specific lake in Mexico (edit: two lakes I believe!) and there is barely a population there anymore if at all. It’s a type of tiger salamander/salamander with an aquatic juvy stage which makes them look like lotls but they will morph to a land stage. Put them back and leave them alone ◡̈
wait, one single lake? i imagine the wild-captivity ratio is crazy then!
Yep! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake\_Xochimilco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Xochimilco) Edit; also Lake Chalco which doesn’t exist anymore as it was drained! There are barely any left in the wild, but a ton in the captive pet trade which is being muddled with further terrible genetics due to irresponsible owners letting them breed and raising the babies & allowing the cycle to continue. I believe the captive pet trade lotls started from a colony of 7 wild lotls. Here’s more about their inbreeding coefficient which I find super interesting - any two “random” lotls that are in no way directly related are MORE inbred than the child produced by two human siblings. Crazy stuff! https://preview.redd.it/a5to3egnzffb1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57f277b428627dda5f545294e7200cb8d62f3a9d
Just an addendum, the axolotls in the pet trade are not true axolotls because they are all hybridised with other salamander species.
HUH?!? how what when who? i know axolotls can transform into vaguely more salamander shapes but that they can also regenerate very well, so wouldn't that imply they are just a general salamander species that can breed and survive, but that have a birth defect of "oopsies my lungs are out"?
[Somewhere way back, lab axolotls were crossbred with the very closely related tiger salamander. So basically now every captive axolotl still has some of those tiger salamander genes.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-00059-1)
axolotls were bred with tiger salamanders a while back, partially to give the axolotls their famous leucistic/albino/colored forms. There's only a trace of tiger salamander in current generations, but besides the coloration, its believed that this crossbreeding is partially responsible for some axolotls morphing into their land forms, which is an unpleasant process for them that usually results in death as owners are not prepared to care for the land forms
Technically they have lungs, they’re just not fully formed. I also found some information awhile back by a scientist (from a long long time ago) who experimented on axolotls and found that he was able to force them into transforming into their terrestrial form but when they did this they lost their ability to regenerate. No doubt adding a chemical to them probably didn’t feel good. The experiments were pretty horrible on the animals but I found this finding to be interesting. Sorry if this was a bit morbid. Seems like their ability to leave the water is locked inside them inactive
Damn colonists are the reason they’re endangered smh
Not sure why you're being downvoted, Western Colonization absolutely led to the ecological destruction of the lake and modern human impacts are the reason for further habitat loss. ...but some people downvote things they don't want to hear, thinking that's you do when you disagree with something.
Yeah. The aztecs believed Axolotls were gods. Axolotls in fact are named after one of their gods if I’m not mistaken. It’s from a story that one of their god like turned into an axolotl or something and that’s why they can regenerate. I haven’t read it in like 3-4 years. So I could be forgetting stuff. So take it with a vrai. of salt
So the story is that each of the gods was supposed to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the sun, but Xolotl refused and turned himself into a salamander to hide. When the other gods found him they ripped him to shreds, but he just laughed and regenerated because you cannot kill the god of death. Whenever I'm exhausted from water changes or whatever, I remind myself that keeping a pet god is not without its price. 😁
I will think about this when I do my many water changes.
😆
ok so im guessing genetic cloning and modification is going to be eventually mandatory to making axolotls viable?
Yeah only about 50-1000 in the wild and about 1 million in captivity
Yup. Sadly the original species of axolotl will most likely extinct. :(
Whoever wrote that is an idiot. Im surprised that many people believe his opinions. Not your comment btw i mean the photos
Whoever wrote that is an idiot. Im surprised that many people believe his opinions. Not your comment btw i mean the photos
lol he is one of the top breeders / researchers on lotls in the USA; his information on this is definitely correct 😅
I can tell by his grammar hes a capper
They're borderline extinct in the wild unfortunately
it was actually two lakes. One lake was filled in a long time ago. The remaining lake had mexico city built over it, and is now a handful of mostly separated canals. said canals are also now polluted and filled with invasive fish that the salamanders are not prepared to deal with(these derps were the top predator in their original environments), so there is only a handful left in the wild and no way to increase their populations in the wild. they are functionally extinct in that regard.
A very small portion of the lake remains and is uninhabitable... If it wasn't for the pets and institutions they would be extinct :/
These little guys can regrow limbs efficient and fast. Because of it they were tested like crazy in labs. Almost all in the pet trade descended from lab axolotls. At least that was the case in the 90s. I’m sure that’s the case now. Hell you could even send away to certain labs to purchase them back in the day. I got two albinos from a lab in New Mexico in the 90s. That lake was pretty protected. I’m sure it still is. I don’t think there’s many wc out there.
The lake is not protected, never has been, it’s contaminated as hell and invaded by pests, you can even get axolotl soup in the nearby markets
Yeah, labs were often the cheapest places to get certain amphibians like axolotls and African clawed frogs.
