Asiatic elephant vs Coffee Grove Salamander

Elephas maximus compared with Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Key Differences

• Asiatic elephant is Endangered while Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asiatic elephant	Coffee Grove Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Amphibia (Anfíbios)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Caudata (caudados)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Plethodontidae
Genus	Elephas (Asian Elephants)	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Elephas maximus	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Evolutionary Relationship

Asiatic elephant and Coffee Grove Salamander share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (cordados)

Conservation Status

Asiatic elephant

EN — Endangered

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asiatic elephant	Coffee Grove Salamander
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	60 years	—
Average Length	5.5 m	—
Average Weight	4.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asiatic elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 9 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its 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.

Asiatic elephant

O elefante-asiático (Elephas maximus) é um dos maiores animais terrestres existentes, distribuído pelo sul e sudeste da Ásia. Seu estado de conservação é em perigo (EN) devido principalmente à perda de habitat e à caça ilegal, e tem grande importância cultural e religiosa em muitas culturas asiáticas.

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.