Water Monsters

Here's a shot of Abystoma mexicanum in what is probably the most pristine habitat available to the species now....

Yup. They're in aquaria.



The Axolotl was endemic to two lakes, one is now dry land and the other is now very very polluted due to its proximity to Mexico City. Axolotls won't go extinct, they're cool pets and they're surprisingly useful lab animals (they're also eaten in Mexico apparently). Nonetheless they may go extinct in the wild which would absolutely suck. What sucks more is that thousands of other species of amphibian may join them without having the benefit of captive populations. As EDGE points out

Amphibians are now in crisis – populations worldwide are disappearing:

• Over 32% are listed as globally endangered (by comparison, just 12% of all bird species and 23% of all mammal species are threatened)
• Almost half of all known amphibian species are declining
• As many as 165 amphibian species may already be extinct
• A greater proportion of amphibians are at imminent risk of extinction than any other animal class.

Let's remember the little slimy guys when we're thinking about endangered wildlife.