Axolotls are amazing creatures. Their unique features have attracted the attention of many scientists and researchers. But do you know to which group of animals they belong and what category they are in? Their features make It a bit difficult to find out. Stay with All Amphibian to investigate this issue.
Are axolotls amphibians or reptiles?
To understand the answer to this question, we must first know the difference between amphibians and reptiles and understand what characteristics and features each of these animal categories has.
Amphibians
Amphibians are cold-blooded and usually calm animals whose life is in two periods. During the first period, which is their infancy, they live in water, and during the second period, when they reach maturity, they live both in water and on land.
In infancy, they completely live in water and have fins and gills, just like fishes. When they enter the second period and reach maturity, they lose their fins and develop arms and legs and breathe with lungs, and can live on land.
Amphibians are egg-laying and usually have small and slippery bodies. They live in dark and dimly lit environments and do not come out during the day. To defend themselves amphibians use tricks such as blending in with the environment.
Reptiles
Reptiles are vertebrate animals with four arms and legs, or their ancestors had four arms and legs, and over time they lost their arms and legs, like snakes.
Reptiles have a covering of flakes or scales; in some, Their coverings are bony, like turtles. In terms of their characteristics, they are animals between amphibians, birds, and mammals.
Reptiles are not aquatic creatures and have lungs and live on land. They are egg-laying except for a few viviparous species.
Many Reptiles are poisonous, like snakes, and usually have claws. In general, animals such as crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and animals that belong to the family of these creatures are called reptiles.
Axolotls
Axolotls belong to the salamander family and are very interesting animals. They come in many different colors. They have gills at first, and they don’t lose them until the end of their lives.
They have webbed feet and a fish-like dorsal fin that stretches across their bodies. They are very cold-blooded and live completely alone, and are shy creatures; they spend most of their time in dark places, on the rocks in deep water.
Their lungs grow like manes on both sides of their heads, and axolotls can move and breathe underwater just by moving their gills. They also reach full maturity at one year of age, and although they do not lose their gills, they can also breathe out of water.
They can breathe through their skin. Axolotls are egg-laying and reproduce easily in captivity. The colors of axolotls that live in nature are usually dark, and you can see the bright color of this animal with pink gills in home aquariums.
Of course, according to most scientists, they are already extinct, and the existing axolotls live only in captivity.
Are axolotls reptiles?
Axolotls have some characteristics of reptiles, and this may make some people think that they belong to the category of reptiles, but they are amphibians.
All salamanders are from the amphibian family, and axolotls also have characteristics that make them amphibians. Such as:
- ability to live in water and on land.
- Having a two-stage life.
- Their body is not composed of scales and bones
- They do not have strong bones like reptiles and do not have claws.
- Unlike reptiles, they live in water and cannot spend a long time outside of water.
Are axolotls amphibians?
In the classification of animals, axolotls are in the category of amphibians, like frogs. They undergo metamorphosis, but they do not go through this stage completely.
In the first stage of their life, amphibians are more like aquatic animals. Their bodies have fins, and they cannot live outside the water. In the second stage, their gill becomes lung, and the hands and feet take the place of fins.
They can breathe in and out of water. Due to the small differences axolotls have with other amphibians, axolotls belong to the amphibian family.
Habitat of axolotls
Axolotls spend most of their time in the water, and the right place for them to live is lakes, marshes, and stagnant water pools.
In nature, they are only found in lakes and water channels in Mexico. Their habitat in Mexico has been lost due to the expansion of cities and the drying up of lakes. Because of this, Most of them live in captivity.
To protect themselves from other predators, axolotls usually stay among the aquatic plants and mud at the bottom of the lakes and hunt during the night.
They are adaptable creatures, and to keep them as pets, you need a tank with 100 liters of water and some moss, stones, and aquatic plants.
Axolotls are among the rarest amphibians, and the Mexican government, To preserve this creature, has started to restore freshwater lakes and purify the water of this lake to make it a suitable place for amphibians to live, and it also organizes travel tours in Mexico for amphibian lovers, especially axolotls.
What does axolotl eat?
