Big-spotted Cleg vs Chunky False Brook Salamander

Haematopota bigoti compared with Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Key Differences

• Big-spotted Cleg is Endangered while Chunky False Brook Salamander is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big-spotted Cleg	Chunky False Brook Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Caudata (Caudata)
Family	Tabanidae	Plethodontidae
Genus	Haematopota	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Haematopota bigoti	Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Evolutionary Relationship

Big-spotted Cleg and Chunky False Brook Salamander share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Big-spotted Cleg

EN — Endangered

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big-spotted Cleg	Chunky False Brook Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big-spotted Cleg

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Chunky False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

Big-spotted Cleg

The Big-spotted Cleg (Haematopota bigoti) is a species in the genus Haematopota. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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.