axolotl

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a critically endangered Mexican salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum, that normally remains aquatic and retains larval features such as external gills as an adult

   The axolotl fanned its feathery external gills as it rested underwater.

Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl axolotl, the indigenous Mexican name often interpreted as 'water monster' and associated with the god Xolotl. Spanish ajolote is a related borrowing. The animal's lifelong retention of larval traits is called neoteny.

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