Amphibians and Reptiles of the state of Nuevo León, Mexico

Abstract

We compiled a check list of the herpetofauna of Nuevo León. We documented 132 species (23 amphibians, 109 reptiles), representing 30 families (11 amphibians, 19 reptiles) and 73 genera (17 amphibians, 56 reptiles). Only two species are endemic to Nuevo León. Nuevo León contains a relatively high richness of lizards in the genus Sceloporus. Overlap in the herpetofauna of Nuevo León and states it borders is fairly extensive. Of 130 native species, 102 are considered species of Least Concern in the IUCN red list, four are listed as Vulnerable, five are listed as Near Threatened, and four are listed as Endangered. According to SEMARNAT, 78 species are not of conservation concern, 25 are subject to Special Protection, 27 are Threatened, and none are listed as in Danger of Extinction. Given current threats to the herpetofauna, additional efforts to understand the ecology and status of populations in Nuevo León are needed.

Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, with comparisons with adjoining states

“…Most of the herpetofauna of Chihuahua falls in the IUCNs least concern category (119 of 132 [does not include DD species]; 90%), and as not listed by SEMARNAT (105 of 172; 61%) (Table 2 ). These percentages are similar to those from other recently compiled tallies of conservation statuses for Mexican states (Coahuila: Lemos-Espinal and G. Smith 2016 , Hidalgo: Lemos-Espinal and G. Smith 2015 , Nayarit: Woolrich-Piña et al 2016 , Nuevo León: Lemos-Espinal et al 2016 ). However, there are species of conservation concern in Chihuahua.…”

“…In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in the study of Mexican regional and state herpetofaunas such as Sinaloa ( Hardy and McDiarmid 1969 ), Peninsula of Baja California ( Grismer 2002 ), Peninsula of Yucatan ( Lee 1996 ), the Valley of Mexico ( Ramírez-Bautista et al 2009 ), Aguascalientes ( McCranie and Wilson 2001 ), Chihuahua and Coahuila ( Lemos-Espinal and H. Smith 2007a , b , 2015a , b ; Lemos-Espinal and G. Smith 2016 ), Querétaro ( Dixon and Lemos-Espinal 2010 ), San Luis Potosí ( Lemos-Espinal and Dixon 2013 ), Michoacán (Alvarado-Díaz et al 2015), Chiapas ( Johnson et al 2015b ), Oaxaca ( Mata-Silva et al 2015 ), Nayarit ( Woolrich-Piña et al 2016 ), Nuevo León ( Lemos-Espinal et al 2016 ), Sonora ( Enderson et al 2009 , Lemos-Espinal and Rorabaugh 2015 , Lemos-Espinal et al 2015 , Rorabaugh 2008 , Rorabaugh and Lemos-Espinal 2016 ), and Tamaulipas ( Farr 2015 , Terán-Juárez et al 2016 ).…”

Rattlesnake (Crotalus spp.) distribution and diversity in Zacatecas, Mexico

“…Despite its size, the data available concerning its herpetofauna is very scarce, thereby constituting an information gap about the species distributed in the region; Flores-Villela and García-Vázquez (2014) and Lemos-Espinal et al (2018) underlined the lack of studies and species lists of herpetofauna in Zacatecas. By contrast, neighboring states have complete works on their amphibians and reptiles, such as Aguascalientes: Vázquez-Díaz and Quintero-Díaz 2005; Coahuila: Lemos-Espinal and Smith 2016a; Durango: Valdez Lares et al 2013, Lemos-Espinal et al 2018a, Lemos-Espinal et al 2019Guanajuato: Elizalde-Arellano et al 2014;Jalisco: Chávez-Avila et al 2015;Nayarit: Luja et al 2014, Woolrich-Pina et al 2016Nuevo León: Lazcano-Villarreal 1997;Lazcano-Villarreal et al 2010;Lemos-Espinal et al 2016b;Lemos-Espinal et al 2018b;and San Luis Potosí: Lemos-Espinal et al 2018c. Another problem that Zacatecas faces is the lack of publications on regional or municipal studies with venomous snakes and herpetofauna in general. There are only specific notes recorded on the state rattlesnake species of the Crotalus genus such as C. aquilus (Carbajal-Márquez et al 2015a), C. basiliscus (Ahumada-Carrillo et al 2011; Carbajal-Márquez et al 2015b); C. polystictus (Campbell and Lamar 2004; Ahumada-Carrillo 2010), C. atrox, C. lepidus, C. molossus and C. scutulatus (Campbell and Lamar 2004), C. willardi (Klauber 1949).…”

“…Despite its size, the data available concerning its herpetofauna is very scarce, thereby constituting an information gap about the species distributed in the region; Flores-Villela and García-Vázquez (2014) and Lemos-Espinal et al (2018) underlined the lack of studies and species lists of herpetofauna in Zacatecas. By contrast, neighboring states have complete works on their amphibians and reptiles, such as Aguascalientes: Vázquez-Díaz and Quintero-Díaz 2005 ; Coahuila: Lemos-Espinal and Smith 2016a ; Durango: Valdez Lares et al 2013 , Lemos-Espinal et al 2018a , Lemos-Espinal et al 2019 ; Guanajuato: Elizalde-Arellano et al 2014; Jalisco: Chávez-Avila et al 2015 ; Nayarit: Luja et al 2014 , Woolrich-Pina et al 2016 ; Nuevo León: Lazcano-Villarreal 1997 ; Lazcano-Villarreal et al 2010 ; Lemos-Espinal et al 2016b ; Lemos-Espinal et al 2018b ; and San Luis Potosí: Lemos-Espinal et al 2018c .…”

Amphibians and reptiles of the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with comparisons with adjoining states

“…The number of overlapping species with those neighboring states for which a recent checklist exists (Hidalgo: Lemos-Espinal and Smith 2015 , Lemos-Espinal and Dixon 2016 ; Nuevo León: Lemos-Espinal et al 2016 ; Tamaulipas: Farr 2015 , Terán-Juárez et al 2016 ; Querétaro: Dixon and Lemos-Espinal 2010 ) was determined, and hierarchical clustering analyses with single linkage and Euclidean distances using Systat 13 software (SYSTAT software, Chicago, IL) used to examine the similarities among the herpetofaunas of San Luis Potosí and its neighboring states (see Enderson et al 2009 for a similar analysis). Lists were updated for Hidalgo (substituting Lampropeltis polyzona for L. triangulum , Ruane et al 2014 , Uetz and Hošek 2017 ); Nuevo León (adding Chiropterotriton miquihuanus , Campbell et al 2014 ; Crotalus morulus , Bryson et al 2014 , Uetz and Hošek 2017 ; and substituting Lampropeltis annulata for L. triangulum , Ruane et al 2014 , Uetz and Hošek 2017 ); Querétaro (substituting substituting L. annulata for L. triangulum , Ruane et al 2014 , Uetz and Hošek 2017 ; adding Amastridium sapperi , Calzada-Arciniega 2014 ).…”