Indiana University in
Bloomington has an axolotl colony in their
biology department. The IU Axolotl Colony breeds normal and unusual varieties of axolotls and ships
embryos,
larvae, and adult
salamanders out to labs and schools across the United States.
The unusual varieties bred in the colony include black (melanistic) ones, albino ones, and even eyeless ones, which researchers say don't miss out on much, since normal axolotls have poor vision and mostly rely on their sense of smell to find food and mates.
Axolotls are of interest to researchers partly because of their neoteny. But they've been used in more current biomedical research because they have the ability to regenerate missing limbs and can even regenerate portions of their central nervous systems. In addition to regeneration studies, axolotls are favored for a variety of other types of research because they are large, docile and easy to care for.
All wild axolotl populations are endangered because of water pollution and human encroachment on their habitat.
For more information, visit: http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl/