Comment by prmoustache
16 hours ago
There were more than 2 lakes but the specy is almost extinct so these areas are where you can still find some.
16 hours ago
There were more than 2 lakes but the specy is almost extinct so these areas are where you can still find some.
Well it's native to the Xochimilco "lake system". Sometimes its hard to say what's a different lake or not but it's the same system of lakes. They also used to be in Lake Chalco which at certain times of the year could connect into the same lake as Xochimilco. Regardless, it's always been a tiny range
My understanding is they were in other mountainous areas as well in central Mexico but their habitat was much more reduced there so they went extinct even faster.
one example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382147531_Chronicle...
This paper is about the closely related Ambystoma velasci. The axolotl is Ambystoma mexicanum.
They are closely related enough that there's some evidence of hybridization but they are separate species. A. velasci is not endangered.
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