From TikTok to McDonald’s Happy Meals, Mexico’s ancient axolotl is everywhere, except where it is supposed to be—in the wild.

In the southern part of Mexico City lies Xochimilco, a maze of canals filled with boats, music, food and tourists. But Xochimilco is more than that. It’s one of the last remnants ...

It is dwindling in the wild because of serious threats to its natural habitat. For decades, researchers have marvelled at how the axolotl can regenerate amputated limbs, damaged body tissue ...

According to Mori, many pink- and white-colored axolotls distributed in Japan and elsewhere have been genetically modified for ornamental purposes. Wild ones are typically dark-colored.

A few canals here are also the last refuge of another species known as the Mexican axolotl. This species is even closer to extinction in the wild – there may be as few as 500 left. Paradoxically ...

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.

All animals that exhibited these signs died within one to five days. Following the introduction in late 1994 of wild axolotls from Lake Xochimilco, our colony had undergone a similar disease ...

From eye to brain—and back Visualizing neural connections allows scientists to map the circuits linking different brain areas. Using viral gene delivery in the axolotl's retina, the scientists ...