My Biblical Walk: AMAZING AXOLOTLS

I thought this was quite an appropriate verse for my animal of the week as it seems a rather strange verse but explains to me why we have such unusual creatures like the Axolotl. The Axolotl is not a freak of nature as evolution scientists would have you believe, but that God intended for this creature to exist, which to me the verse above confirms. Below I have explained why I think this is.

The Axolotl is actually a Tiger Salamander that has not undergone metamorphosis. The Axolotl suffers with a thyroid problem that prevents metamorphosis, due to a lack of iodine.This is something known as "Neotony" (retention of juvenile features as an adult and or ability to reproduce in larval stage)this can happen in a number of species.

There is now only one place known where Axolotls are found in the wild, Lake Xochimilco in Mexico and they are now on the critically endangered list and under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Their population has reduced greatly due to water pollution and introduction of fish that kill the Axolotl. They are now really only found in captivity.

I first became aware of Axolotls when I started working in Animal Care at the college. I had never seen one before and was fascinated to hear about their background. Over the years I have researched in some detail the Axolotl and marvel at the diverse creatures the Lord has blessed us with.At the college we have an albino one (pictured below), but when I first started we had a brown one with gold speckles. They can also be pink with black eyes and grey. Our college Axolotl does not have a name and is around 9-10 years old. They are known to live up to 15 years.

AXOLOTL - FROM MEXICO

In Genesis 1 it confirms that marine creatures were created on day 5 but creeping creatures on the land were created on day 6. Salamanders are amphibians and as they are vertebrates (backbone), then they would have been created on day 6. As it was kinds created on day 6 and the Axolotl is a salmander then they did not exist as a separate species or kind.

The link below discusses how Adam named the various creatures, but they have concluded that this did not include amphibians or marine creatures. This is something that I want to research more closely so I can understand how amphibians and marine creatures got their names.

https://creation.com/how-could-adam-have-named-all-the-animals-in-a-single-day

I do believe that God works in wonderous and mysterious ways and although it may appear the Axolotl is a genetic mistake due to a thyroid issue, God intended it to be this way. This to help aid the survival of the salamander in waters that lack iodine and neotony has its uses. Axolotls have been specifically used in tests around limb regeneration and have helped to further sciencitific investigation in this area. It has also been shown that some Axolotls injected with iodine do actually then undergo the metamorphic cycle to and become a fully formed salamander.

Axolotls reproduce in larval form, which is quite unusual but this does help for their continuation. As John 1:3 says "was not anything made, that was made".

I could spend a very long time going in to lots of detail about them as they are a creature that not many people are aware of but then it would be a very long article😵. If you would like to know more you can go to the following links.