arctic threadwort vs Chunky False Brook Salamander

Cephaloziella varians compared with Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	arctic threadwort	Chunky False Brook Salamander
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Jungermanniopsida (Jungermanniopsida)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Jungermanniales (Jungermanniales)	Caudata (Caudata)
Family	Cephaloziellaceae	Plethodontidae
Genus	Cephaloziella	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Cephaloziella varians	Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Conservation Status

arctic threadwort

LC — Least Concern

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	arctic threadwort	Chunky False Brook Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

arctic threadwort

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Chunky False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

arctic threadwort

The Arctic threadwort (Cephaloziella varians) is a species in the genus Cephaloziella. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Chunky False Brook Salamander

The Chunky False Brook Salamander (Aquiloeurycea cephalica) is a Least Concern plethodontid salamander endemic to Mexico, found in cloud forest and humid montane habitats in the Sierra Madre Oriental and related mountain ranges. The genus Aquiloeurycea is a recently erected Mexican endemic genus segregated from the broader genus Pseudoeurycea, comprising several small, robustly built (hence 'chunky') salamanders associated with high-elevation forests. Like all plethodontids, A. cephalica is a lungless salamander that breathes entirely through its moist, vascularized skin and the lining of its mouth. It is a direct developer, skipping the aquatic larval stage entirely and laying eggs in terrestrial microhabitats such as rotting logs, leaf litter, and soil. A. cephalica inhabits cool, humid forests of pine-oak and cloud forest zones in northern Mexico, where it forages for small invertebrates in the leaf litter and soil. The IUCN assesses it as Least Concern due to its reasonably wide distribution within its montane range. Deforestation, cattle grazing, and the conversion of cloud forest to agriculture represent ongoing threats to populations throughout its range.