Dendrotriton cuchumatanus
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Dendrotriton cuchumatanus faces severe threats from deforestation and agricultural expansion in Guatemala's Cuchumatanes Mountains, where its cloud forest habitat is being rapidly converted for coffee cultivation and cattle ranching. The species' extremely limited range makes it particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, while climate change threatens to shift the cool, moist conditions essential for this salamander's survival to higher elevations where suitable habitat may not exist.
Habitat
This salamander inhabits cloud forests and pine-oak forests in the Cuchumatanes Mountains of Guatemala, typically found at elevations between 2,400-3,000 meters. It requires cool, humid conditions with abundant moss and leaf litter, often sheltering under logs and rocks in these montane ecosystems.
