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The Axolotl of Alchichica

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Lake Alchichica Limnology

Abstract

The amphibian diversity of the six crater lakes of the Cuenca Oriental is restricted to nine species, three salamanders and six frogs. Lake Alchichica contains only one amphibian species, the microendemic paedomorphic axolotl Ambystoma taylori, which is one of the most fascinating examples of speciation recorded on amphibians due to its adaptation to unique water salinity conditions. Two more microendemic species occur in the Oriental basin, a recently discovered plethodontid salamander (Pseudoeurycea sp.), found under unusual conditions, and a frog species (Rana chichicuahutla) known only from two collected specimens. Recent surveys suggest Ambystoma taylori is less abundant today than in the recent past and that they now occur much deeper (>25 m) than previous surveys (12 m). One of the factors associated with the global amphibian decline is the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The analysis on A. taylori from Lake Alchichica and A. velasci from Lake Atexcac samples were negative for B. dendrobatidis. Both lakes, Alchichica and Atexcac are saline, which could be potentially restrictive, preventing the growth of B. dendrobatidis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Delia Basanta for help in the laboratory, Jorge Sánchez Solis, and Angel Soto Pozos for help in the field, Rogelio Villarreal Ramírez for logistics support scuba diving. We thank the police from Tepeyahualco municipality, Puebla, for logistical support for nocturnal divings. PAPIIT UNAM IN205521 to GPO provided partial funding for the field surveys.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Gabriela Parra-Olea, Rafael Alejandro Calzada-Arciniega & Omar Hernández-Ordóñez

  2. Laboratorio de Herpetología Vivario de la FES Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, Mexico

    Víctor H. Jiménez-Arcos

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  1. Gabriela Parra-Olea
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  2. Rafael Alejandro Calzada-Arciniega
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  3. Víctor H. Jiménez-Arcos
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  4. Omar Hernández-Ordóñez
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Correspondence to Gabriela Parra-Olea .

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  1. Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Tlalnepantla, Mexico

    Javier Alcocer

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Parra-Olea, G., Calzada-Arciniega, R.A., Jiménez-Arcos, V.H., Hernández-Ordóñez, O. (2022). The Axolotl of Alchichica. In: Alcocer, J. (eds) Lake Alchichica Limnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79096-7_16

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