What’s the difference between a newt and an axolotl?

A newt is a salamander but not all salamanders are newts.

There are 9 different families of salamanders and the family Salimandridae contains all of the various newt species.

The axolotl is a member of the family Ambystomatidae, which includes many different types of mole salamander.

To lean more:

Zhang P, Wake DB. 2009. Higher-level salamander relationships and divergence dates inferred from complete mitochondrial genomes. Mol Phylogenet Evol 53: 492–508.

Maden M. Axolotl/newt. 2008. Methods Mol Biol. 461:467-80.

Fun Facts

What determines whether an axolotl will grow up to be male or female?

Axolotls have genetic sex-determination - a locus on an axolotl chromosome determines whether an axolotl is male or female.

In salamanders, the sex determining mechanism is referred to as ZZ/ZW and the heterogametic sex is female.

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