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

You might think axolotls don't have a lot going on. These strange amphibians seem to spend their days languidly lolling around muddy waters, only stirring when it's time for snacks – simple creatures with simple needs and simple lives. But there may be more going on in their little heads than their serene smiles suggest. In a unique test of the cognitive abilities of the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), researchers have found that these enigmatic creatures can accurately assess the sizes of passage openings – an indicator of basic quantitative reasoning. But that's not all. Somehow, they retain this skill, even when shrouded in darkness. "It was initially surprising that they could distinguish between openings in complete darkness," animal behaviorists Oxána Bánszegi of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and Péter Szenczi of the National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz told ScienceAlert. "This shows that vision is not always essential for such tasks, especially when it is limited for taxonomic or environmental reasons. "

Axolotls are something of a rockstar in certain scientific circles, admired and studied for their incredible ability to