The family Ambystomatidae or “the mole salamanders” diverged from all other salamanders in the Early Cretaceous period over 140 million years ago, around five million years before the koala and dolphin lineages diverged from their common ancestor. The small number of species that represent the genus Ambystoma are highly evolutionarily distinct members of both the salamanders and the amphibians as a whole. Leora’s Stream Salamander appears to be confined to the upper tributaries of the Balsas River, central Mexico. Conservation and restoration of this habitat is an urgent priority in order to save this species from extinction in the future.