Ambystoma bombypellum

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	CAUDATA	AMBYSTOMATIDAE

Scientific Name:

Ambystoma bombypellum

Species Authority:

(Taylor, 1940)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Axolotl
Spanish	–	Ajolote

Synonym/s:

Ambystoma bombypella Taylor, 1940

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Critically Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Brad Shaffer, Oscar Flores-Villela, Gabriela Parra-Olea, David Wake
Reviewer/s:	Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Critically Endangered because its Extent of Occurrence is less than 100 km2 and its Area Of Occupancy is less than 10km2, all individuals are in a single sub-population, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat around San Martin.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known only from the type locality, San Martin, in north-western State of Mexico, at 2,500m asl.
Countries:	Native: Mexico
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	There is no information on the population status of this species.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This is a metamorphosing species spending most of its time on land in a mosaic of natural grasslands and pine-oak forests, living in somewhat more open habitats than Ambystoma amblycephalum. It requires ponds and small streams in which to breed.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The habitat of this species is under threat from agriculture, in particular from commercial wheat farming, leading to the desiccation and pollution of its breeding lakes and water reservoirs within its small range. However, survival of this species appears to be compatible with cattle grazing, particularly if stock ponds are available for breeding. Introduced predatory fish also pose a serious threat to this species.

Major Threat(s):

The habitat of this species is under threat from agriculture, in particular from commercial wheat farming, leading to the desiccation and pollution of its breeding lakes and water reservoirs within its small range. However, survival of this species appears to be compatible with cattle grazing, particularly if stock ponds are available for breeding. Introduced predatory fish also pose a serious threat to this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It does not occur in any protected areas, making the conservation and restoration of the natural habitats for this species urgent. It might be possible to breed this species in captivity, in which case captive animals could be a source of new individuals to repopulate natural habitats. It is protected under the category Pr (Special protection) by the Government of Mexico.

Conservation Actions:

It does not occur in any protected areas, making the conservation and restoration of the natural habitats for this species urgent. It might be possible to breed this species in captivity, in which case captive animals could be a source of new individuals to repopulate natural habitats. It is protected under the category Pr (Special protection) by the Government of Mexico.

Citation:	Brad Shaffer, Oscar Flores-Villela, Gabriela Parra-Olea, David Wake 2004. Ambystoma bombypellum. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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