Undoubtedly, axolotls would be one of the cutest and most adorable pets you can own. Maybe, the cutesy looks with those artistic gills make the axolotls a strong contender for the loveliest exotic pet ever.
These tiny aquatic amphibians are getting quite popular among pet lovers around the world in recent years. Due to the introduction of Yolanda Buenaventura in the popular show BoJack Horseman, the species got even more attention.
However, the biggest reason for such attention would be the mind-boggling color variations, and that’s what we would be discussing in detail today.
So, sit tight, grab a cup of coffee, and continue.
How Many Types of Axolotls Are Available?
There is no definite or fixed amount of color variations for this marvelous creature.
In the wild, you can typically find brown or tanned axolotls with some golden specks, sometimes with a greenish undertone. Sadly, the number of axolotls living in a wild environment is getting scarcer over time. In fact, in 2010, they were considered almost extinct!
The color variation is the result of intelligent genetic engineering, and most of them are created in a lab condition. As a result, we can now see many mutant types or morphs.
Even the mutant morphs are getting quite common these days due to higher demand among the pet owners. You can find unique or uncommon color and even some extremely rare color variations.
Why Do Axolotls Have Such a Wide Variety of Colors?
So, what causes such variation among different types of axolotls? To answer that, you have to dig a bit deeper into genetics.
The pigment cells called chromatophores determine the color of an axolotl. There are mainly three types of chromatophores causing different color pigmentation –
- Melanophores – Contains Eumelanin causing a black or brown pigmentation
- Xanthophores – Contains Carotenoids and Pteridines causing a yellow and red pigmentation
- Iridophores – Contains Crystalized Purines causing a shiny soap-bubble type of pigmentation (Iridescence)
Each of the pigment cells or chromatophores contains 28 chromosomes (14 pairs), each coming from a mother and a father. With clever crossover activity, different and exotic axolotl color types can be created.
That’s why we can see such rare varieties of axolotl mutant these days.
Types of Axolotl: Let’s Discover the Most Lucrative Color Variations!
You already know that axolotls are critically endangered species. So, getting your hands on the rarest of the colors would not be an easy task to do. But you could always try.
Rather than talking about different character traits, we would focus on only color types today.
Let’s break down the color varieties or in this case, the morphs into three categories –
- Basic morphs with common colors
- Special morphs with uncommon colors, and
- Rare morphs with extremely uncommon (often unobtainable) colors
Basic Morphs
The basic morphs have quite common and popular color options. Apart from the wild ones, the four major mutant morphs would fall into this classification.
The common mutant morphs are:
- Leucistic – Pale white or pinkish
- Albino – White or golden
- Axanthic – Gray or silver
- Melanoid – Solid black or dark gray
1. Wild Type
A wild type axolotl is mostly found in nature. Typically, it has a darkish shade with shiny golden specks all over the body. The dark tone in the base color of the body is a combination of green, brown, and black. Such color helps the wild axolotls to maintain their camouflage under the water, keeping them safe from the predators.
The main difference between this morph and the melanoid (which is also dark) is the presence of the shiny dots or specks all over the body. The shiny color of the specks is caused by the pigment cells called iridophores.
With age, a wild type axolotl will turn darker, looking almost like a melanoid. You can only differentiate them with a melanoid by checking the shiny golden ring in the eyes.
2. Leucistic or Lucy
The pink axolotl, Yolanda Buenaventura in the BoJack Horseman, is a leucistic axolotl. They have a color combination of pink and white. Typically, the body has a whiter shade while the gills are baby pink. One might simply confuse them with a white albino axolotl.
So, how can you differentiate them from their albino variations?
Just check the eye color; if it’s black, you can call an axolotl leucistic. If it’s clear or red, it’s an albino.
Leucistic axolotls are the most popular morph among the pet owners. The sweet baby pink color certainly attracts a lot of people’s attention.
3. Dirty Leucistic Axolotl or Dirty Lucy or Speckled Leucistic
Well, the name itself is quite self-explanatory. A lot of leucistic variations have black spots or freckles in their head and back, giving it a dirty appearance. Thus comes the name dirty Lucy axolotl.
However, the spots may increase or decrease with time. If you keep it in clean water with no or less predator, the spots will start to disappear. The freckles or dots help them maintain a camouflage to remain safe against threats.
4. White Albino or Axolotl White
An axolotl white looks almost exactly like a Lucy. As you know by now, they have clear or red axolotl eyes that make them different from others. Sometimes, it’s just simply called a white axolotl.
If you see an ad saying white axolotl for sale, you are very lucky as they are rarer than the Lucies. Just make sure to check the eyes for verification.
5. Golden Axolotls or Golden Albino Axolotls
This albino variation comes with a golden yellowish body. The gills can sometimes have the same color as the body. Otherwise, it’s red, or sometimes pink. They typically have red eyes but sometimes have transparent eyes too.
