Elefante de Sabana vs Cofre de Perote Salamander

Loxodonta africana compared with Isthmura naucampatepetl

Key Differences

• Elefante de Sabana is Vulnerable while Cofre de Perote Salamander is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Elefante de Sabana	Cofre de Perote Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Caudata (Urodela)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Plethodontidae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Isthmura
Species	Loxodonta africana	Isthmura naucampatepetl

Evolutionary Relationship

Elefante de Sabana and Cofre de Perote Salamander share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (cordados)

Conservation Status

Elefante de Sabana

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Cofre de Perote Salamander

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Elefante de Sabana	Cofre de Perote Salamander
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Elefante de Sabana

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 Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Cofre de Perote Salamander

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Nearctic and Neotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

Elefante de Sabana

El elefante africano, el animal terrestre más grande de la Tierra, puede alcanzar 7.000 kg y habita sabanas, bosques y humedales del África subsahariana. Con estructuras sociales complejas lideradas por matriarcas, se comunica mediante infrasonidos, rugidos y contacto físico. Como ingeniero del ecosistema, modela su hábitat arrancando árboles, excavando aguadas y dispersando semillas. Está catalogado como Vulnerable, con poblaciones en declive por la caza furtiva de marfil y la pérdida de hábitat.

Cofre de Perote Salamander

The Cofre de Perote Salamander (Isthmura naucampatepetl) is a critically endangered lungless salamander in the family Plethodontidae, known only from a single extinct volcanic peak—Cofre de Perote (Nauhcampatépetl) in the Mexican state of Veracruz. As a plethodontid, it relies entirely on cutaneous respiration through its moist skin, making it acutely dependent on cool, humid montane cloud forest conditions at high elevations. The species is associated with the pine-oak and cloud forest zones near the summit of Cofre de Perote, an isolated habitat island rising above the surrounding lowlands of Veracruz state. Such extreme topographic restriction means the entire species occupies an area of a few square kilometres, making it one of the most geographically limited vertebrates in North America. It is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN due to its extremely small and severely fragmented range, ongoing habitat degradation from agricultural encroachment, logging, and reforestation with non-native pine species, and the probable future impacts of climate change on cloud forest at high elevation. Population size estimates are very uncertain, but field surveys have found the species to be extremely rare. No captive breeding programmes are currently known to exist for this taxon.