Biodiversity

Click over the image of the animal you want to know more about, lets see what you find out!

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

The axolotl is only native to Lake Xochimilco (pronounced SO-chee-MILL-koh) and Lake Chalco in the Valley of Mexico.
Axolotls are long-lived, surviving up to 15 years. They feed on a diet of mollusks, worms, insects larvae, crustaceans, and some fish.

Fun fact:

According to the legend, this “water monster” was a god who disguised himself as a salamander to avoid sacrifice. And it's capable of regenerate its body parts... yes, just like Wolverine!

Tlaloc's leopard frog (Lithobates tlaloci)

Is an endemic amphibian from Mexico City, which still resides in wetlands.

Fun fact

In the mexican folklore the croaking of the frogs is associated with the arrival of the rains and in the paintings amphibians appear dressed in blue as assistants of Tlaloc, the supreme aztec god of the rain.

The great peeping frog (Eleutherodactylus grandis)

Its only habitat is the volcanic spill of Xitle volcano, specifically the "Pedregal de San Ángel", located in the south of Mexico City.
This frog is smaller than a $1 mexican peso coin.

Fun fact:

It's funny that the song of this frog is a whistle. And although it is difficult to find it on a daily basis, those who live near the area can soon know it by sound, very similar to the song of a cricket.
Click here to watch how it sings!

The blue-throated mountaingem (Lampornis clemenciae)

This species is a hummingbird. They are between 4 to 5 inches long, they’re one of the biggest hummingbird species.

Fun fact:

Hummingbirds, in general, are the only group of birds cappable of make a backward flight. Another amazing thing is that they hold together the pieces of their nest using strands of spider silk stolen from spider webs! Can you imagine that your house, or your bed was made with spider webs?

Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

This is a very interesting bird, it uses to mimic other bird’s singing, and even some other sounds, like some machine noises. This is why in the movie “Hunger Games” Katniss uses this characteristic for her revolution.

Fun fact:

This species was inspirational to one of the most famous emperor of the Texcoco city (it is nearby Mexico City), Nezahualcoyotl, “the poet emperor”. He wrote a beautiful poem honoring the mockingbirds. It says something like this:
“I love the singing mockingbird,
the bird of four thousand voices.
I love the jade-green color
and the fading fragrance of flowers; but even more
I love my brother, Man."

American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

This bird likes to change home constantly. They use to migrate, when winter comes they stay in the beach trying to avoid the cold. When the time becomes warmer, some populations come to Mexico City to breed their young!

Fun fact:

This is a big animal. After the California condor, this species has the greater wingspan (the maximum extent across their wings), it can rich 80.3 inches, and can weight 20.5 pounds… this is too much for a bird!
Do you remember Niegel from finding Nemo?

Lizards (genus: Sceloporus)

There is a wide number of species of the genus Sceloporus.There is a wide number of species of the genus Sceloporus. They eat insects, avoiding their populations to grow too much. This is important, because some insects can be dangerous for the humans and others species. Many species of this genus are endemic to Mexico. This means that if you would want to find them you'ld have to come to our country and be very lucky!

Fun fact

Males are disctinctive to female individuals because they use to have a very colorfull and bright belly that they use to atract females to mate. Similar to humans going to the gym to make their muscles to grow! Can you think of another similar example?

Mexican Plateau horned lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare)

This is another endemic species. It's a venomus snake and scientists use its venom to make vaccines that can help people that have been eaten by another rattlesnake, this is called an antivenom.

Fun fact

When it feels threaten, it throws blood through its eyes to supress its predator! Wow! Can you imagine if you could do something like that?

Mexican pigmy rattlesnake (Crotalus ravus)

This species is endemic to Mexico. It feeds of ants, and it doesn't mind if a bunch the ants itch it (have you been itched by an ant? It is very painful!), because it can resist a lot this kind of pain that is caused by the formic acid that ants have.

Fun fact

All the rattlesnakes are important to mexicans becase they are represented in our national flag. The legend says that Aztecs were looking for a signal that their god of war, Huitzilopochtli, would send them. Wherever they found it would be the right place to establish. Aztecs walked and walked, until they found the signal. They saw a golden eagle posed on a nopal (a kind o cactus) devouring a rattlesnake! Can you guess where they found this sign? Right, it was Mexico City! And that's why they founded this enormous city.

Volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi)

This is an endemic species. It is the smallest rabbit species that inhabits Mexico, it is 11.8 inches long. As its name says so, it lives in the volcanoes arround Mexico City. Sadly it is an endangered species, caused for the deforestation and the illegal hunting.

Fun fact

They make sharp sounds when they percieve a pissible threat, so they can notify the members of the colony about it. Do you know some other examples of comunication in the animal kingdom?

Ring-tailed cat (Bassariscus astutus)

It's a lonely animal with night habbits. It's an omnivorous species, it eats insects, fruits, some plants, small rodents, lizards and birds, but in the city they also feed with the people trash...

Fun fact

One could think this animal is related to the cats because of its name and because it looks like one, doesn't it? But it is wrong, this species belongs to the family of the raccoons! Now that you see it's tail, it looks like a raccoon's one, right?

Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

This is a marsupial, yes, just like the kangaroos, and yes, they also carry their young inside a little bag in their belly. But, when the young grow up and they don't fit anymore in it, they use their mom as a bus to take rides, so they can worry about more important things... Like don't fall down!

Fun fact

There is a legend from the mazatecan culture. When humans didn't have the fire, they cold were cold during nights and winters. One day some fire came off from a star and an old lady took it and kept it for herself, when people knew about it, begged her to give them some fire, but she refused. So, a nice opossum offered people to bring them fire if humans promissed to stoped huntign opossums. Humans just laughed at it, but opossum went to the old lady's house and asked her to let him to get close to the fire because it was very cold, and she agreed. When opossum was close enough, put its tail in the fire and ran away to the humans keeping its word of giving them the fire. That's why its tail has no hair.