The axolotl golden albino can have random shiny stripes or dots all over the body. Such color combination is heavily influenced by the iridophores.
A golden axolotl, when born, can be completely white just like a white albino but turns golden over time. You have to wait to see how they turn out to be.
6. Melanoid or Black Axolotl or Axolotl Melanoid
This morph is very similar to the wildtype variations. However, they don’t have any specks or dots of different color. A black melanoid axolotl can even be completely pitch black. The high quantity of melanophores makes an axolotl black.
A melanoid axolotl lacks the number of shiny pigments, making it different from others.
Uncommon and Special Morphs
There are certain morphs that were genetically engineered to make it look more mysterious and striking. Among them, breeds that can glow in the dark are becoming more popular.
Check out these two special morphs that are getting really popular among the pet owners.
1. GFP or Axolotl Green
Have you ever seen an axolotl glow in the dark? Or maybe a green axolotl that looks significantly different from others?
Well, they are quite special and uncommon as they are designed mostly in the lab conditions. The main purpose was to create a solution for cancer and regeneration.
A special protein in their genome structure called GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) is responsible for creating the glow in the dark axolotl.
The fluorescent glows in vibrant green in the UV or black-lighting. However, you shouldn’t make the innocent animal remain in the UV light too often as it feels uncomfortable in such light.
You should remember one thing – the GFP is not a different morph. The glow axolotl is created by inducing GFP in regular breeds. For example, you can find GFP leucistic axolotl or GFP wild type axolotl from the breeders.
Yes, a leucistic axolotl glow in the dark too!
2. Copper Axolotl
Another special morph is the copper axolotl. Although, it is a special type of albino. Rather than turning into white or golden, they become tannish and eventually copper. You can mostly find them in countries like Australia, Germany, and the US.
There are three types of Copper axolotls –
- Copper
- Light Copper
- Het Copper
There can be some dark spot on their bodies, but they don’t have melanophores or black pigments. It’s a terrific axolotl color to have.
However, there is the rarest breed called copper melanoid axolotl, but you would be extremely lucky if you can get one.
Rare Morphs
So far, the morphs that we have talked about are somewhat available. The good news is you can get a rare morph, but you might have to spend more money.
But the ones we would be talking about now are the very, very rare. You can call them almost unobtainable. Typically, people would simply label them as rare axolotl morphs.
1. Chimera Axolotl
Have you ever heard the name of the mythic creature Chimera from the Greek mythology? The monster had a lion’s head, a goat’s head coming out from the back, and a venomous snake in the tail.
It sounds like three animals infused into one body. In genetics, the term chimerism almost resembles the monster from mythology. When two or more sets of genotypes form a single cell, the phenomenon is called chimerism.
The same can be said about this axolotl! In this case, two eggs infuse together in the embryo and create a split in the middle. For example, think of an axolotl with one half being albino and another half melanoid.
However, the chance of a chimera being born and surviving is about 0.00001%!
2. Piebald Axolotl
Do you remember the dirty Lucy morph from earlier? Piebald is much like a dirty Lucy but has significant differences.
While a dirty Lucy has black specks in the head and top, a Piebald has black pigmentation all over the body. The spots are also thicker, bolder and darker.
3. Mosaic Axolotl
Mosaic is also again a result of two cell DNA forming into one. This seems very similar to the chimera morph, but it is completely different. While in a chimera the embryo splits in half, in a mosaic morph each cell displays phenotypes of both cells coming from both parents.
You must remember that the mosaicism is not a natural development and you cannot breed such morph. It is a natural accident causing rare axolotl colors.
Think of it as a combination of wildtype and leucistic morph while colors are scrambled throughout the whole body.
4. Silver Dalmatian
Silver Dalmatian morph is even rarer than the three morphs discussed in this section. Some even call it lavender as the color of this axolotl is somewhere between purple and lavender. Apart from that, it has unique specks all over the body, which looks almost similar to the dalmatian dogs.
Hence, comes the name Silver Dalmatian. However, there isn’t much information available about this morph as this is one of the rarest ones out there and can only be found in some places within the US.
5. Enigma
It is truly a one of a kind axolotl as till now we have found only one axolotl in the world with such magnificent color combination. The base of the body is black with greenish color patterns all over the body.
6. FireFly
Another one of a kind and the rarest of all the axolotl types! There are only less than a dozen of this morph in the world, created by Lloyd Strohl II. He used embryonic graphing to create such marvels.
You might even see an axolotl with a dark body having a lighter tail or vice versa. This particular trait makes this morph so special. A few even have dark bodies with GFT tails that glow in the dark! You can check out his works on his Facebook profile.
Final Thoughts
So, that was all about axolotl color and their types. They are the true definition of exotic pets. As they are very playful, you would have a fantastic time playing with it. If you want one for yourself, you could contact the breeders in your area.
So, how can you get in touch with them? Just type in axolotl breeder near me in your search engine, and you will find breeders who can help you own one!
