Axolotls are aquatic salamanders. They owe their cartoon-like look to the fact that their metamorphosis from the larval to adult stage doesn’t complete. Instead, they maintain traits from both stages. What results, is a creature that looks half fish / half lizard. Axolotls have external gills and finned tails. They can swim and walk, but they spend their entire lives in water. On rare occasions, an axolotl will metamorphose into a land salamander, dropping its gills and growing lungs to survive.
The native habitat of axolotls is in the rivers of the rainforest in Mexico, but there are very few left in the wild. Most axolotls are now found as pets, on dinner plates (some people eat them in Mexico) and in laboratories.