Axolotls Have a Surprisingly Clever Ability, Even in Complete Darkness : ScienceAlert (opens in a new tab)

sciencealert.com · 2026-10-15

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Axolotls Have a Surprisingly Clever Ability, Even in Complete Darkness : ScienceAlert

sciencealert.com · 2026-10-15

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Size discrimination in the Mexican axolotl: evidence for quantitative abilities in an understudied amphibian

Animal Behaviour · 2026

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Claim 1 of 4Not checkedResearchers found that Mexican axolotls can accurately assess the sizes of passage openings, an indicator of basic quantitative reasoning.View evidenceHide evidence

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Claim 2 of 4Not checkedThe axolotls retained this ability even when tested in complete darkness.View evidenceHide evidence

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Claim 3 of 4Not checkedIn the experiment, 24 juvenile axolotls were given pairs of holes, and the 22 active animals all showed a statistically significant preference for the larger doorway.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated24 juvenile axolotls; 22 included in analysis

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Claim 4 of 4Not checkedThe article says the findings do not demonstrate that axolotls can count or have secret mathematical reasoning, only that they can discriminate between spatial quantities in a way useful for navigation.View evidenceHide evidence

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