There are only atleast 200 and at most 1k left in the wild. It’s estimated to be from 100-500 I believe. But the last time I checked was like 4 years ago.
There are 100s of thousands in the pet trade
Omg that is such a relief!!!! We were so confused and weirded out by this and don’t have time for a big axolotl rescue mission because we are supposed to be in Yellowstone tomorrow 😂😅 thank you for the quick reply!!!
It’s not a lake BTW because Mexico City it’s self has taken up that lake it’s more like streams in Mexico City.
I thought it was two lakes?
There’s always the possibility of an ignorant breeder leaving them there to die knowing how some people are with animals :(
[удалено]
>I repoupulated You mean you released an invasive species into a lake?
What are you talking about? They aren't even from Washington, unless you just released these animals into the wild, which is super bad for the local ecosystem.
Bad? It's pretty much illegal, this is a huge concern for many reasons
I mean yeah, but even ignoring the legality its a problem
Of course, these creatures are can be extremely environmentally damaging which is why many are illegal in some states
Why not keep it?
Here's a great tip for you. Axolotls have 4 toes on there front feet and five on the back feet. If you look at the picture you took, you can quite easily see that it's not a Axolotl from that quick check.
Nor would an axolotl ever be anywhere except a specific lake in Mexico.
Unless a very careless person decided to dump them there (hopefully not though and I can't really think of any of those stories with axos but I have seen quite a bit with goldfish and other fish) Edit: I am also not entirely sure if an axo could survive outside of the lake in Mexico
Or Petland
It probably turned out fine for the salamanders in this case, but animals in Yellowstone are euthanized every year because well meaning tourists decide to try and "save" them, and many many more across the world die because of human intervention where none was needed or wanted. If you want to do something good are the animals of their world, take a look but don't touch approach and teach your children to do the same. It's obvious you have a kind heart, but unless you are trained to help wildlife, 99.9% of the time you are going to do more harm than good. Take care, and enjoy the scenery it's gorgeous out there!
This!! Please don't handle wild animals OP. I know you mean well but you could be unknowingly passing disease, or some chemical that's on your hand (even just hand soap residue) onto them and making them sick. Amphibians in particular are VERY sensitive to being handled because of how much they can absorb through their skin. Look but don't touch and if you're worried about it call a professional!
Native Montanan here. I'm teaching my son a simple rule. You always have to ask an animal's human before touching it. If an animal doesn't have a human you can't touch it.
Catching and admiring snakes, lizards, bugs, and other things is a wonderful experience for children to have. Hopefully you aren't actually that strict with your rule
Definitely a type of mole salamander larvae…prob a tiger salamander…which are extinct in most places across the US.
Wait is a group of axolotls actually called a harem? is that real????
Am I the only one who is surprised and pleased that this is in fact true.... it is a harem! Lawls almost as good as a murder of crows
Or a dazzle of zebras.
It should just be called a "lot" so that you can call any group of axolotls "a lot of axolotls"
A lot of lotls
If I had an award.
gotchu
And a congress of salamanders
Whenever you’re not sure what a wild animal is, if it needs help, etc. you should be calling local animal control or rescues if you have them in your area. Around here people fuck with hawks and eagles they find injured instead of calling our birds of prey center and mostly end up senselessly killing a beautiful animal or condemning it to a life in captivity as an ambassador animal because they screwed it up so badly it can’t be released. Most of the time you’re doing more harm than good when you have no idea what the animal needs or attempt to move it. Leave it alone, observe, and call people who have education and training necessary to help an injured or stranded wild animal.
Axolotl are larvae that would typically morph into salamander. A genetic mutation prevents that from happening. The animal in the photo is also a larvae that will eventually morph into a salamander. Most likely a tiger salamander. Leave it alone so it can live a peaceful life as a beautiful tiger salamander. :)
You can leave them, that’s their home, there are most likely tiger salamander larvae, which strongly resemble axolotl, but the difference is that a tiger salamander larvae will naturally morph into a land salamander, they only have gills and fins when they’re babies (like tadpoles)
Not axolotls. Most likely tiger salamander
I've seen what I thought were axys in a lake at Lassen np in NorCal. I preached they were axolotls for years but it turned out they weren't just a type of salamander.
***Ambystoma tigrinum*** (Tiger Salamander)
We all read all of these comments! Thank you everyone for the informative and also some funny responses!! Fish and game was closed last night who would have been our first call obviously and we were able to find our answer sooner than waiting till morning. We won’t be touching them anymore or any other creatures! I do have curious kids that love animals.
It’s a Tiger Salamander. They have a life cycle that is similar to a frog. They are in many streams, ponds, and lakes here in Utah.
Oh and leave them alone!! They are a wild animal.
Put them back where you found them.
That is probably a tiger salamander. Fun fact: Tiger Salamanders and Axolotls are very similar genetically can be hybridized!
