Mexican ‘water monster’ salamander battles extinction

Dubbed the “water monster” by the Aztecs, the axolotl salamander is battling extinction in the remnants of Mexico City’s ancient lake, alarming scientists hoping mankind learns from its ability to regenerate organs. The creature, whose colors vary from milky white to black and olive green, has survived in the Xochimilco canals since most of the lake was drained over the centuries following the Spanish conquest. But the weight of the sprawling megacity of 20 million is taking its toll on a species that can also resist cancer and reproduce complex brain tissue. Researchers have studied the salamander’s cells in the hopes of grasping how to regenerate organs and body parts of people suffering from malformations or accidents. Just 30 centimetres long, the “Mexican walking fish” is a carnivore with six pink and feathery external gills that remains in larval form throughout its life. With eyes that never shut due to a lack of lids, it also never morphs into adult form even though it can live up to 20 years in captivity and six years in the wild. According to Aztec mythology, the salamander is the last reincarnation of the god of fire, Xolotl, who took that form after refusing to sacrifice himself with other deities to launch the age of the Fifth Sun, the era of the creation of mankind.

Science