Bastard Catclaw vs Chunky False Brook Salamander

Microgramma lycopodioides compared with Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Key Differences

• Bastard Catclaw is Not Evaluated while Chunky False Brook Salamander is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bastard Catclaw	Chunky False Brook Salamander
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Caudata (Caudata)
Family	Polypodiaceae	Plethodontidae
Genus	Microgramma	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Microgramma lycopodioides	Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Conservation Status

Bastard Catclaw

NE — Not Evaluated

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bastard Catclaw	Chunky False Brook Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bastard Catclaw

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba.

Chunky False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

Bastard Catclaw

The Bastard Catclaw (Microgramma lycopodioides) is a species in the genus Microgramma. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies. Its range includes Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba.

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.