Skip to content

Common Splayfoot Salamander

Chiropterotriton chiropterus

About

Contrary to its common name, the common splayfoot salamander has undergone a recent, catastrophic population decline and has not been seen since the 1980s.

This once abundant species is endemic to Mexico and is found in bromeliads and moss in cloud forests at 1,000 to 1,200 metres above sea level. Strikingly, they have tails that are longer than their body.

This species is part of the Plethodontidae, the largest salamander family, comprising almost two thirds of all known species. They are thought to have diverged from all other amphibian species over 100 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous. They are as distantly related to all other amphibian lineages as humans are to elephants, and emerged when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth!

The main threat to this Critically Endangered species is the deforestation of its cloud forest habitat. The species has not been found in any degraded habitats so maintenance of its pristine habitat is important for its survival. This species is protected by Mexican law under the “Special Protection” category.

  • Order: Caudata
  • Family: Plethodontidae
  • Population: Possibly extinct
  • Trend: decreasing

EDGE Score

EDGE Score: 6.09 (?)
ED Score: 26.47 (?)
GE / IUCN Red List (?)
Not Evaluated Data Deficient Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in the Wild Extinct

Distribution

This species is endemic Mexico, and is only known from central Veracruz, Mexico, at 1,000-1,200 metres above sea level.

Habitat and Ecology

This species lives in bromeliads and moss in cloud forests. It reproduces by direct development whereby offspring emerge from the eggs as miniature versions of adults and bypass a larval stage.

Find out more

This wordcloud illustrates the threats facing this species. The size of each word indicates the extent of a species range that is affected by that threat (larger size means a greater area is affected). The colour of the word indicates how much that threat impacts the species (darker shades of red mean the threat is more severe).

Urban development Tourism Crops Logging Fire

Threat wordcloud key:

Small area affected
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Large area affected
Least severe
Most severe
Severity unknown
Source: The IUCN List of Threatened Species. Version 2017.1.
Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org