CRCritically Endangered

Papalo Minute Salamander

Thorius papaloae

Declining

Overview

A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.

Thorius papaloae faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and logging activities in its montane cloud forest habitat. The species' extremely restricted range makes it particularly vulnerable to local environmental changes, with deforestation for coffee cultivation and cattle ranching fragmenting its remaining habitat. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture regimes essential for cloud forest ecosystems that this salamander depends upon.
Threat summary

Habitat

This species inhabits montane cloud forests at elevations between 2,400-3,000 meters in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. It requires the consistently moist microhabitats found under logs, rocks, and leaf litter in these high-altitude forest ecosystems.

Forest· majorForest - Subtropical/tropical moist montane· major

Conservation measures underway

Resource & habitat protectionSpecies recovery

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Pygmy Web-footed Salamander

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Davis Mountains Cottontail

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Frequently asked questions

Why is Papalo Minute Salamander classified as Critically Endangered?

Papalo Minute Salamander is classified as Critically Endangered — facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild — because population sizes are very small, declining sharply, or restricted to a tiny range. Thorius papaloae faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and logging activities in its montane cloud forest habitat. The species' extremely restricted range makes it particularly vulnerable to local environmental changes, with deforestation for coffee cultivation and cattle ranching fragmenting its remaining habitat. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture regimes essential for cloud forest ecosystems that this salamander depends upon.

Where does Papalo Minute Salamander live?

Papalo Minute Salamander occurs in Mexico. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.

What are the main threats to Papalo Minute Salamander?

The main threats to Papalo Minute Salamander are 1.1, 2.1, 5.1, and 5.1.1. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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