Talk:Axolotl
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This species is the star of a short story by Julio Cortázar. "Axolotl," published in 1952 in Spanish, is about a young man who spends a lot of time observing an aquarium full of axolotls at a garden in Paris.
He is a writer and imagines the aquatic salamanders have more intellectual freedom than he does. They have the luxury to sit in their tank all day and ponder. He observes them almost every day and becomes obsessed.
He emphasizes their halted development. They are neither mature land dwellers nor squirmy little tadpoles -- they're between two stages. He also attaches importance to the little design on their heads. I think he describes it as an "Aztec" symbol.
Then the narration shifts dramatically.
I'm not going to spoil what happens but the writer does end up learning that he has no way of understanding how "the other" thinks or lives without experiencing life on the other side of the glass tank. He realizes he has just been projecting ideas onto these creatures that cannot express themselves to prove their observers wrong. As a writer, self-expression is vital to him.
It's a really fascinating story -- in Spanish and English.
There's an English version here: http://www.cis.vt.edu/modernworld/d/axolotl.html
[edit] Lake Chalco & Mudpuppies
According to various internet sources (including Wikipedia itself), [Lake Chalco] no longer exists . "Starting during the Aztec era and continuing into 20th century, efforts were made to drain Lake Chalco and her sister lakes in order to avoid periodic flooding and to provide for expansion. The only of these lakes still in existence is a diminished Lake Xochimilco." Furthermore, since the axolotl is an endangered species native only to Lake Chalco and Lake Xochimilco, I see it somewhat prudent to enter this information into the article on axolotls.
Also, why is the [Mudpuppy] habitat described under Axolotl Habitat? Call me crazy, but it seems a bit nonrelevent. I'll remove this information and place a note about mudpuppies near the article's begining. Hope noone minds too terribly much, but in my opinion it cleans the article up.
I haven't editted on Wikipedia before, so feel free to improve my update. Tlasco Rydrion 23:30, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Pronunciation and photos
How do you pronounce 'axolotl'? Also, does anyone have any photographs of a fully metamorphosed ('adult') axolotl that they could add to the article? 217.34.39.123 09:15, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
- I think it's pronounced "axle-ottle". --Candy-Panda 09:16, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
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- Yes, and I believe it was Groucho Marx who said "I'd rather have an axolotl in front of me than a frontal lobotomy". Or something like that. --CliffC 12:37, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Critically endangered???
Are axolotls really critically endangered? Because if they were I don't think our highschool science class would be allowed to have one as a pet. I mean seriously... --Candy-Panda 07:19, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
- As of recently, I believe, surveys have been unable to find any living in the wild at all. They're still commonly bred in captivity, though. Aaronstj 19:38, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