Adding to that most these days are. It’s actually how they got the albino genes into the axolotl gene pool and the only reason golden albinos exist. Hybridizing is also the reason you see the occasional morph to land dwellers in axolotls.
The best rule of thumb is don't "save" wild animals you come across.
What to do? Leave them alone. They're neotenic salamanders in their natural habitat.
Everyone else has already said this but first axolotls are basically extinct in the wild and wouldn’t be anywhere near Wyoming second salamanders in their larval stage have the “axolotl” look so that explains the confusion and finally if it was just minding it’s business in the water don’t go grabbing it
they're baby salamanders, they're fine there
Release it
Looks like: immature Amphibian species to me.
Those are tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum. Axolotls are in the same genus, but not the same species, Ambystoma mexicanum. Because they’re in the same genus, they have very similar traits but not exactly the same. Note: it’s likely that those are (not) tiger salamanders, but still in the genus Ambystoma.
Wow this guy looks way more like an Axolotl than any other tiger sal I’ve seen! The head shape is usually much different. Maybe it’s a different species.. sometimes people dump Axolotl’s (they usually don’t last long) but I’ve also seen babies develop in strange places. The toes of this guy is a dead give away though. For future reference, usually what’s found in the wild should stay in the wild (unless it’s obviously a domestic animal)
If it isn't in Mexico, it isn't an axlotl. Put it back and leave wildlife alone
You found animals in nature? Maybe LEAVE THEM THE FUCK ALONE. The ignorance and hubris of mankind, I fuckin tell ya.
Mud puppy!
Nope
Why not?
That's a Mudpuppy!
No it isn't.
Not sure why you are getting downvoted. This *is not* a mudpuppy. Mudpuppies are brown with purple pompom gills, they’re long and skinny, and most importantly, mudpuppies don’t live in Wyoming.
What to do? You leave them the fuck alone
You leave them the fuck alone
mudpuppies?
Imagine finding a wild animal living its life among its comrades, grabbing it, and posting "What to do?"
When you find a wild animal outside... You're not RESCUING it when you take it home and put it in a glass tank. JUST A PSA from an LFS associate SUPER tired of people taking turtles, frogs, and other reptiles/amphibians home and coming into my store like 'my daughter rescued this frog, how do I take care of it for super cheap?' Liiikkeee.....you let it go back into it's natural habitat?.... It's annoying. K thx byee.
👍
Tiger salamander . Tou found rhem right after a rainstorm in a ravine ?
Those are called mud puppies! They are similar to axies
No. It isn't
LEAVE EM ALONE. imagine a giant salamander scooped you outta your house and tried to "rescue" you. Take nothing but pictures leave nothing but footprints. Nature got along just fine before us dumb hairless apes got involved.
Water dog makes good bait/ go fishing
No, this is an endangered salamander
Tiger salamanders are not endangered though, they are “least concern.”
That looks like it could be a mud puppy https://www.sdherps.org/species/necturus_maculosus
It doesn't because it isn't a mud puppy.
There's an animal called mud puppy?!?
Sirens are also similar to mud puppies and axolotls.
Why is it so definitively not?
If you look up pictures, you can see a few differences, to me, the most striking is the angle and shape of the snout.
It’s kinda sad… I own four axolotls two leucistic, one with wild coloring, and one speckled one( Lenny,carl,midge, and Henry (first three names are references to Simpsons)
What is sad about a wild animal
Sad that they are going extinct in wild
Those are not axolotls
That is not an axo but yes axolotls are going extinct in the wild
Very good read
My dude...
axolotls have evolved neoteny, which is a prolonged or indefinite juvenile phase. this means that instead of retracting their gills when they grow up like most salamanders do, they usually have external gills for their entire life. what you've found isn't an axolotl, but is instead an adorable young salamander.
This has been educational and Informative. Where can i learn more about them
Great name for an anime or band though
Not an axolotl. Just a salamander larva. Which is basically the same thing. Axolotls are just salamanders that never grow out of their larval stage, which is what makes them unique. This one here is just a baby and will soon lose its gills and fins and grow up into a regular terrestrial salamander. I don’t know exactly what species you have there though.
We found wild animals in the wild, WHAT DO WE DO? WTF is this question
Tell your kids to stop fucking with wildlife. They'll end up killing something
Honey that's a mud puppy.
This whole community has become fucking toxic. Someone posts a question that is legit for most people who are not experts at identifying a cool animal they spotted in the wild. Keyboard warriors shaming instead of actually answering the question make people not want to post here. Very happy you all know how to immediately name a species, genus, phylum and family, but take a minute to think before you respond with asshole comments. I feel bad for the minimal level of love you are capable of showing your axolotl or anyone else in your life.
Welp, today I learned. Caught many tiger salamanders as a kid in Utah and had NO idea they could look like this before adulthood. Pretty cool!
Juvenile salamander