Axolotl: The amphibian that never grows up | Amazing Animals

Adulting? Never heard of her. Meet the axolotl, or Mexican salamander, the amphibian that never grows up. Unlike other salamanders, axolotls are neotenic. This describes an organism that keeps its juvenile characteristics into adulthood. Axolotls keep their feathery gills, fins and tails, rather than metamorphosing into a land-dwelling adult like most amphibians. Wild Mexican salamanders are found in only two lakes near Mexico City, and are considered critically endangered, with pollution and invasive predators driving the species' decline. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that only 50 to 1,000 mature adults remain in the wild. They are famously known for their ability to regenerate parts of their body, including their limbs, heart tissue and bits of their brain. Axolotls can even mobilise stem cells, cells that can pretty much form into any cell necessary, to repair an injured spinal cord. And axolotls don't stop with the regeneration of their own body parts. Scientists have found that all kinds of organs can be transplanted between axolotls without rejection by the recipient body's immune system. In 1968, researchers showed that they could even transplant the head of one axolotl to another axolotl, and it functioned normally. These abilities make axolotls attractive model organisms for scientists. They have contributed to huge swaths of research in regenerative biology, especially for medical applications. For more amazing animals, don't forget to like and subscribe!