When was the axolotl first scientifically described?

The axolotl was first scientifically described in 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin, who included it in a major expansion of Carl Linnaeus’s classification system. Its scientific name, Ambystoma mexicanum, reflects its Mexican origin. Axolotls are famous because they retain juvenile features into adulthood, a phenomenon called neoteny. They have also become one of the best-known animals in regeneration research because they can regrow limbs and other tissues.