The copper axolotl is a copper-coloured morph known only from the pet trade. A 2024 study found that it is caused by a fault in the gene Tyrp1.[1]
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Appearance
A copper axolotl has a copper-coloured body, with brownish pigment cells in place of black ones, and it keeps its yellow and shiny pigment cells.[1]
Genetics
The morph is caused by the loss of one letter of DNA in the sixth exon of Tyrp1, a gene related to tyrosinase, which stops the protein early. Animals edited with CRISPR copied the colour. It is recessive.[1]
Popularity
Copper is known only from the pet trade, and according to the stock center it presumably arose by chance in a hobbyist’s aquarium.[1][2] It is now one of the four pigment mutants kept by the stock center.[3]