Herpetological diversity in Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico: species list with new distribution notes

Abstract

The herpetofauna occurring in the Selva Maya is one of the richest assemblages in the Americas. We herein provide an updated list of herpetofauna species for the Calakmul region, located in the southern Yucatán Peninsula, Campeche, Mexico. This species list was compiled considering the results of herpetological surveys conducted between 2015-2019 in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, information gathered from previous literature, and sighting records from the website iNaturalist. All this information combined resulted in the identification of 109 species, 23 amphibians and 86 reptiles, belonging to 34 families. Furthermore, we hereby present new distribution records for 7 snakes, 2 lizards and 2 frogs not previously observed in the study region. Approximately 38% (n = 41) of the herpetofauna species are listed under a threat category by the environmental Mexican legislation (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). The list presented in this study increases to 109 the number of species known to occur in the Calakmul region, and to 135 in Campeche, which therefore becomes the Mexican state of the Yucatán Peninsula with the highest herpetofauna diversity, followed by Quintana Roo with 133 species.

Cannibalism in the Yucatecan Casquehead Treefrog (Triprion petasatus) in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico

“…Tadpoles of T. petasatus are considered omnivorous and generalist with a diet consisting of detritus, algae, invertebrates, and occasionally other anurans (Jacobson et al 2019;Theodorou et al 2020). In the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico, ongoing drought in recent years, in combination with increasing variation in rainfall patterns, has resulted in a reduction of aguadas (Barão-Nóbrega et al 2022). With limited water availability for breeding, anurans such as T. petasatus and other hylids often utilise artificial water reservoirs as breeding sites (Colston et al 2015;Jacobson et al 2019;Theodorou et al 2020).…”

La rana ladradora yucateca, Craugastor yucatanensis (Lynch, 1965), endémica de la península de Yucatán

“…En la península de Yucatán, se han registrado 26 especies de anfibios de las cuales 23 son ranas y sapos y tres salamandras (González-Sánchez et al 2017;Barão-Nóbrega et al 2022). Entre las ranas y sapos destaca la rana ladradora yucateca (Craugastor yucatanensis) que es endémica de la región (Lee 1996;González-Sánchez et al 2017).…”