Bell's False Brook Salamander vs Cofre de Perote Salamander

Isthmura bellii compared with Isthmura naucampatepetl

Key Differences

• Bell's False Brook Salamander is Least Concern while Cofre de Perote Salamander is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bell's False Brook Salamander	Cofre de Perote Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order same	Caudata (Caudata)	Caudata (Caudata)
Family same	Plethodontidae	Plethodontidae
Genus same	Isthmura	Isthmura
Species	Isthmura bellii	Isthmura naucampatepetl

Evolutionary Relationship

Bell's False Brook Salamander and Cofre de Perote Salamander share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Isthmura.

Conservation Status

Bell's False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Cofre de Perote Salamander

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bell's False Brook Salamander	Cofre de Perote Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bell's False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

Cofre de Perote Salamander

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Nearctic and Neotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

Bell's False Brook Salamander

The Bell's False Brook Salamander (Isthmura bellii) is a species in the genus Isthmura. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Cofre de Perote Salamander

The Cofre de Perote Salamander (Isthmura naucampatepetl) is a critically endangered lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae, known only from a single extinct volcanic peak—Cofre de Perote (Nauhcampatépetl) in the Mexican state of Veracruz. As a plethodontid, it relies entirely on cutaneous respiration through its moist skin, making it acutely dependent on cool, humid montane cloud forest conditions at high elevations. The species is associated with the pine-oak and cloud forest zones near the summit of Cofre de Perote, an isolated habitat island rising above the surrounding lowlands of Veracruz state. Such extreme topographic restriction means the entire species occupies an area of a few square kilometres, making it one of the most geographically limited vertebrates in North America. It is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN due to its extremely small and severely fragmented range, ongoing habitat degradation from agricultural encroachment, logging, and reforestation with non-native pine species, and the probable future impacts of climate change on cloud forest at high elevation. Population size estimates are very uncertain, but field surveys have found the species to be extremely rare. No captive breeding programmes are currently known to exist for this taxon.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇲🇽 Mexico