Coffee Grove Salamander vs Cuetzalan Salamander

Aquiloeurycea cafetalera compared with Aquiloeurycea quetzalanensis

Key Differences

• Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable while Cuetzalan Salamander is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coffee Grove Salamander	Cuetzalan Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (동물)	Animalia (동물)
Phylum same	Chordata (척삭동물)	Chordata (척삭동물)
Class same	Amphibia (양서류)	Amphibia (양서류)
Order same	Caudata (도롱뇽목)	Caudata (도롱뇽목)
Family same	Plethodontidae	Plethodontidae
Genus same	Aquiloeurycea	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera	Aquiloeurycea quetzalanensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Coffee Grove Salamander and Cuetzalan Salamander share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Aquiloeurycea.

Conservation Status

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Cuetzalan Salamander

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coffee Grove Salamander	Cuetzalan Salamander
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.

Cuetzalan 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.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇲🇽 Mexico