Common Name: Taylor’s Salamander
Scientific Name: Ambystoma taylori
Family: Ambystomatidae – Mole Salamander Family
Location: Mexico
Size: 2.3 – 4.4 inches (5.8 – 11.1 cm)
The Taylor’s Salamander is a neotenic salamander, found only in Laguna Alchichica, a crater lack, in Puebla, Mexico. These salamanders are fully aquatic and retain their larval characteristics such as gills, for their entire life.
The lake has very high salinity, at levels that would kill any other salamander species, but not the this salamander. It is somehow able to tolerate it.
The Taylor’s Salamander faces difficulties in Laguna Alchichica. The water from the lake is being extracted for irrigation and drinking. The levels of the water is decreasing and the quality of the water is decreasing. This is why they are listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
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