Axolotl morph
Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
Homozygous recessive at the Dark locus (d/d). White to pale pink body with dark (black) eyes. The signature feature distinguishing leucistic from albino. Melanophores fail to migrate into the skin during development but melanin synthesis is intact, so eyes retain dark pigmentation. Many leucistic axolotls develop scattered dark freckles or spots on the head, gills, and dorsal crest with age. Heavily freckled individuals are sometimes marketed as "Piebald" in the hobby (720/mo searches), but this is variable expression of the same d/d genotype, not a distinct gene or morph. External gills are pale pink. The most popular and recognizable axolotl morph, sometimes called "Lucy" in the hobby. Genotype: d/d A/- M/- Ax/- Cu/-.
The Dark locus controls melanophore migration and differentiation during embryonic development. Wild type (D/-) allows normal melanophore distribution across the body. Homozygous recessive (d/d) results in the leucistic phenotype: melanophores fail to migrate from the neural crest into the skin, producing a white or pale pink animal with dark eyes. Leucistic axolotls retain the ability to synthesize melanin (unlike albinos) and commonly develop scattered dark freckles or patches on the head, gills, and dorsal crest as they mature. The d/d phenotype is the most popular and recognizable axolotl color morph in the pet trade.
How to identify it: Leucistic (d/d): White to pale pink body with dark (black) eyes. External gills are pale pink from visible blood vessels. Dark freckles/spots may develop on head and gills with age. Distinguished from albino by dark eye color. Wild type carriers (D/d) are visually indistinguishable from D/D.
Leucistic follows a recessive inheritance pattern, carried on the Dark / White (Leucistic) allele (locus Dark).
Because Leucistic is recessive, an animal needs two copies of the allele to show the trait visually. An animal with a single copy is called het leucistic (heterozygous). A het animal looks normal but carries the gene, so pairing two het leucistic animals produces, on average, one in four visual leucistic offspring.
Firefly
Leucistic (d/d) combined with GFP transgene. A white-bodied axolotl that fluoresces bright green under UV or blue light. The pale leucistic body provides maximum contrast for the green fluorescence, making this one of the most visually dramatic axolotl morphs. Note on naming: The term "Firefly" was originally coined by Lloyd Strohl II in 2016 for embryonic graft chimeras (dark body with GFP-leucistic tail), which are NOT genetically heritable. In common hobby usage, "Firefly" has broadened to describe any leucistic + GFP axolotl. This combo_morph entry represents the heritable leucistic + GFP genotype, not the chimeric graft.
White Albino
Double homozygous recessive for both the Dark/Leucistic locus (d/d) and the Albino locus (a/a). The leucistic gene prevents melanophore migration into the skin, and the albino gene eliminates melanin synthesis entirely. The result is a pure white to pale pink animal with pink/red eyes. No dark pigment anywhere, including the eyes. This is the key difference from a standard leucistic (which has dark eyes). White Albino is extremely common in the pet trade because breeders frequently cross leucistic and albino lines, and many "pink" or "white" axolotls sold in pet stores are actually White Albinos rather than pure leucistics.
ReptiDex keeps morph, lineage, and pairing records for your whole collection, on iOS and the web.
Get started free