AnimalsThe axolotl is a salamander that keeps its feathery gills and stays in water all its life, never taking the adult land form. It can regrow lost limbs. It is popular in aquariums but is close to extinction in the wild.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Ambystoma mexicanum
- Group
- Amphibians
- Diet
- Carnivore (eats other animals)
- Lives in
- Mexico
- Habitat
- Lakes and canals near Mexico City
- A young one is called
- larva
- A group is called
- no special name
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Amphibia
- Order Caudata
- Family Ambystomatidae
- Genus Ambystoma
- Species Ambystoma mexicanum
More distant relatives in the order Caudata: fire salamander.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The axolotl is listed as Critically Endangered. The species faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. This is the last category before "extinct in the wild".
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.