Axoltls and other species in the wild?

[dine]

hello! i will be travelling to Mexico in november, so im looking for infos where i can see axolotls in the wild life, and why not another interesting species as well... but mostly im looking for the best places for axolotls, i dont want to miss this only opportunity! some tips for nature tourism? thank you!

 

[benjamin]

unfortunately axolotls haven't been seen in the wild for many years and are most likely extinct in the wild.

 

[chris]

There is a conservation project for the axolotl in the remnants of Lake ????Xochmilico????? (their native lake in Mexico City).
http://www.kent.ac.uk/anthropology/dice/research/axolotl.html
There is also an article in the BHS bulletin number 89ish about this.

Chris

 

[peter]

Axolotls are not extinct in the wild, but they are critically endangered. It's unlikely that you would be able to find one. Aquatic salamanders can also be difficult to locate in the wild, and my best guess is that they'd be in the deeper areas of the lake where you wouldn't be able to see, even if you gained access to the area.

 

[wouter]

For Mexico you should look at http://www.amphibiaweb.org/aw/search/index.html. With such an amount of caudate species it shoudn't be too hard to find some...

 

[john]

Document for us any finds you make. Nice pictures of some of those mesoamerican species are hard to come by.

 

[dine]

thanx Chris and Wouter for the links, its very helpful - now i have some idea where to look for and ill try to contact people from the conservation project in Xochimilco... i hope it will be possible to visit their structure there...
Chris, is this article in the BHS bulletin possible to read somewhere on the internet??
ill have a foto camera for sure and im used to check every water i meet, so ill send pictures if ill be lucky

 

[nate]

One should not forget that Mexicans also call Bipes and other amphisbaenids "ajolotes/axolotls" as well. Semantic circles here, folks.

 

[mark]

Hmm, "a movement in the scientific community to use axolotl for only Ambystoma mexicanum?" To me that in itself seems rather contradictory. As far as I know the scientific community does not rely upon common names nor does it officially designate a common name for a species.

I think you and Mike G are arguing the same point - common names are often misleading. In this case the term axolotl may be applied to many species of Mexican Ambystomatids, as Mike G originally stated.

 

[nate]

Mark: Not so...many scientists, when officially describing a new species, will also provide an "official" common name. Take for instance the new Plethodon from California, Plethodon asupak: the authors decided it will be called the Scott Bar salamander.

Michael is right overall, there is a push to reserve the term "axolotl" for A. mexicanum, while the other mexican Ambystoma get names like Lake Lerma salamander or Tarahumara salamander. So to argue that they all get called "axolotl" is indeed much like saying all Ambystoma larvae here in the US get called "waterdogs". It's not an "official" common name for them all, but rather a local term.

 

[mark]

Unfortunately this conversation has been dragged far from its original topic into a debate over semantics.

Nate- thanks for correcting me. I was unaware that common names were actually designated to species. Regardless, just because there is an official common name does not mean it is the only one applied.

Perhaps there is a shift in thinking to apply the word axolotl to A. mexicanum exclusively. Nevertheless, I think Dine would benefit more from knowing that currently and to the locals in the area she will be visiting, the term axolotl/alojote is loosely applied and can mean any number of species (apparently not restricted just to caudates/Ambystoma).

 

[ira]

i am also intersted to find out if there is a map somwhere showing locals of different mexican species. I am going to be doing alot of field work in mexico during the next 2-3 years and would like to keep my eye out for any native caudates.