Chunky False Brook Salamander vs Devil Maple

Aquiloeurycea cephalica compared with Acer diabolicum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chunky False Brook Salamander	Devil Maple
Kingdom	Animalia (동물)	Plantae (식물)
Phylum	Chordata (척삭동물)	Magnoliophyta (피자식물문)
Class	Amphibia (양서류)	Magnoliopsida (목련강)
Order	Caudata (도롱뇽목)	Sapindales (무환자나무목)
Family	Plethodontidae	Sapindaceae
Genus	Aquiloeurycea	Acer
Species	Aquiloeurycea cephalica	Acer diabolicum

Conservation Status

Chunky False Brook Salamander

LC — Least Concern

Devil Maple

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chunky False Brook Salamander	Devil Maple
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chunky False Brook Salamander

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Mexico.

Devil Maple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Chunky False Brook Salamander

The Chunky False Brook Salamander (Aquiloeurycea cephalica) is a Least Concern plethodontid salamander endemic to Mexico, found in cloud forest and humid montane habitats in the Sierra Madre Oriental and related mountain ranges. The genus Aquiloeurycea is a recently erected Mexican endemic genus segregated from the broader genus Pseudoeurycea, comprising several small, robustly built (hence 'chunky') salamanders associated with high-elevation forests. Like all plethodontids, A. cephalica is a lungless salamander that breathes entirely through its moist, vascularized skin and the lining of its mouth. It is a direct developer, skipping the aquatic larval stage entirely and laying eggs in terrestrial microhabitats such as rotting logs, leaf litter, and soil. A. cephalica inhabits cool, humid forests of pine-oak and cloud forest zones in northern Mexico, where it forages for small invertebrates in the leaf litter and soil. The IUCN assesses it as Least Concern due to its reasonably wide distribution within its montane range. Deforestation, cattle grazing, and the conversion of cloud forest to agriculture represent ongoing threats to populations throughout its range.