In the wild, they’re only found in one place in the world! They live in the canals of Lake Xochimilco in Mexico City. They’re critically endangered, with fewer than 1,000 left in the wild! 🌎

Axolotls never grow up (kind of)! Most salamanders lose their gills when they become adults. Axolotls keep their gills and swimming tail their whole lives! 🍼

They come in all kinds of colors! Wild axolotls are usually dark brown or black, which helps them hide from predators. The pink, white, and gold ones you see were bred by people. 🖤

Axolotls have way more DNA than humans! The axolotl’s DNA has about 32 billion “letters”, more than 10 times more than ours (about 3 billion)! In 2018, it became the biggest genome (an animal’s full set of DNA) ever decoded! 🧬

They can regrow parts of their heart and brain! Axolotls can also repair a hurt spinal cord and parts of their eyes. They can even regrow an entire leg (bones, muscles, and nerves) in just a few weeks! 🧠

They can breathe 3 different ways! They can breathe underwater with their gills and gulp air at the surface with their lungs. They can even soak up oxygen through their skin! 🫁

They swallow rocks! Their teeth are really tiny, so they can’t chew. Instead, they suck in worms and bugs whole. They also gulp down small rocks. Some people think the rocks help grind up the food in their stomach. 🪨

They can’t blink! They don’t have eyelids, so they can’t close their eyes. This means they’re staring right at you, even when they’re resting! 👀

An axolotl mom can lay up to 1,000 eggs! She sticks them onto rocks and plants one at a time! The babies hatch about 2 weeks later, without any help from mom or dad. 🥚

They’re on Mexico’s money! In 2021, Mexico put an axolotl on the back of its 50-peso bill. It won an award for the best new bank note in the world! 💸