Silly Axolotls
Colour Variations
As you may not know, there is a large variety of axolotl colours, other than the basic wildtype, leucistic, albino and golden albino.
So let's take a look at them! We'll begin with the basics, then go onto the special colours, and finish on the rare and almost unobtainable.
Wildtype
A wildtype axolotl is a combination of green, brown and black, with speckles of shiny gold iridophore pigments. They vary somewhat in colour, some lighter or darker. It is called the wildtype, because it is the natural colour of axolotls that appear in the wild. A wildtype axolotl tends to darken with age, and can end up looking almost black.
A wildtype is distinguishable from a melanoid by the presence of iridiphires, or shiny pigments. Gold shiny flecks, as well as shiny rings in the eyes mean it is a wildtype, if there are no eye rings or shiny pigments, it is melanistic.
Leucistic
A leucistic axolotl is pink or white, with black eyes, and sometimes with black spots over the face and upper back. Leucistic are not albinos, as they have black eyes, and freckles of black pigment, some darker than others.
Plenty of leucistics have dark pigment on their face, and some along the crest of their back. This is different to a piebald.
White Albino
A white albino axolotl is completely white, with pinky/red pale eyes. They differ from leucistic in the eyes, and genotype of course. They lack any colour pigment across their body. Their gills appear pink because they are clear, and the blood-flow is visible. An inactive albino's gills may often look quite white.
The white albino comes in two forms, known only as white and axanthic.
White albinos have iridophores, the shiny pigment, in their eyes and gill branches. The axanthic albino lacks melanophores (black pigment), xanthophores (yellow and reddish pigment) and iridiphores (shiny pigment).
The difference in white and axanthic albinism tends to come down to the genetics.
There are also albino melanoids. The combination of albinism and melanism removes all pigments, except for a xanthophores along the back.
I don't personally know how to tell the difference, as albinos are hard to come by in New Zealand.
The above picture is of Randall, who belongs to Siana, tumblr user Circleofwitchess and her blog can be found here.
The below picture is Albus, who belongs to Embry, tumblr user Embryhallowed, and her blog can be found here.
Golden Albino
The golden albino lacks melanophores, which is what gives it the gold appearance. They, like albinos, cannot have black eyes, as they are a form of albinism. Their eyes are pale, and either yellow or red, sometimes hard to see. They are a brighter, more vibrant yellow when they are younger, and tend to become a less vibrant yellow as they age. The yellow tinge can vary, and some golden albinos can be quite pale compared to others. Some goldens also have heavy iridiphore pigmentation, white, shiny patches, which are mistaken as fish-typical fungus by those inexperienced in axolotls.
Melanoid
A melanoid axolotl looks a lot like a wildtype, but there are some significant differences. A melanoid has an increased amount of melanophores, or dark pigment, and lack shiny pigments. This lack of shine means they don't have golden flecks through their bodies like a wildtype, and if you shine a light in their eyes, they do not have a reflective ring in them. Melanoids tend to look darker than wildtypes, but often, are easily mistaken. The axolotl on the left is a melanoid, while the one on the right is a wildtype.
Special Types
Copper/Olive
Coppers are more popular in some countries than others, such as Germany and Australia. The copper genetic details are widely unknown, so getting one in breeding is difficult to figure out. Copper is a variety of albino, as they have red-tinted eyes and lay white eggs. They are often a light browny, pinky colour with darker brown spots. Coppers don't have any black pigments, melanophores.
Rare and Almost Unobtainable
Piebald
Piebald is when an axolotls pigmentation goes all down the body and sides, not just along the head and top, like a leucistic. Many heavily-spotted leucistic are mistaken for piebald, but this is not usually true. The axolotl in the picture does not have much side pigmentation, but it wouldn't be unusual for it to go all down the sides. A piebald is normally significantly darker, and thicker in black spots, than a spotty-leucistic.
Piebald is genetically inheritable, compared to chimerism and mosaicism, which is a genetic accident which occurs while forming.
Axolotls with piebald included in their genetics are somewhat common in New Zealand, so there are many very dirty-faced leucistics, but actual piebalds are rarer.
Chimera
Chimerism is when two eggs fuse together in development, and each side grows according to the egg it came from, often resulting in a split-down-the-middle appearance. One side can often grow at a slightly slower rate than the other.
Chimera cannot be duplified in breeding, it is caused by an accident during development.
Mosaic
Mosaicism is the result of two cells forming in development, and the axolotl comes out showing the phenotype of both cells. Like a chimera, but not an even split down the middle.
The top axolotl (mine) has a wildtype base, but shows white/yellow splotches, and has some pink gill feathers in amongst the brown ones.
Mosaicism cannot be reproduced through breeding, as it is an accident that occurs during development. Many mosaics are infertile, as they are the joining of two cells, however, this one is a male, but eggs he contributes to have a low success rate.
The second image is of a mosaic belonging to instagrams Krispencu. Instagram account is here. It seems to be a wildtype mixed with a golden albino.
Silver Dalmation
Not much is known about these. They are believed to be very light melanoids.
Enigma
This axolotl is beautiful. Also probably one of a kind. It was bred by the owners of theaxolotl.net, that is all the information I have.