Like most amphibians, axolotls are carnivores. They eat worms, small fish, frogs, other amphibians, insects, and… in fact; they hunt any small creature that they can eat, like almost all amphibians, such as frogs.
Axolotls in captivity must also be fed a good diet to stay healthy. The best food for They are a type of bloodworm that you can buy from special stores. Axolotls usually swallow some sand along with their food, which helps them digest food a lot.
They also have small teeth that are suitable for eating worms and small creatures. They suck the food into their mouths and swallow most of the food. Mostly use their teeth to hold the food.
Amphibians vs. reptiles and the reason axolotls are amphibians?
Axolotls are not reptiles, although many amphibians are similar to reptiles, and their differences are very small, especially the family of salamanders, which are always confused with lizards.
Lizards are reptiles, and just like salamanders, they have a long tail and five fingers, and sometimes some salamanders are also called lizards. Axolotls are also a type of salamander, and they look like reptiles in many cases, but they are in the amphibian family.
Axolotls have smooth, shiny, and slippery skin, while reptiles have a skin covering of scales, and in some cases, they have a bony covering skin.
Also, axolotls, like other amphibians, have weak bones and do not have sternum bones, but reptiles have solid bones, and their chests are complete.
Axolotls lay their eggs in water. And their babies are like larvae, and as they grow older, they look like their parents. But reptiles lay their eggs on land, and their babies look just like their parents when they are born.
Axolotls, like other amphibians, are born aquatic and have gills and fins like fish and can swim, but over time, their lungs begin to complete. But reptiles, at the beginning of birth, have arms and legs, and they cannot live in water, and they breathe by their lungs throughout their lives.
What is The difference between axolotls and other amphibians?
Axolotls are special creatures, some of their abilities and characteristics have not been seen in any other animal, and for this reason, they are valuable animals for humans.
Unlike other amphibians, axolotls do not complete their metamorphosis stage, and when they want to change from adolescence to middle age, they remain in the same stage.
It is like they remain young throughout their lives. This change includes different parts of their body. They don’t lose their larval state and keep their fins, but their hands and feet also grow.
They don’t lose their gills, but their lungs are complete, and they can breathe out of water. Another ability of axolotls that no other animal has is to regenerate lost or damaged organs.
Axolotls can regenerate all their damaged and lost organs many times. They can regenerate vital organs such as the heart and spinal cord and even parts of their brain.
All organs consisting of skin, cartilage, bone, and muscle of the body, can regenerate at high speed so that the organ does not have any problems in terms of function and does not even leave a scar.
Researchers have been conducting extensive research and experiments on axolotls for years.
They give.
Now we know that axolotls are amphibians
Axolotls are amazing animals that have unique characteristics that cannot be seen in any other animal. They are amphibians, but because of these characteristics, many people consider them reptiles. But axolotls are not reptiles because their life is two-stage, like amphibians. And they undergo metamorphosis. Like all amphibians, the axolotl is aquatic at the beginning of its life and has gills, and when it matures, its lungs are completed, and it develops limbs. By examining the axolotl, we will fully understand that this animal is in the amphibian category.
FAQ
- Are axolotls reptiles?
No, axolotls are not reptiles because reptiles always live out of water. Reptiles are born exactly like their parents. Also, they have a thoracic skeleton. But axolotls have none of these features.
- Are axolotls amphibians?
Yes, axolotls are amphibians because, like amphibians, they have smooth and wet skin, they depend on water, their life consists of two stages, and they undergo metamorphosis during puberty. They are aquatic at birth.
- Where do axolotls live?
Like other amphibians, axolotls depend on water and live in lakes, swamps, and marshes next to aquatic plants and mud. In nature, they only live in lakes and water channels in Mexico.
- What do axolotls eat?
Like other amphibians, axolotls are carnivorous and eat almost any living creature they can catch. Insects, small fish, frogs, small amphibians, and worms are among the foods of axolotls.
- What is the difference between axolotls and amphibians?
Unlike amphibians, axolotls do not complete their metamorphosis and remain young throughout their lives. They never lose their fins and gills. They also can regenerate damaged and lost body parts.