By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
April 17, 2020 at 10:00 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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With its goggling eyes and signature smiley face, the axolotl became Japan's favorite water creature after it was featured in a TV ad in the 1980s.
At iZoo, a facility in Kawazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, which is devoted to reptiles and amphibians, visitors can interact with the creatures. Kept in a small pond with a depth of about 15 centimeters, axolotls are particularly popular among children and their guardians--even though they are basically sedentary.
A close look reveals what appear to be frills protruding from both sides of the face, swinging in water.
"These are gills," said Yu Mori, head of the reptile department. “They are used for branchial respiration, even after it grows into an adult.”
The axolotl is a member of a family of newts, salamanders and other amphibians. But instead of switching to lung breathing, it keeps its gills and enters adulthood while it still appears to be a tadpole of some sort.
It also has a regenerative ability. Its limbs and gills will grow back within several weeks if they are severed.
According to Mori, many pink- and white-colored axolotls distributed in Japan and elsewhere have been genetically modified for ornamental purposes. Wild ones are typically dark-colored.
The axolotl is also called the Mexican salamander. In its country of origin, Mexico, the axolotl population has decreased due to environmental contamination, land reclamation and other factors.
An international treaty called the Washington Convention regulates the cross-border trade of wild axolotls.
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