“I’m baby.” Most salamanders start their lives in water and grow up to live on land. Not the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)! This unique critter is a neotenic amphibian, meaning it retains most of its juvenile features into adulthood—including frilly gills and dorsal fins. What’s more? The axolotl lives permanently in water, breathing primarily through its gills rather than its rudimentary lungs. Found only in Lake Xochimilco in the Valley of Mexico, this rare amphibian is threatened in the wild by pollution, overfishing, and other human activities.
