As most people around this forum already know thanks to the educational value and information content of this forums, domestic axolotls are the result of an hybridisation event as well as pretty intense selective breeding. In short, what exists in captivity is a domestic population which is not representative of the actual wild species, which incidentally is going, or might already be, extinct.
It is an unfortunate fact that while the knowledge of these facts about the domestic populations is widespread, it is not acknowledged in the same way as it is with other, similar cases. In the hobby there are many examples of domestic populations or hybrid populations, or both which receive distinctive names to separate and identify them from the wild or parental populations. This is, of course very useful. It's how language works, we use labels to identify distinctive things and this allows us to discriminate them from other, similar things.
I've long wondered why it is that domestic axolotls don't have their own name. Everybody refers to them as axolotls, exactly the same label as the wild species even though you may almost certainly be talking about an hybrid individual. It's rather strange considering that, as i said before, this doesn't happen in many other cases.
This is why i would like to propose a contest! A contest for the new name for domestic axolotls, one that acknowledges that they are an independent population, with their unique genetic history in captivity. Typically, in this hobby, the names of such populations are given by individuals who make certain crosses. They "create" the hybrid and they name it. Everyone else simply adopts the new label and it becomes part of the language among hobbyists. We, however, have the chance to elect the name that we like best as a collective and the largest caudate community there is.
If you like the idea and would like to submit your own label of choice, please do so here. If this proposal gains popularity and many choices are proposed we will later on have a thread were we can vote and elect our own label! It can be anything you like!
It is an unfortunate fact that while the knowledge of these facts about the domestic populations is widespread, it is not acknowledged in the same way as it is with other, similar cases. In the hobby there are many examples of domestic populations or hybrid populations, or both which receive distinctive names to separate and identify them from the wild or parental populations. This is, of course very useful. It's how language works, we use labels to identify distinctive things and this allows us to discriminate them from other, similar things.
I've long wondered why it is that domestic axolotls don't have their own name. Everybody refers to them as axolotls, exactly the same label as the wild species even though you may almost certainly be talking about an hybrid individual. It's rather strange considering that, as i said before, this doesn't happen in many other cases.
This is why i would like to propose a contest! A contest for the new name for domestic axolotls, one that acknowledges that they are an independent population, with their unique genetic history in captivity. Typically, in this hobby, the names of such populations are given by individuals who make certain crosses. They "create" the hybrid and they name it. Everyone else simply adopts the new label and it becomes part of the language among hobbyists. We, however, have the chance to elect the name that we like best as a collective and the largest caudate community there is.
If you like the idea and would like to submit your own label of choice, please do so here. If this proposal gains popularity and many choices are proposed we will later on have a thread were we can vote and elect our own label! It can be anything you like!
