Adapting Axolotls

[stipe]

Hi everybody,

I've been thinking... Axolotl are theraticaly a premature creature, i.e. they can become mature and ready for mating in thier pre-mature state eithen know thier evolved states have moved to the land. They are basicly a back step in evolotion as people say. But im strongly agaisnt that. They cant be a back step in evolution as they are on of the fastest adapting creatures on earth (well mabey except for parasites and diseases etc). For one example, they can metamorph if thier environment changes. They can easily adapt to changing water levels and oxygen levels throught the rudimentary lungs they have.
They have advanced body structure that has adapted to their environment under water such as the latiral line and advanced smell. And When they metamorph they gain better eye sight just like that, to adapt to life as a salamander (i thin only albinos can metamorph. Thay adapt.

After countless debates with my biology teacher i've been thinking that these creatures can adapt rapidly to thier new environments. For one the axolotls in Australia have probarly adaptated to the constant warm water temprature and climate in the county. Mine seem to do perfectly well in 20-24 degreas C water (trust me ive tried i cant get the water lvls down).
And that mabey the ones in america have adapted to the colder climate over there.

I might be rambling on and making no sense( i oviovly am) but axies seem to be good at adapting to new environments and i was thinking that they still havnt finished and might end up changing into mroe that jsut salamanders over tousands of years.( oviosly aint making sense, lol)

I recon if good controled scientific tests are set out we can fast forward this evolution to get an idea of where we cam from as humans and how this living earth has came to be. I know some of you have high morals and are against this 'playing God thing' but think about it wouldnt it be cool to find out stuff tike that.

Lol i was kinda pumped out today from countless movies i jsut watched about hidden ecosystems etc ( liek 'The cave' (new release) and this water creature series thing i saw ( on aussie tv). lol) So i decided to point out my view. I bet you guys think im crazy, lol

if i dont make sense than.....................lol.

 

[joan]

I don't think it's that they adapt to the higher temperatures, but that they can tolerate them. They don't 'adapt' to changing water levels. They morph or die. But 99% of axolotls CAN'T morph.

They are a 'step back' in evolution in that they display paedeomorphy. They evolved from terrestrial salamanders into salamanders that are in permenant larval stage again. So the forward evolutionary step they made was to revert to a previous evolutionary morphology.

Frog and salamander larvae have a semblance of a 'lateral line' system, and keen sense of smell. Axolotls of all colors and sizes have cruddy eyesight and only attack things that move.

All axolotls in Australia were born in Australia, and are already accustomed to temps there, so therefore aren't 'adapting' in the scientific sense of the word.

 

[stipe]

hhhmmm......i thought they envolved into the sallamander not the other way around.

 

[joan]

Axolotls are offshoots of tiger salamanders. Somewhen after they became a different species, they developed paedeomorphy. This means that they no longer morphed into salamanders. So they did a reverse evolution.

 

[stipe]

oh i thought that axies evolved into salamanders. oh now see. but they are cool litlle critters. They might be dumb but they are lovable.