Chunky False Brook Salamander vs Ontong Java Flying Fox

Aquiloeurycea cephalica compared with Pteropus howensis

Key Differences

• Chunky False Brook Salamander is Least Concern while Ontong Java Flying Fox is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chunky False Brook Salamander	Ontong Java Flying Fox
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caudata (Caudata)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Plethodontidae	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)
Genus	Aquiloeurycea	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)
Species	Aquiloeurycea cephalica	Pteropus howensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Chunky False Brook Salamander and Ontong Java Flying Fox share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Ontong Java Flying Fox

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chunky False Brook Salamander	Ontong Java Flying Fox
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chunky False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

Ontong Java Flying Fox

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.