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STORY: This is Mexico’s legendary axolotl salamander

an amphibian with the ability to heal itself

The critically endangered animal is the focus

of a new museum and conservation center

at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Zoo

(Fernando Gual, Head of Wildlife Conservation, Chapultepec Zoo)

"They are one of the few animals that can regenerate their skin, muscles, bones, blood vessels, nerves, heart, brain… This has attracted the attention of human beings and these mechanisms have been studied because one day, through these genomic techniques, we will be able to use these characteristics.”

Axolotls can breathe with lungs and gills

and absorb oxygen through their skin

This makes them particularly vulnerable to polluted water

There are more than a dozen kinds of axolotls in Mexico

and their legendary status extends back to Aztec times