Betic Midwife Toad vs Coelacanth

Alytes dickhilleni compared with Latimeria chalumnae

Key Differences

• Betic Midwife Toad is Endangered while Coelacanth is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Betic Midwife Toad	Coelacanth
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)
Order	Anura (Frogs & Toads)	Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanthiformes)
Family	Alytidae	Latimeriidae
Genus	Alytes	Latimeria
Species	Alytes dickhilleni	Latimeria chalumnae

Evolutionary Relationship

Betic Midwife Toad and Coelacanth share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Betic Midwife Toad

EN — Endangered

Coelacanth

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Betic Midwife Toad	Coelacanth
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	100 years
Average Length	—	1.8 m
Average Weight	—	80.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Betic Midwife Toad

Habitat

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

Coelacanth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Betic Midwife Toad

The Betic Midwife Toad (Alytes dickhilleni) is a species in the genus Alytes. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Coelacanth

A living fossil thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered off South Africa in 1938, coelacanths can reach 2 meters and 90 kg. They belong to an ancient lobe-finned lineage more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fish, making them scientifically invaluable for understanding vertebrate evolution. Found in deep rocky reef habitats of the Indian Ocean, they are nocturnal and undergo internal fertilization, giving birth to fully formed live young. Critically Endangered.