Lake Patzcuaro salamander: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Lake Patzcuaro salamander lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ambystoma dumerilii
Group	Salamanders, newts & caecilians
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	North America
Class	Amphibian
Order	Caudata
Family	Ambystomatidae

Where does the Lake Patzcuaro salamander live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Lake Patzcuaro salamander in 1 country or territory across North America.

Mexico

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Lake Patzcuaro salamander endangered?

The Lake Patzcuaro salamander’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Lake Patzcuaro salamander?

The Lake Patzcuaro salamander (Ambystoma dumerilii) is an amphibian in the order Caudata and the family Ambystomatidae, genus Ambystoma. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Lake Patzcuaro salamander

The Lake Patzcuaro salamander, locally known as achoque (Ambystoma dumerilii), is a paedomorphic species of salamander found exclusively in Lake Pátzcuaro, a high-altitude lake in the Mexican state of Michoacán. First described in 1870 by Alfredo Dugès, the species is named in honor of the French herpetologist Auguste Duméril. However, the salamander has been used as a food source and an ingredient in traditional medicines by the Purépecha people since the Pre-Columbian era. Ambystoma dumerilii are neotenic, meaning they retain their larval characteristics throughout their entire life. This results in adults that have long, heavily filamented external gills, gill slits lined with tooth-like gill rakers, and caudal fins. When stressed, Ambystoma dumerilii can undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, though this is process significantly decreases their lifespan and is often fatal.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Lake Patzcuaro salamander (revision 1334181697), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1054971 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).