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 \u2013 simple creatures with simple needs and simple lives.<\/p>\n
“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 regenerate lost or damaged body parts \u2013 including entire limbs.By comparison, not much at all is known about what goes on in their frilly little noggins.<\/p>\n
Since it has been documented that some amphibians, such as salamanders, frogs, and even tadpoles, can discriminate among quantities, we expected that axolotls would exhibit similar abilities,” they said.But there’s a problem when it comes to axolotls.”Previous studies with other species have almost all relied on the animals’ vision,” the researchers explained.”Those studies were developed for species with relatively good vision that actively search for their food and sometimes encounter situations in which they must choose between prey or social groups.”<\/p>\n
The axolotl could access the other half of the tank through either hole \u2013 each was large enough to comfortably accommodate passage \u2013 but one was larger than the other.<\/p>\n
And an exceptionally clear pattern<\/strong> emerged.<\/p>\n