Discovered in 1929 by F. Ritter, in Rayones, Nuevo León, Mexico, this genus was thought to be monotypic (with Aztekium ritteri) until a second species (Aztekium hintonii) was discovered by George S. Hinton, in Galeana, Nuevo León in 1991.

[3] Aztekium ritteri is a plant that is around 20 mm wide, with 9 to 11 ribs, which typically have transverse wrinkles.

[citation needed] This genus is found only in the state of Nuevo León in Mexico.

that there were in the order of tens of millions of plants of A. hintonii, and at present most of its range is pristine.

[citation needed] These species grow extremely slowly, taking around two years to attain a diameter of 3 mm.