With its goggling eyes and signature smiley face, the axolotl became Japan's favorite water creature after it was featured in a TV ad in the 1980s.

But wild axolotls, endemic to a single lake in Mexico, are critically endangered due to degradation of their native wetlands, with only 50 to 1,000 individuals left in the wild.

To help protect the salamander, the National Autonomous University of Mexico launched a campaign asking people to virtually adopt an axolotl or help pay for one of its meals.

The axolotl is a type of salamander. It has a long tail, flat head, and four lizard-like limbs, which it uses to move around the lake floor. But unlike other salamanders, axolotls are neotenic ...

The cartoonish-looking salamanders have faced an uncertain future in the wild. But researchers hope that breeding axolotls in captivity and releasing them in the wild can help their numbers.

Axolotls are famous for their ability to heal themselves, which means if an axolotl loses a leg, or even part of its heart, brain, or lungs, it can regrow them.

A worker shows an axolotl in a hatchery to preserve the species on August 19, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. CREDIT: Eyepix/NurPhoto via Getty Images. NurPhoto A step towards ‘true conservation’ ...

Scientists developing the axolotl as a model for regeneration Highly regenerative salamander could lead to new regenerative medicine therapies Date: June 1, 2022 Source: MDI Biological Laboratory ...

The Axolotl has a 6.66% chance of causing summer plants to remain after being collected. While this ability does sound good, it's only really useful if you've got a lot of summer plants growing in ...