Remarkable Axolotl Coloration

[blueberlin]

Forget your goldies, your coppers, your olives, and even your harlequins. Ladies and gentlemen, with permission from his keeper and photographer, allow me to introduce the most remarkably colored axolotl I've ever seen: the lovely, the charming, the amazing Dickschaedel!

(Isn't he gorgeous?)

-Eva

 

[blueberlin]

P.S.

Just so you know I'm not anking any chains, here he is as a larva.

-Eva

 

[Nathan050793]

That's really neat Eva, thanks for sharing such cool photos!

I remember hearing something somewhere about half and half axolotls- I think it was done in a lab though (I can't remember for the life of me)- was this natural?

 

[blueberlin]

Absolutely. His keeper posted the first pic because Dickschaedel was eating his way through his siblings and she was... concerned... That all worked out in the end - he has sworn off of cannibalism now and is a regular worm kinda guy - but she rewarded us with recent pics.

Dickschaedel's siblings are, obviously, diversely colored but all chose a single color pattern for their entire bodies.

-Eva

 

[Jacquie]

WOW!

He is beautiful!

I love the perfect line straight down the centre - he is amazing.

Thanks for sharing Eva

Cheers Jacq.

 

[IanF]

That would be a great party trick! Just show them the one side then while they're not looking switch it to the other side... might take some practice but I'm sure the results would be good.

 

[AGreenDarkness]

He is beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

 

[roberlonies]

fully awesome bro

 

[inkozana]

I would call him top deck like the chocolate.

 

[antcatcher11]

looks like pirate but more pronounced.

 

[coichards]

So cool. was his mum white and his dad wildtype?

 

[Kaysie]

Parental coloration probably had little to do in this, at least, little more than is usually the case for larval coloration. Chimaerism is rare, but does happen (see the long running thread about Jake's axolotl, Pirate Gary). It's probably a case of two embryos fusing.

 

[blueberlin]

Both of his parents were dark (presumably wild types).

We also suggested the idea of fused embryos. I suppose we'll never know - and it doesn't really matter, does it? Nix on inner values - the main thing is that he looks so cool!

 

[Bellabelloo]

Wow!

 

[freyakuu]

really amazing .....what else to say but, it´s beautiful!!

 

[bobberly1]

Truly unbelievable. Please be careful with it and breed it with various others.

 

[blueberlin]

Truly unbelievable. Please be careful with it and breed it with various others.

That thought is never far away with the ever willingly breeding axolotls, huh? I don't really think, though, that the pattern is an actual genetic trait, but a fluke, ergo not reproducible.

-Eva

 

[Kaysie]

I agree. While it's VERY cool looking, it's probably not a genetically inheritable trait.

 

[John]

That's a chimera. Splice two embryos down the neural crest and combine, et voila.

 

[oneatos]

AMAZING!

I want one!