Do Axolotls see color?

[WHSTubaChick]

I frequently feed my Axolotl bloodworms because it's his favorite snack. When he gets hungry he starts mistaking the bottom of my thermometer for a bunch of bloodworms. I find this quite funny because it really does look like them considering the color and all.

I also notice when I get out his food, he can automatically tell I have it in my hands and starts to attack the glass of the tank. This makes me come to the question if an Axolotl can see color. I know these guys are really smart, so maybe they can? What do you all think.

 

[Mercuri]

Perhaps this will help? Pasted from: http://www.eyedesignbook.com/ch3/eyech3-e.html

Amphibians:
Most amphibians, such as frogs and salamanders, have color vision, even though they may be restricted to narrower bands of the visible color spectrum than are humans. There are at least four types of photoreceptors or optical sensors with different chemical composition that allow seeing different amounts of color by amphibians. Since amphibians have been around a long time and have adapted to a variety of environments, their eye configurations vary slightly for different environments. Amphibian eyes contain photoreceptors like those of some fish. Some fish are vulnerable to the changes of light intensity as it varies with water depth. There are some amphibians with nearly-complete 360-degree vision. They have a neural mechanism to contract their pupils, like some species of fish. The following are a few examples of amphibian eyes

Salamanders:
Although salamander’s eyes are considered primitive, they are not necessarily less complicated than eyes of invertebrates. Salamanders range from one inch to 60 inches long. Some salamanders have proportionally large eyes. The photoreceptors of their retinas are larger and fewer than those of many creatures. This means that images seen by a salamander will lack the fine detail many larger creatures can see. Their eyes can be brilliantly colored along with their bodies, indicating specific artistic design integration with their overall unique design.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Our axolotl, Darwin, seems to not see at all. He bumbles around, bumping into the tank glass and other obstacles, and finds his food by smell.

 

[WHSTubaChick]

Many thanks for the information Mercuri.

 

[tyl3r]

Excellent information, Christina, thank you. It seems that in theory they are capable of some form of colour vision and so WHSTubaChick's axy may well be getting confused. However, as Quetzalcoatl suggests, some axys don't seem to do very well at seeing. I'd suggest that some axys are simply much better at seeing than others - perhaps this has been accentuated by the captive inbreeding over the years? [Somebody more knowledgeable might have more on this?] Some axys seem to watch everything and can just about follow an episode of Eastenders whilst other axys feed by sensing the movement or smell of the meal in the water. It's this type of variance that adds to their individual characters I think.

 

[Jake]

Axolotl vision can vary. Some may see the world a bit better than others. It's the same way with people, some have normal vision, some need glasses, and some are blind. They use their sense of smell and the lateral line mainly to detect their prey.

 

[sherrisixxx]

I wish I could buy my Axelina glasses, as her sight is quite bad...little round ones, she would look so cute

 

[grunsven]

And ofcourse some axolotls lack pigments resulting in red eyes. This does not really help ofcourse, its like making a camera from glass, the light comes from all sides not only through the pupil.

 

[Daniel]

Fortunately Axolotls do not have to have good eyesight. As Jacob already said, they mainly use their lateral line system and smell receptors for hunting (and pheromones for mating ).
There even is an "eyeless" mutation, I have seen some of these animals - they do not have any eyes and can live quite well for many years.

 

[AxoBoy]

Re: Do Axolotl's see color?

That's really wierd because when ever I come in to the room with my Axls in it he swim to the front and looks at me for about a minute then looks away. Then when I move across, he swims and looks at me. He even sees me from about a metre away!

 

[anonymousaxolol]

Re: Do Axolotl's see color?

That's really wierd because when ever I come in to the room with my Axls in it he swim to the front and looks at me for about a minute then looks away. Then when I move across, he swims and looks at me. He even sees me from about a metre away!

Mine does the same

 

[leiafee]

Re: Do Axolotl's see color?

I hate to bring up religion in a hobby forum, I really do, but in case anyone missed it, the previously posted website is an advocate of intelligent design rather than evolution. That doesn't automatically mean the plain facts of the anatomy are mis-described, but I would advise doublechecking with other sources to be sure.

There's some substantial extracts from Google books here as one alternative.

 

[Stupot1610]

Re: Do Axolotl's see color?

I hate to bring up religion in a hobby forum, I really do, but in case anyone missed it, the previously posted website is an advocate of intelligent design rather than evolution. That doesn't automatically mean the plain facts of the anatomy are mis-described, but I would advise doublechecking with other sources to be sure.

There's some substantial extracts from Google books here as one alternative.

