Coffee Grove Salamander vs Humpback smooth hound

Aquiloeurycea cafetalera compared with Mustelus whitneyi

Key Differences

• Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable while Humpback smooth hound is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coffee Grove Salamander	Humpback smooth hound
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)
Order	Caudata (Caudata)	Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Family	Plethodontidae	Triakidae
Genus	Aquiloeurycea	Mustelus
Species	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera	Mustelus whitneyi

Evolutionary Relationship

Coffee Grove Salamander and Humpback smooth hound share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Humpback smooth hound

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coffee Grove Salamander	Humpback smooth hound
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.

Humpback smooth hound

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate grasslands and steppes, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 5 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

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

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.