This system of agriculture created canals that were shallow and sheltered, and where the axolotl population thrived. When the ...

And that creature came to be known as the axolotl. In ancient Aztec tongue, the name 'Axolotl' translates to "water monster," and just as their name suggests, these creatures live their entire ...

Monaghan notes that the axolotl is "entrenched in Mexican culture. It's named after an Aztec god, Xolotl." So how did an amphibian found in one lake outside Mexico City take the world by storm?

Legend has it that their namesake — the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl — disguised himself as a salamander to avoid sacrifice. The axolotl is so culturally revered in Mexico that the ...