Scientists Have Identified a New Fossil Species of Axolotl in Mexico

Researchers at the Zaragoza School of Advanced Studies (FES Zaragoza) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have identified a new fossil species of axolotl in the state of Hidalgo.

Named Ambystoma quetzalcoatli, it is the first fossil salamander species to be formally described in Mexico and the oldest known record of the genus Ambystoma ever documented in the country. According to the researchers, the discovery provides an important new piece of the puzzle for understanding the origin and evolution of the biodiversity that characterizes modern Mexican fauna.

The fossils were discovered in the municipality of Atotonilco el Grande, in Hidalgo, a region that was once home to an extensive freshwater lake system covering roughly 85 square kilometers. The lakes likely formed when the course of the Amajac River was temporarily blocked. This temperate, subhumid environment has yielded fossils of numerous plants, diatoms, gastropods, ostracods, beetles, and fish....

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