Lake Lerma Salamander

Taxobox
name = Lake Lerma Salamander
status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Lissamphibia
ordo = Caudata
familia = Ambystomatidae
genus = "Ambystoma"
species = "A. lermaense"
binomial = "Ambystoma lermaense"
binomial_authority = (Taylor, 1940)The Lake Lerma Salamander ("Ambystoma lermaense") is an extremely rare neotenic Mole salamander species.

Description

The Lake Lerma Salamander was first described by herpetologist Edward Harrison Taylor from a holotype found east of Toluca in 1940. Its habitat is the Lerma River and Lake Lerma in the Toluca Valley in the central highland of Mexico in an altitude of 2800 - 3000 m asl. Drainage of the marshes destroyed almost the whole Lake Lerma with the consequence that this species became locally extinct in that area. Pollution and the building of dams at the Lerma River in the Almoloya region along the villages Tenango, Santa Maria, Jajalpa and San Pedro as well as domestic consumption lead also to a castastrophic decline of the populations. This species is listed in Appendix II CITES and as Critically endangered in the IUCN redlist due to the lack of information according its occurrence. Despite it was not seen in recent years there is still hope to rediscover this species in other areas of the Toluca Valley.

References

* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is critically endangered