Few animals unsettle the usual rules of biology quite like the axolotl. Lose a leg, and it grows back, complete with bone, muscle, nerves and skin, with no visible scar. Lose part of a jaw, a section ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. This frilly-gilled amphibian never leaves its tadpole stage ...

Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are a critically endangered species of salamander. The species has only one natural habitat remaining, a series of canals in Mexico City, and only 50 to 1,000 axolotls ...

This pink, permanently smiling creature might look like something out of a cartoon, but it is very real. Known as the axolotl ...

With a silly smile and frilly gills, the axolotl has wriggled its way into the hearts of millions, becoming a popular aquarium pet and pop culture icon in video games, children’s books and toy stores.

You may have seen axolotls—an amphibian in the salamander family with a permanent smile and pink, feathery gills—in a pet store or as a plushie in a window, but the endearing animal's popularity seems ...

MEXICO CITY — Legend has it the axolotl was not always an amphibian. Long before it became Mexico’s most beloved salamander and efforts to prevent its extinction flourished, it was a sneaky god. “It’s ...

XOCHIMILCO, Mexico—A homely aquatic salamander with a cartoonish smile and the ability to regenerate lost body parts has become a global phenomenon, appearing as characters in Minecraft, Fortnite and ...

FILE - An Axolotl swims in a tank at the Chapultepec Zoo, in Mexico City, Sept. 27, 2008. Ecologists from Mexico's National Autonomous University relaunched a fundraising campaign Friday, Nov. 24, ...

While Camden's Adventure Aquarium has had the amphibians on display for years, this is the Philadelphia Zoo's first time housing the animals. Axolotls are native to Mexico City and live exclusively in ...