Coffee Grove Salamander vs

Aquiloeurycea cafetalera compared with Hapalosiphon luteolus

Key Differences

Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coffee Grove Salamander
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Cyanobacteriia
Order	Caudata (Caudata)	Cyanobacteriales
Family	Plethodontidae	Hapalosiphonaceae
Genus	Aquiloeurycea	Hapalosiphon
Species	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera	Hapalosiphon luteolus

Conservation Status

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coffee Grove Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coffee Grove Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

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

Habitat

Native to Asia, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

Coffee Grove Salamander

The Coffee Grove Salamander (Aquiloeurycea cafetalera) is a small, fully terrestrial plethodontid salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the cloud forests and coffee agroforestry zones of the Sierra de Juárez in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Like all plethodontid salamanders, it is lungless, relying entirely on cutaneous gas exchange through its moist skin, making it exquisitely sensitive to desiccation and temperature changes. Adults are slender, with a reddish-brown dorsum and light-coloured venter, typically measuring 5–8 centimetres in total length. The species inhabits cool, humid cloud forest floor environments and the leaf litter and bark of shade-grown coffee plantations at elevations approximately between 1,500 and 2,500 metres—an association that gives it its common name. The presence of this salamander in coffee agroforestry systems highlights the biodiversity value of traditional shade-grown cultivation compared to sun-grown monocultures. The Coffee Grove Salamander is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to its restricted distribution, estimated extent of occurrence below 5,000 square kilometres, and ongoing threats from habitat loss through deforestation, conversion to sun-grown coffee cultivation, and climate-driven changes to cloud forest conditions. No ex situ conservation programmes are known to be in place.

Hapalosiphon luteolus is a filamentous, branching cyanobacterium found in freshwater habitats, damp soil, and moist terrestrial environments including peat bogs and wetland margins. It produces a yellowish pigmentation and forms heterocysts capable of nitrogen fixation. This species contributes to nitrogen cycling in wetland and semi-aquatic ecosystems where it forms part of benthic microbial communities.