Brindled Flat-body vs Coffee Grove Salamander

Agonopterix arenella compared with Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Key Differences

• Brindled Flat-body is Least Concern while Coffee Grove Salamander is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brindled Flat-body	Coffee Grove Salamander
Kingdom same	Animalia (动物界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Arthropoda (节肢动物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Insecta (昆蟲綱)	Amphibia (两栖动物)
Order	Lepidoptera (鱗翅目)	Caudata (有尾目)
Family	Depressariidae	Plethodontidae
Genus	Agonopterix	Aquiloeurycea
Species	Agonopterix arenella	Aquiloeurycea cafetalera

Evolutionary Relationship

Brindled Flat-body and Coffee Grove Salamander share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (动物界)

Conservation Status

Brindled Flat-body

LC — Least Concern

Coffee Grove Salamander

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brindled Flat-body	Coffee Grove Salamander
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brindled Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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.

Brindled Flat-body

The Brindled Flat-body (Agonopterix arenella) is a species in the genus Agonopterix. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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.