Key concepts

Non-rival and non-excludable resources: one person's use does not reduce availability for others, and no one can be excluded. Ethereum's infrastructure —protocol, clients, documentation— is treated as a digital public good sustained by a global community.

Ethereum has three dimensions: a decentralized network of nodes, a native asset (ETH), and programmable infrastructure via smart contracts. Since The Merge, its energy consumption dropped ~99.95% by migrating to Proof of Stake.

Internet-native organizations that coordinate people, resources and decisions on top of Ethereum. AxoloDAO follows small-DAO design principles: 7 to 14 members and modular nodes that execute specific functions.

A lightweight on-ramp to Ethereum built on three primitives: ENS for identity, Safe for multisig treasury, and EAS for verifiable attestations. They let you launch an onchain organization in minutes without writing custom contracts.

The axolotl belongs to the genus Ambystoma, a group of amphibians known as mole salamanders. Its common name changes by region —ajolote, axolotl or axolote— and A. mexicanum is the Xochimilco axolotl, endemic to the Valley of Mexico. Mexico is the genus's main center of diversity —home to about half its species— and several, including those cared for at the Biomuseo, are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and protected under Mexico's NOM-059.

Neoteny is the retention of larval traits —feathery external gills and an aquatic life— into adulthood. The axolotl reaches sexual maturity without metamorphosing, unlike other salamanders that leave the water as adults. Governed by thyroid-hormone signaling, this trait is characteristic of neotenic axolotls such as A. mexicanum —not of the whole genus— and is often linked to its remarkable capacity for regeneration.

The axolotl can regrow limbs, parts of its heart and other tissues without scarring. After an injury, cells near the wound reverse part of their specialization toward a stem-cell-like state and form an undifferentiated mass —the blastema— that rebuilds the lost structure. Researchers study these mechanisms as a biological model, but they have not yet translated into therapies for humans.

In an aquarium, axolotl waste releases ammonia (NH₃), which is toxic. Nitrifying bacteria convert it first into nitrite (NO₂), also toxic, and then into nitrate (NO₃), far less harmful. Keeping this cycle stable is essential to specimen health: the Biomuseo aims for ammonia and nitrite near zero and tracks nitrate in every weekly test.

An ethogram is the catalogue of an animal's distinct behaviors —the basis for studying a species systematically. AxoloDAO documents axolotl behavior in an open catalogue that currently holds 37 behaviors across six categories, from breathing to courtship and health signals. Recording each behavior helps spot changes in a specimen's wellbeing early.

Feeding response describes how a specimen reacts when offered food —whether it chases, accepts or refuses it. It is one of the most sensitive behavioral indicators of health, alongside body condition (BCS, a 1–5 visual scale). The Biomuseo logs the food offered and eaten by each axolotl, so a drop in feeding response flags a possible problem before other signs appear.

AxoloDAO is organized as a set of onchain nodes, each with its own identity through an ENS subname under axolodao.eth. So treasury.axolodao.eth is the treasury, zenbit.axolodao.eth the digital infrastructure, xolotlcalli.axolodao.eth conservation, and ndali.axolodao.eth community articulation. ENS subnames give each node and member a verifiable, human-readable identity across the network.

Each Biomuseo tank carries a code based on the species it houses: AA for A. andersoni, AM for A. mexicanum and AD for A. dumerilii. The AM station is a single recirculating water system made of four aquariums (AM1 to AM4) that share one water-quality reading. There is also a Cuarentena (quarantine) tank, where a sick specimen is isolated temporarily away from its home station.

Custody means the Biomuseo holds and cares for each specimen, keeping an open, public registry with its biometry, medical history and feeding plan. When a specimen leaves the active collection —through death, transfer or release— it is recorded as a baja (loss). Losses by death are not hidden: they are kept "in memoriam", with the specimen's last biometry and probable cause, as part of the commitment to transparency.

Xovi (formerly AxoloVision) is AxoloDAO's participation layer over the Xolotlcalli Biomuseo livestream. Viewers can spot axolotl behaviors and submit them as clips; after community validation, each contribution can be recorded on Ethereum through EAS attestations. Members sign in with their Ethereum account (SIWE, "Sign in with Ethereum"). The project is in active development.