That's a very good point, and I'd agree with you. But a lot of the information does decent enough.

 

[AxiStack]

Whenever I walk into the room, (or anyone for that matter,) Pisces starts swimming all over the place. It could be that I turn on the overhead light and it scares him, or maybe he gets excited because he thinks he's getting fed. I got a webcam to watch Pisces while I'm away, (I love him so dearly,) the camera has a infrared feature for night vision, and sometimes while I'm pointing it at him he acts crazy like before, and he tries to close his little axolotl eyes. Like, does this mean he can see infrared? I don't know, but it'd be interesting if that was the case.

 

[Ariel]

I believe they do! I have a wild type and she seems to rely on her sight more than smell, and can tell the difference between a red pellet and dark brown pellet before I even put them in the water. She will also respond differently to people (ignore them or attack the sides of the tank) if it is someone who feeds her or not from over 5 feet away. I had a younger albino that didn't survive, and he seemed nearly blind.

 

[AxolotlChris]

I highly doubt Axolotls can differentiate between people, or tell the difference between two different color pellets before they are even in the tank.

Axolotls associate humans with feeding, they more than likely move closer to be fed as they can sense the movement of humans visually as well as the vibration of the movement through the lateral line.

Axolotls with poor vision won't die if they are cared for correctly, unless there is some other reason/condition to cause the death.

Bright lights will startle an Axolotl as they don't have eye lids and have no time to adjust, they are sensitive to light, its like you sleeping in the dark for 8 hours then turning the lights on above you full beam with your eyes open.

 

[Petersgirl]

There also seems to be variation within colours - Linda Adkins mentions in her book that albinos and Golden Albinos 'invariably have poor eyesight.' She does mention that the darker axolotls hide away during the day, but she explains this is more likely to be a biological adaption to prevent predation and increase the chance of catching their own prey. I can also assume that the lighter coloured axxies likely stay out in the slightly stronger light because of their supposed poorer vision if Adkins' assertions are true.

I am not sure if axolotls see colour as we do, simply because they do not need to. Living as they do in the bottom of lakes which are invariably murky, I should imagine they are able to make out only the barest colours, if any at all.

I also agree that there is a behavioural element to axxies that react to humans - they likely associate humans with food. But then the question remains - we sometimes need to do unpleasant chores for the axxies, such as water changes and, in extreme cases, transport and medical treatment. Why do the axxies not have mixed reactions to humans in that case? Is the drive for food that much stronger? They cannot merely 'forget,' as goldfish were once rumoured to do, or the behavioural link between humans and food would not exist. Then again, we must do the same for our dogs and cats, and they seem to extend similar positive bias and, in their case, affection, even when we've hauled them to the vet for their annual jabs.

How weird and wonderful is the animal kingdom!

 

[AxolotlChris]

Not sure if there is any scientific study that prooves what she says, or whether the colours we see today are just from cross breeding creating variations of colours, I've not seen any information regarding original Axolotl colours.

I highly doubt Axolotls realise any treatment they are being given in terms of care, or have any bias toward humans, they are probably only aware of base instincts, discomfort and pain. Like most animals food is the main focus for survival, Axolotls seem to have the ability to recognise repetitive actions which involve feeding.

 

[Petersgirl]

Adkins does not cite any scientific studies for her book (which is 'Keeping Axolotls'), but I have heard she does in fact have a doctorate, presumably in some field relating to amphibians or pond life, as that appears to be her vocation. I assume that she likely picked up the knowledge through study. She does mention that the albino strain does not exist in the wild - likely because they would be easier to see and more likely to be eaten by predators. Adkins also seems to suggest that, as Wilds are more voracious feeders and seemingly more aggressive, they are more likely to out-compete their lighter siblings for food.

The 'original' colour is a tricky subject. We are aware that the 'original' wild colour is likely Wild Type, but I have heard a kind of urban legend that all pet axolotls are descended from the 6 axolotls owned by Auguste Durmeril (1863) - one of these was Leucistic (this had come from Mexico; I do not know if it was wild or captive bred).

I think I was more thinking that, even if they are only aware of base instincts, surely the blurry image they associate with food has also been associated on occasion with discomfort or even pain? If not that, then perhaps fear? Some axxies do seem to freak out a little during tank changes. It's not that I'm trying to anthropomorphise them (I do enough of that with my own) but, I'm just curious from a purely scientific point of view how they see us.

 

[JM29]

They probably can see colours but it may be difficult to figure how they really see.

The following paper is about observations made on larval tiger salamanders, not axies, but it can give an idea. They seem to see some UV.