In Mexico, one of the most studied salamanders in the world are known as Axolotls.
Wild axolotls live in swampy areas of Lake Xochimilco and in the canals that flow into the southern edge of Mexico City.
Axolotls have also been known to have once lived in Lake Chalco, one of Mexico City’s five “great lakes”. This is one of the areas that the Aztecs settled. The Aztec called themselves Culhua-Mexica and they were a Nahuatl-speaking people who ruled a large empire in what we now call central and southern Mexico. The Axolotl name comes from the Nahuatl language and is pronounced Ax-oh-lot-ul. Atl means “water” and axolotl means “dog,” after the Xolotl, the canine Aztec deity.
In today’s lesson, we will learn how to draw your own Axolotl!
Before you begin, you will need a pencil, eraser, and colored pencils or crayons.
1) Did you know: Even though the Axolotl is commonly known as a “Mexican Walking Fish” it is not a fish at all. Axolotls are salamanders which is also a kind of amphibian. They are more like a cousin to a frog than they are to a fish.
2) Axolotls are carnivores known to eat worms, insect larvae, tiny shellfish known as crustaceans, and some fish.
3) Axolotls can live up to 10-15 years but are now considered to be a critically endangered species.
4) Did you know: Axolotls are neotenic salamanders, which means even as they grow older, Axolotls still look as if they are young.
5) Axolotls can regenerate (which is a fancy word to re-grow) the same limb up to 5 times!!
