Coffee Grove Salamander vs Common harp ground beetle

Aquiloeurycea cafetalera compared with Amara communis

Key Differences

• Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable while Common harp ground beetle is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coffee Grove Salamander	Common harp ground beetle
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (arthropodes)
Class	Amphibia (amphibien)	Insecta (insecte)
Order	Caudata (Caudata)	Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family	Plethodontidae	Carabidae
Genus	Aquiloeurycea	Amara
Species	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera	Amara communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Coffee Grove Salamander and Common harp ground beetle share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (animal)

Conservation Status

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Common harp ground beetle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coffee Grove Salamander	Common harp ground beetle
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.

Common harp ground beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Common harp ground beetle

The common harp ground beetle, <em>Amara communis</em>, is an insect belonging to the order Coleoptera, family Carabidae, the ground beetles. This species is distributed across Europe and North America, indicating a wide Holarctic range. Ground beetles of the genus Amara are typically found in a variety of terrestrial habitats including grasslands, agricultural fields, woodland margins, and disturbed areas. Members of this genus are generally omnivorous or seed-feeding, and some are known to consume weed seeds, giving them potential ecological significance in agroecosystems. <em>Amara communis</em> is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, reflecting stable populations across its range. No dietary information has been provided specifically for this species in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.