The Amphibians and Reptiles of Sinaloa, Mexico - Smithsonian ...

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF SINALOA, MEXICO 41
Rosario, and Plomosas, and sent to the United States National
Museum.
Two other small collections from near Mazatlan were made about
1920. Specimens collected by J. A. Kusche from "Venodido" (Vena*
dillo) were sent to the United States National Museum and reptiles
and amphibians collected by Paul D. R. Ruthling were deposited
in the American Museum of Natural History.
During the past 30 years herpetologists have shown renewed
interest in the herpetofauna of Sinaloa. The variety of species,
many at the geographic limits of their distributions, has stimulated
the publication of many reports pertaining to reptiles and amphibians
from the state. The first work on the herpetofauna of
Sinaloa was by Taylor (1938). Although Taylors paper is limited
in scope, it lists the species of amphibians and reptiles known from
the state and includes a brief resume of previous collections. Since
Taylor's work, several papers have appeared that deal with various
aspects of the herpetofauna—particularly notes on distributions,
range extensions, ecology, life history, and taxonomy. Among these
are reports by Martin del Campo (1941), Smith and Van G elder
(1955), Lewis and Johnson (1956), Duellman (1957b), Fugler and
Dixon (1961), Campbell and Simmons (1962), and Scott (1962).
Other reports dealing with one or a few species are mentioned in
appropriate accounts beyond. It is important to realize that no
author since Taylor has dealt with the total hereptofauna of Sinaloa,
or even of large areas within the state; and yet, within the
last ten years, increased collecting in Sinaloa has more than tripled
the number of herpetological specimens previously available from
the state.
For the past 20 years students of Mexican herpetology have
relied heavily on the checklists by Smith and Taylor (1945, 1948,
1950b). Anyone interested in the reptiles and amphibians of
Mexico recognizes the value of the detailed studies by Bogert and
Oliver (1945) on the herpetofauna of Sonora, by Martin (1958)
on the herpetofauna of the Gomez Farias region in southern
Tamaulipas, by Zweifel (1960) on the herpetofauna of the Tres
Marias Islands, and by Duellman (1960) on the amphibian fauna
of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and on the herpetofauna of Michoacan
(1961,1965).
In the summer of 1962, the second author began a four-month
study of the lowland herpetofauna in northwestern Mexico. Data
gathered formed the basis for a study of the biogeography and