Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Coahuila, Mexico, with comparison with adjoining states

Abstract

We compiled a checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of the state of Coahuila, Mexico. The list comprises 133 species (24 amphibians, 109 reptiles), representing 27 families (9 amphibians, 18 reptiles) and 65 genera (16 amphibians, 49 reptiles). Coahuila has a high richness of lizards in the genus Sceloporus. Coahuila has relatively few state endemics, but has several regional endemics. Overlap in the herpetofauna of Coahuila and bordering states is fairly extensive. Of the 132 species of native amphibians and reptiles, eight are listed as Vulnerable, six as Near Threatened, and six as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. In the SEMARNAT listing, 19 species are Subject to Special Protection, 26 are Threatened, and three are in Danger of Extinction. Coahuila is home to several species of conservation concern, especially lizards and turtles. Coahuila is an important state for the conservation of the native regional fauna.

Amphibians and Reptiles of the state of Nuevo León, Mexico

“…We visited this region periodically from 2002 to 2014, taking notes on the amphibians and reptiles observed during visual encounter surveys. Taxonomy and Standard English names used here are those found in Lemos-Espinal (2015). Each species was assigned to one of three floristic provinces present in Nuevo León: the Mexican Plateau, the Coastal Plain of the Northeast, and the Sierra Madre Oriental (Rzedowski 1978).…”

“…In addition, we recorded the conservation status of each species based on three sources: 1) the IUCN Red List 2014; 2) Environmental Viability Scores from Wilson et al (2013a,b); 3) listing in SEMARNAT (2010). For those neighboring states for which a recent checklist exists (Coahuila: Lemos-Espinal and Smith 2007; San Luis Potosí: Lemos-Espinal and Dixon 2013; Tamaulipas: Farr 2015; and Texas: Dixon 2015), we determined the number of overlapping species.…”

Phylogenetic relationships in the Sceloporus variabilis (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) complex based on three molecular markers, continuous characters and geometric morphometric data

“…Small body size is a common feature in species with northern distribution (Figure ). For example, S. parvus, S. couchii and S. v. marmoratus all have small body sizes ranging from 50 to 60 mm (Lemos‐Espinal & Smith, ; Smith, ). Species with larger than 70 mm body sizes have central and southern distributions ( S. smithi 71 mm, S. v. olloporus 70 mm, S. v. variabilis 74 mm and S. teapensis 70 mm.…”

“…In general, species with high counts for femoral pores (Figure b) inhabit arid environments. For example, high femoral pore and dorsal scale counts are common in two genera of the Phrynosomatidae, Urosaurus and Uta (Lemos‐Espinal & Smith, ). Scales function as a skin barrier to deal with harsh terrestrial environments, preventing water loss by transpiration and evaporation (Chang et al, ).…”

“…The three subspecies in the S. variabilis complex differ in body size, femoral pores count and dorsal scale counts (Smith, ,; Smith et al, ). Their combined geographic distribution extends from Texas to Costa Rica (Campos‐Rodríguez et al, ; Hernández‐Ibarra & Ramírez‐Bautista, ; Lemos‐Espinal & Smith, ; Mather & Sites, ; Ramírez‐Bautista et al, ; Savage, ).…”