CR

Roberts' False Brook Salamander

Pseudoeurycea robertsi

Declining

Overview

Pseudoeurycea robertsi is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from the Nevado de Toluca, near Toluca in the State of Mexico. Its common name is Roberts' false brook salamander. The specific name robertsi honors the collector of the holotype, H. Radclyffe Roberts from the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences.

Pseudoeurycea robertsi faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and logging activities in its restricted montane forest range. The species' extremely limited distribution makes it particularly vulnerable to local environmental changes, with deforestation fragmenting the remaining cloud forest patches essential for its survival. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture regimes and temperature conditions of its high-altitude habitat.

Threat summary

Habitat

This salamander inhabits cloud forests and pine-oak forests at elevations between 2,400-3,100 meters in the mountains of central Mexico. It requires moist microhabitats with abundant leaf litter and fallen logs, typically found in well-preserved montane forest ecosystems.

Forest· major

Conservation measures underway

Species recoveryAwareness & communications

Other threatened species in PLETHODONTIDAE

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Kings River Slender SalamanderEN

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Conant's Mushroomtongue SalamanderVU

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VU

Pygmy Web-footed Salamander

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Stable

Threatened in Mexico

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Turbinicarpus horripilus

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CR

Turbinicarpus mandragora

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EN

Opuntia pachyrrhiza

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Arachnothryx tacanensis

Declining

Frequently asked questions

Why is Roberts' False Brook Salamander classified as Critically Endangered?
Roberts' False Brook 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. Pseudoeurycea robertsi faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to agricultural expansion and logging activities in its restricted montane forest range. The species' extremely limited distribution makes it particularly vulnerable to local environmental changes, with deforestation fragmenting the remaining cloud forest patches essential for its survival. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering the moisture regimes and temperature conditions of its high-altitude habitat.
Where does Roberts' False Brook Salamander live?
Roberts' False Brook 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 Roberts' False Brook Salamander?
The main threats to Roberts' False Brook Salamander are 1.1, 2.1, 2.3, and 5.3. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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