Axolotl found in Mexico City lake after scientists feared it only survived in captivity

The amphibian is important in scientific research because of its ability to regenerate severed limbs

KASHMIRA GANDER

Monday 24 February 2014

A rare, salamander-like amphibian has been spotted in its only known natural habitat, after researchers feared the creature had disappeared from the wild.

Mexican biologists have seen, but not caught, two axolotls during a second attempt to find them in the Xochimilco network of lakes and canals of Mexico City.

The researchers took to the muddy waters of lake Xochimilco in small boats last year, and searched for weeks for the amphibian, but to no avail.

But biologist Armando Tovar Garza, of Mexico's National Autonomous University, said that members of the team carrying out the search had seen two axolotls during the first three weeks of a second survey expected to conclude in April.

“We weren't able to capture them...because the behaviour of the axolotl makes them very difficult to capture,” he said.

“But we have had two sightings. That's important, because it tells us we still have a chance.”

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