A newly identified ancient relative of the Mexican axolotl is giving scientists a rare window into the deep history of one of the world’s most unusual amphibians.
Discovered in sediments north of Mexico City, the salamander was so distinctive that researchers gave it a name linked to one of Mexico’s most important mythological figures, Quetzalcóatl.
According to Phys.org, researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico identified the previously unknown fossil salamander species in Hidalgo, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Mexico City. Their findings were published in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.
The species was named Ambystoma quetzalcoatli in honor of Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec feathered serpent deity.
The fossils came from Pliocene sediments in what was once an ancient lake. Scientists prepared the specimens and compared them with skeletons and computed tomography scans of living Mexican species to determine where the fossils belonged.
Their analysis showed that this ancient animal was neotenic, meaning it retained larval characteristics into adulthood, much like the modern Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), which is known for its tadpole-like adult form and its ability to regenerate limbs and tails.
But the fossil species also had a skull unlike those of other ambystomatid salamanders, making it distinct enough to be classified as a new species.
It is Mexico’s first named fossil salamander species and the country’s oldest salamander record so far.
Finding an ancient relative with a similarly youthful body plan suggests that this unusual lifestyle has deeper roots than scientists previously understood. Each new fossil species gives scientists another data point for understanding how species change over time and how ecosystems once functioned.
According to researcher Jorge A. Herrera-Flores, they also found evidence that the species can co-exist with two species of frogs.
As Herrera-Flores noted for Phys.org, “This new discovery demonstrates that the current biodiversity of Mexico has a long history, considering that in the region where the new fossil salamander was found, were also discovered several new species of fossil plants, insects and microvertebrates such as freshwater fishes, anurans and serpents.”
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