Granular Salamander

The granular salamander, also called ajolote, is a mole salamander found only in a small area of central Mexico near Toluca in the State of Mexico, at about 3,000 meters elevation. It lives in high altitude subtropical grassland, freshwater marshes, and ponds, though its population size has not been documented. It is classified as endangered, threatened by habitat destruction, overharvesting, and the removal of scales from its skin, while its larvae suffer high early mortality from poor nutrition and human caused contamination and habitat degradation.