Foundation for
the Conservation of Salamanders

Mexico is the second richest country for plethodontid salamander species, with 132 described species, 81% of which are endemic to the country and 72% of the species (95 species) are threatened with extinction, a proportion more than double that of globally threatened amphibians. Within family Plethodontidae, some genera in Mexico face critical conservation problems as indicated by their high proportions of threatened species: Thorius (96%), Chiropterotriton (83%), and Pseudoeurycea (78%). It is estimated that 111 Mexican plethodontids are negatively affected by habitat transformation, which is caused by human activities such as agriculture, cattle breeding, logging, and urban development, that modify natural terrestrial ecosystems of the country. Current protected areas in Mexico do not coincide with the location of hotspots of amphibian richness and endemism in central western Mexico.

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Researchers at the Africam Safari have been conducting important field work on the critically endangered Cuetzalan salamander, Aquiloeurycea quetzalenensis (endemic and critically endangered), and they have identified a property where this species occurs. Along with a viable population of the Cuetzalan salamanders, they found several other endangered plethodontid salamanders and some new species on this 8 hectare property.