#ahuitzotl

Ahuitzotl from Aztec/Mayan mythology.

In one rendition, the Ahuitzotl emerges as the guardian of lakes, tasked with safeguarding the resident fish. Alternatively, other versions depict it as an envoy sent by the deities Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue to gather the souls of favored mortals. The close association with water gods meant that those claimed by the Ahuitzotl were believed to be destined for the paradise of the god Tlaloc.

Legend has it that the Ahuitzotl would immerse itself in a lake or stream, emitting cries resembling those of a distressed child or frightened woman. A compassionate passerby, drawn to the sounds, would approach the water only to fall prey to the creature's lethal tail-hand. The Ahuitzotl would proceed to extract the victim's eyes, nails, and teeth, consuming them before discarding the lifeless body on the riverbank, where it would resume its eerie wailing.

In cases where a person was suspected of falling victim to an Ahuitzotl, only priests were permitted to handle the body. The prescribed burial involved placing the deceased in a house surrounded by water, known as "ayauhcalco." Legend warned that if a layman touched the body, they would either become the next target of the Ahuitzotl or face the affliction of gout.

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Pic credit: FICTIONRULEZFOREVER WIKI

Considering I haven't answered any today yet, no, it is NOT friendo!

Alright Em because you’re apparently the one that I unload Aztec monsters on Today You Learned about the ahuitzotl.

Meaning “spiny aquatic thing” in Nahuatl, the ahuitzotl is a mythological creature associated with water. It’s about the size of a small dog, it likes to swim, and when it gets out of the water its fur gets all spiky-looking. It’s unclear if the fur turns into actual spikes, or if it’s just the way that it looks. Also, they have a hand on their tails.

[Wikipedia suggests it was based off of the water opossum with its prehensile tail, but I don’t know any hard facts on that.]

They are not friendly, however! They are vicious little bastards. They don’t use that hand to do high fives, they use it to grab people who are by the water’s edge and drag them down. It drowns its victims (who then go to Tlalocan, the realm of the rain god Tlaloc and all who die by drowning, which is by all accounts a sweet place but ANYWAY) and eats their nails, teeth, and eyes. The bodies of those killed by ahuitzotls were considered unclean and you were not to touch them.

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Cryptid of the Day: Ahuitzotl

Ahuitzotl, a mythological “water dog,” if you will. Key point is it had a hand on the end of its tail used to drag things under the water. It was a lot of fun brainstorming how this might work with or without being too literal about the hand. As an enemy in a game, a hand could do some really fun combo moves, but I thought it would have much more functionality if it could handle like a blunt melee weapon as well.