Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several salamanders of the genus Ambystoma of Mexico and the western United States that do not go through metamorphosis, becoming sexually mature while in an aquatic larval form with external gills.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A urodele or tailed amphibian found in Mexico, which is supposed not to undergo metamorphosis, but to retain its gills throughout life, breeding in the larval state.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) An amphibian of the salamander tribe found in the elevated lakes of Mexico; the siredon.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An amphibian of the salamander tribe found in the elevated lakes of Mexico, Ambystoma mexicanum.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun larval salamander of mountain lakes of Mexico that usually lives without metamorphosing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Nahuatl.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Nahuatl axolotl.

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Examples

  • But this eye is by no means as developed as the organ of vision, for instance, of the water salamander (the triton) or of the so-called axolotl, for it exists only in a kind of embryonic development, and contains neither a vitreous humor nor a lens for the refraction of the rays of light.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 664, September 22,1888 Various

  • Among the world's varied creatures, a Mexican salamander called the axolotl appears best at regrowing whole limbs lost to injury.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • "The axolotl is the champion of vertebrate regeneration, with the ability to replace whole limbs and even parts of its central nervous system," Scott said.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS 2009

  • "The axolotl is the highest, most complex organism that can still do this clever trick of completely reconstructing a whole body part in adulthood," said Arlene Chiu, Ph. D., a scientific adviser for the Regeneration Project and director of New Research Initiatives at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS 2009

  • Limb regeneration in the axolotl occurs when undifferentiated cells accumulate under the wound epidermis at the amputation site, a process known as the establishment of a blastema.

    THE MEDICAL NEWS 2009

  • "The axolotl is the highest, most complex organism that can still do this clever trick of completely reconstructing a whole body part in adulthood," said Arlene Chiu, Ph. D., a scientific adviser for the Regeneration Project and director of New Research Initiatives at Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope.

    Health News from Medical News Today 2009

  • "The axolotl is the champion of vertebrate regeneration, with the ability to replace whole limbs and even parts of its central nervous system," says Edward Scott, Ph. D., principal investigator for the grant and director of the McKnight Brain Institute's program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.

    GEN News Highlights 2009

  • "The axolotl is the champion of vertebrate regeneration, with the ability to replace whole limbs and even parts of its central nervous system," Scott said.

    Health News from Medical News Today 2009

  • The curious "axolotl," which we shall meet with in Mexico, belongs to a closely allied genus.

    The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • Interest in "axolotl" (our personal favorite) all spiked for, we assume, the first time in history.

    Yahoo! Buzz Log 2009

Comments

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  • Anyone who has seen Planet Earth will know that these're all that and a bag of cats' pyjamas.

    August 12, 2008

  • Wow. That is one funky critter!

    August 12, 2008

  • Best. Thing. Ever.

    August 12, 2008

  • I've always wanted a pet axolotl.

    August 12, 2008

  • Approximate view from axolotl-petting range:

    192.png

    193.png

    196.png

    203.png

    204.png

    August 12, 2008

  • Every time I see this word I think of some silly pun based on "ask" vs. "ax" -olotl questions.

    See lot'll.

    August 12, 2008

  • Eesh. I'd rather not be within petting range.

    August 12, 2008

  • My feeble brain always confuses this word with atlatl, although I'll have to admit that neither comes up in conversation very often.

    August 12, 2008

  • I doubt one could use one of these little guys to hurl a spear, though.

    August 12, 2008

  • I saw someone demonstrate an atlatl not too long ago. That rocked. Someday flinging spears with atlatls will be my new hobby.

    August 12, 2008

  • Good grief, bear. Don't you have enough hobbies? ;-)

    August 12, 2008

  • But this one would fit on my list of... uhh... historical ... weaponry... and... uhh... poo.

    August 13, 2008

  • See also axlotl.

    August 13, 2008

  • There's a small but dedicated group of atlatl fanciers here in Fairbanks. The advantage achieved by using one is substantial, but it takes a lot of practice. I got most of my attempts to go forward. Some of my attempts.

    Atlatls were used pretty much all over Alaska. I haven't been able to find an Athabascan or Yupik term for them, but I'm looking...

    August 13, 2008

  • Keep us posted if you find those terms, skip. (I sure wouldn't mind trying one--an atlatl, not a term for it. Oh...well, both.)

    Aww, chained_bear, go ahead and start a new hobby. I'm just jealous. :-)

    August 13, 2008

  • If that doesn't make you thmile,

    I dunno what'll.

    August 14, 2008

  • Nobody commented (yet) on how odd the phrase larval salamander sounds.

    October 15, 2008

  • Larval salamander is an awfully odd phrase, don't you think?

    October 15, 2008

  • You know, Asativum, I was just thinking that!

    October 15, 2008

  • Hey, did anyone notice how odd larval salamander sounds?

    October 15, 2008

  • What I can't figure out is how no one, so far, has commented on the phrase larval salamander. I mean, doesn't that just sound odd?

    October 15, 2008

  • Hmm. Now that you mention it, it does sound rather . . . odd.

    October 16, 2008

  • See Mexico City's 'Water Monster' Nears Extinction for the current sad state of the axolotl in what's left of its native habitat.

    November 3, 2008

  • Axolotl is also one of Julio Cortazar's best known stories.

    English translation of Axolotl

    Note the trademark "crossing over to the alternate reality" Cortazar ending.

    November 3, 2008

  • In Mexico you can watch them waddle

    And think them conjured from a bottle.

    Seeing fish seem to walk

    Can be quite a shock,

    But it's not the booze. It's the axolotl.

    March 3, 2014