ver-gris du trèfle vs Coffee Grove Salamander

Anarta trifolii compared with Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Key Differences

• ver-gris du trèfle is Least Concern while Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	ver-gris du trèfle	Coffee Grove Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Arthropoda (arthropodes)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (insecte)	Amphibia (amphibien)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Caudata (Caudata)
Family	Noctuidae	Plethodontidae
Genus	Anarta	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Anarta trifolii	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Evolutionary Relationship

ver-gris du trèfle and Coffee Grove Salamander share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (animal)

Conservation Status

ver-gris du trèfle

LC — Least Concern

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	ver-gris du trèfle	Coffee Grove Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

ver-gris du trèfle

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Cabo Verde), Asia (Yemen), Europe (4 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

ver-gris du trèfle

The clover cutworm (Anarta trifolii) is a noctuid moth in the family Noctuidae, order Lepidoptera, with a wide distribution spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. The species has a characteristic cutworm larva that severs plant stems near the soil surface or feeds on leaves and developing seeds, causing significant damage to crops. Primary host plants include clover (Trifolium), alfalfa, beet, and various other broadleaf crops and weeds, making A. trifolii an agricultural pest of moderate to significant importance in affected regions. Adults are brownish-grey moths with subtle wing patterns typical of the noctuidae family, and like most noctuids, they are nocturnal and attracted to light sources. The species is highly mobile, with adults capable of long-distance migration that enables rapid colonization of new agricultural areas. A. trifolii inhabits a broad range of open habitats including agricultural fields, meadows, steppes, and disturbed grasslands across its extensive range. Its polyphagous larval diet and migratory adult behavior contribute to its wide geographic range spanning multiple continents. In Europe, it is found from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia; in North America it occurs in both Canada and the United States. A. trifolii is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with populations considered stable and the species benefiting from the widespread availability of agricultural host plants. Natural enemies include parasitoid wasps and tachinid flies, along with pathogens including nuclear polyhedrosis viruses used in biological control.

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.