Cliff Mining Bee vs Coloma’s Glassfrog

Andrena thoracica compared with Nymphargus colomai

Key Differences

• Cliff Mining Bee is Extinct while Coloma’s Glassfrog is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cliff Mining Bee	Coloma’s Glassfrog
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)	Anura (Frogs & Toads)
Family	Andrenidae	Centrolenidae
Genus	Andrena	Nymphargus
Species	Andrena thoracica	Nymphargus colomai

Evolutionary Relationship

Cliff Mining Bee and Coloma’s Glassfrog share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cliff Mining Bee

EX — Extinct

Coloma’s Glassfrog

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cliff Mining Bee	Coloma’s Glassfrog
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cliff Mining Bee

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

Coloma’s Glassfrog

Habitat

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

Cliff Mining Bee

The Cliff Mining Bee, Andrena species in the family Andrenidae, is a solitary ground-nesting bee that excavates tunnels in cliff faces, earthen banks, and compacted sandy or loamy soils, where the loose or friable substrates exposed in cliff profiles provide ideal nesting conditions. Mining bees in the genus Andrena are among the most species-rich solitary bee genera in the world, with hundreds of species across the Holarctic region, many narrowly specialized in their choice of pollen host plants. Female cliff mining bees construct vertical or angled burrows in cliff faces, with lateral cells off the main shaft, each containing a pollen ball and a single egg. Males are typically smaller and emerge before females to establish territories near nesting sites. Many Andrena species are oligolectic, collecting pollen from only a small number of plant species, making their populations sensitive to the availability of specific flowering plants in the landscape surrounding nesting areas. Cliff and bank nesting habitats provide well-drained, sun-warmed substrates essential for brood development. The loss of natural cliff faces and earthen banks to development, vegetation succession, and quarrying reduces available nesting habitat for cliff mining bees.

Coloma’s Glassfrog

<em>Nymphargus colomai</em>, commonly known as Coloma's Glassfrog, is an amphibian species belonging to the genus <em>Nymphargus</em> within the family Centrolenidae. Glassfrogs are named for their translucent ventral skin, through which internal organs are visible, a trait characteristic of this family. This species is classified as Endangered, indicating a high risk of extinction if current conditions and threats persist within its range. It inhabits freshwater-associated environments, moist forests, and wetland habitats typical of neotropical regions, where glassfrogs are typically found on vegetation near fast-flowing streams. Specific country-level distributional records are not detailed in current documentation. The reproductive biology of glassfrogs involves egg deposition on vegetation overhanging water, with hatching tadpoles dropping into streams below. Dietary information specific to this species has not been documented, though centrolenid frogs generally consume small invertebrates. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Threats facing <em>Nymphargus colomai</em> include deforestation, stream degradation, and the chytrid fungal disease affecting amphibians globally.