Chunky False Brook Salamander vs Voi cycad

Aquiloeurycea cephalica compared with Encephalartos kisambo

Key Differences

• Chunky False Brook Salamander is Least Concern while Voi cycad is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chunky False Brook Salamander	Voi cycad
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Tracheophyta
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Cycadopsida (Cycadopsida)
Order	Caudata (Caudata)	Cycadales (Cycadales)
Family	Plethodontidae	Zamiaceae
Genus	Aquiloeurycea	Encephalartos
Species	Aquiloeurycea cephalica	Encephalartos kisambo

Conservation Status

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Voi cycad

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chunky False Brook Salamander	Voi cycad
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.

Voi cycad

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

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.