Brown Flat-body vs Chunky False Brook Salamander

Depressaria badiella compared with Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Brown Flat-body Chunky False Brook Salamander
Kingdom same Animalia (Animals) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Chordata (Chordates)
Class Insecta (Insects) Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths) Caudata (Caudata)
Family Depressariidae Plethodontidae
Genus Depressaria Aquiloeurycea
Species Depressaria badiella Aquiloeurycea cephalica

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Flat-body and Chunky False Brook Salamander share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brown Flat-body

LC — Least Concern

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Brown Flat-body Chunky False Brook Salamander
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Chunky False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

Brown Flat-body

The Brown Flat-body (Depressaria badiella) is a species in the genus Depressaria. It is currently classified as Least Concern 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.

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