African Oak vs Coffee Grove Salamander

Quercus afares compared with Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African Oak	Coffee Grove Salamander
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Fagales (Beeches & Oaks)	Caudata (Caudata)
Family	Fagaceae (Beech Family)	Plethodontidae
Genus	Quercus (Oaks)	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Quercus afares	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Conservation Status

African Oak

VU — Vulnerable

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African Oak	Coffee Grove Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African Oak

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Coffee Grove Salamander

Habitat

Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Range

Found in Mexico. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African Oak

The African Oak (Quercus afares) is a species in the genus Quercus. It is currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Coffee Grove Salamander

The Coffee Grove Salamander (Aquiloeurycea cafetalera) is a small, fully terrestrial plethodontid salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the cloud forests and coffee agroforestry zones of the Sierra de Juárez in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Like all plethodontid salamanders, it is lungless, relying entirely on cutaneous gas exchange through its moist skin, making it exquisitely sensitive to desiccation and temperature changes. Adults are slender, with a reddish-brown dorsum and light-coloured venter, typically measuring 5–8 centimetres in total length. The species inhabits cool, humid cloud forest floor environments and the leaf litter and bark of shade-grown coffee plantations at elevations approximately between 1,500 and 2,500 metres—an association that gives it its common name. The presence of this salamander in coffee agroforestry systems highlights the biodiversity value of traditional shade-grown cultivation compared to sun-grown monocultures. The Coffee Grove Salamander is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to its restricted distribution, estimated extent of occurrence below 5,000 square kilometres, and ongoing threats from habitat loss through deforestation, conversion to sun-grown coffee cultivation, and climate-driven changes to cloud forest conditions. No ex situ conservation programmes are known to be in place.