Collared Worm Salamander vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Oedipina collaris compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

• Collared Worm Salamander is Data Deficient while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Collared Worm Salamander	Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Caudata (Caudata)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Plethodontidae	Fabaceae
Genus	Oedipina	Anthyllis
Species	Oedipina collaris	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

Collared Worm Salamander

DD — Data Deficient

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Collared Worm Salamander	Common Kidney-Vetch
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Collared Worm Salamander

Habitat

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

Common Kidney-Vetch

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Collared Worm Salamander

The Collared Worm Salamander, known scientifically as <em>Oedipina collaris</em>, is a slender, elongated salamander belonging to the family Plethodontidae, the lungless salamanders. <em>Oedipina collaris</em> is characterised by its worm-like body form, extremely elongated trunk with many vertebrae, short limbs, and a long tail — morphological features that adapt the species for a burrowing or semi-fossorial lifestyle. As a plethodontid salamander, <em>Oedipina collaris</em> lacks lungs and respires entirely through its moist skin, making it highly dependent on humid environments. The species inhabits freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands. Detailed biological traits including typical lifespan, body length, and weight are poorly documented for this species in available literature. The Collared Worm Salamander is currently assessed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List, indicating that insufficient information is available to determine its conservation status accurately, and further research on the species' distribution and population trends is required.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Common Kidney-Vetch (<em>Anthyllis vulneraria</em>) is a flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat degradation and agricultural intensification across parts of its range. It is widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (nine countries), North America (Canada and the United States), and Oceania (Australia), occupying six distinct biome types and occurring within the Indomalayan and Oceanian biogeographic realms. The species typically grows in dry, calcareous grasslands, coastal cliffs, sand dunes, and rocky slopes, often favoring nutrient-poor soils. It is an important larval food plant for certain butterfly species, particularly the Small Blue butterfly in Europe, and contributes to soil fertility through nitrogen fixation via root nodules. Its cheerful yellow, orange, or red flower heads make it a recognizable component of chalk and limestone grassland communities. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.