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searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

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Oaxaca; and E. yucatanensis Lynch from a cave atPueblo Nuevo X-Can, Quintana Roo (Lynch, 1965).Five species of the genus Syrrhophus have beenfound in <strong>Mexican</strong> caves (Lynch, 1970): S. cystignathoides(Cope) from caves in Nuevo Leon, SanLuis Potosi, and Tamaulipas; S. dennisi Lynch fromcaves in the Sierra de EI Abra, San Luis Potosi andTamaulipas; S. guttilatus (Cope) from Cueva de DosCuartos, San Luis Potosi; S. longipes (Baird) fromcaves in Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi,and Tamaulipas; and S. verrucipes Cope from CuevaGrillo de la Mona, Puebla.Four other species of leptodactylid have beentaken from <strong>Mexican</strong> caves: Hylactophryne augustiaugusti (Duges) from caves in San Luis Potosi andTamaulipas; H. a. cactorum Taylor from caves inPuebla; Leptodactylus labialis (Cope) from ActUnChen, Campeche; L. melanonotus (Hallowell) fromCueva de Sala de Agua Grande, Veracruz; and Tomodactylusnitidus nitidus (peters) from Grutas delMogote, Guerrero.Family RanidaeThe leopard frog, Rana pipiens (Schreber), isknown from caves in Hidalgo, Quintana Roo, SanLuis Potosi, Tamaulipas, and Yucatan.Class ReptiliaOrder CheloniaFamily KinosternidaeTwo species of turtle, Kinosternon creaseri Hartwegand K. cruentatum Dumeril and Bibron, havebeen reported from large open-aired cenotes in Yucatan(Duellman , 1965). A third species, K. integrumLe Conte, was reported from a cave at Raboso,Puebla, by Smith and Van Gelder (1955).Order SquamataFamily BoidaeA boa, Constrictor constrictor imperator (Daudin),was collected from Cueva de Tezoapa, Guerrero,where it presumably was preying on bats (Villa R.and Lopez-Forment, 1966).Family ColubridaeVilla R. and Lopez-Forment (1966) reported thepresence of Elaphe flavirufa flavirufa (Cope) in Cuevade la Sepultura, Tamaulipas; it was probably preyingon bats. Three other species of colubrid snake havebeen found in <strong>Mexican</strong> caves: Rhadinaea crassa Smithfrom caves in the Sierra de Guatemala, Tamaulipas;Storeria dekayi (Holbrook) from Sotano de Tlamaya,San Luis Potosi; and Tropidodipsas sartorii sartoriiCope from a cave at Pueblo Nuevo X-Can, QuintanaRoo (Duellman, 1965), and ActUn LoltUn, Yucatan(Gaige, 1938).Family CrotalidaeThe fer-de-lance, Bothrops atrox asper (Garman),is frequently found in the entrance area of caves inthe Sierra de EI Abra, San Luis Potosi. It is alsoknown from caves in Veracruz and Yucatan. A rattlesnake,Crotalus durissus tzabcan Klauber, has beenfound in the entrance area of caves in Campeche andYucatan.Family GekkonidaeTwo gekkos, Coleonyx elegans elegans Gray andThecadactylus rapicaudus (Houttuyn), have beenfound in many caves in Yucatan (Gaige, 1938). Theyare frequently seen on the walls near the cave entrances.Family IguanidaeThree species of iguanid lizard have been found incaves and cenotes in Yucatan: Anolis lemurinus bougeaeiBocourt, Basiliscus vittatus Wiegmann, andCtenosaura similis (Gray). All three species probablyonly utilize the cave entrance area <strong>for</strong> shelter.Family XantusiidaeThe lizards of the family Xantusiidae are closelyassociated with the cave habitat, and three <strong>Mexican</strong>species have been found in caves. Lepidophyma micropholisWalker inhabits caves in the Sierra de ElAbra, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas (Walker,1955b). It has been taken both from the twilightzone and in total darkness. Smith and del Toro (1977)described L. lipetzi from a cave north of Cintalapa,Chiapas. Mautz and Lopez-Forment (1978) discussedthe cavernicolous habits of L. smithii Bocourt incaves near Puerto Marquez, Guerrero.Class AvesSixteen species of bird have been recorded fromcavernicolous habitats in Mexico (see Table 30).Many of these utilize the cave entrances <strong>for</strong> temporaryshelter, but others build their nests in the protectedentrance rooms of caves. A few of the moresignificant species are briefly discussed below.Order FalconifonnesFamily CathartidaeThe vulture Coragyps atratus (Bechstein) has beenobserved nesting in three caves at the ruins of Ake,Yucatan.250

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