True, axolotls sometimes made their way into Aztec meals (they are fatty and rich in protein) and medicine (they are said to make a good cough syrup), but broadly they thrived. This changed with ...

In Aztec legend, the desperate rebel god Xolotl ... declining to give his surname but showing off a small axolotl tattoo on his arm. “I’m marked for life.” ...

Sponsor Message Aside from bringing joy on the internet, axolotls play a major role in improving water quality. They have also been a cherished species in Mexico since the Aztec civilization.

Legend has it the axolotl was not always an amphibian. Long before it became Mexico’s most beloved salamander and efforts to ...

A figure of an axolotl sits on display at a museum in Xochimilco Ecological Park, in Mexico City (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) From ...

The creatures are associated with Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lightning, who is said to have turned into an axolotl when trying to escape his death. Today, axolotls’ ability to regrow ...

The axolotl, Zambrano said, thrived in this environment, and quickly became a staple of the Aztec diet. But then the Spaniards arrived and, in the 1600s, decided to drain the lake, leaving Mexico ...

One of the world's most endangered amphibians - the strange, perpetually smiling Mexican axolotl - has thrived ... to call the axoltol an icon. Aztec legend has it that the creature is a god ...

So this was really big," she said. Axolotls — named for the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl — are native to the lakes of Mexico's capital. But their colorful, whimsical looks have won ...