○○○
frill ⪢⪢
The axolotl isn't just a frilly salamander with a half smile and a blank stare.
16125
○○○
gill ⪢⪢
The gills are reddish-purple from the blood cells, pulsing through them, pulling oxygen directly from the water.
16130
○○○
gulp ⪢⪢
But if that doesn't work, like if there is not enough oxygen in the water, the axolotl has a backup, fully functional lungs. It can use to gulp air from the surface. These organs are evolutionary leftovers from when its ancestors lived on land.
16131
○○○
hang on ⪢⪢
Even as it grows up to a foot in length, it hangs on to its larval lifestyle.
16129
○○○
harness ⪢⪢
Harnessing this healing ability for humans would be a breakthrough.
16132
○○○
morph ⪢⪢
It's named after an Aztec God who escaped death by morphing this amphibian shape.
16126
○○○
remnant ⪢⪢
Here, in the remnants of their ancestral home, only a few hundreds are left.
16135
○○○
shed ⪢⪢
In time, many salamanders shed these features, develop lungs and crawl onto land.
16128
○○○
tadpole ⪢⪢
It grows into a tadpole, a larva with gills and a flattened fin-shaped tail.
16127
○○○
vertebrate ⪢⪢
And that's amazing for a vertebrate, an animal with a backbone like us.
16137
-
