Herpetology Notes, volume 13: 787-789 (2020) (published online on 30 September 2020)

Presence of the Querétaro Dusky Rattlesnake aquilus Klauber, 1952 (, ) in the Sierra de Santa Catarina natural protected area, Ciudad de México, México

Rafael Peralta-Hernández1, Oswaldo Corona-Garduño1, Andrés Perea-Pérez2, and Uri O. García-Vázquez2,*

Crotalus aquilus Klauber, 1952 is a small pitviper the exact location and taxonomic identity of these endemic to México that inhabits rock outcroppings records are uncertain. in pine-oak forests, open mesquite-grasslands, sub- On 13 May 2018, at 13:30 h, during a fieldtrip, a female tropical scrub forests, and a variety of field crops Crotalus aquilus (MZFZ 3665; Fig. 1) was found by us at elevations from 1600 to 3110 m (Campbell and while it was sunbathing on a rocky area of xerophitic Lamar, 2004; Bryson et al., 2014; Carbajal-Márquez scrub in the Volcán de Guadalupe, that is located in the et al., 2015). This occurs in the southern Sierra de Santa Catarina natural protected area, Ciudad edge of the Mexican Plateau and northern half of the de México (19.3209°N, 98.9997°W; WGS 84; 2576 m Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and has been reported a.s.l.). Immediately after observing it, the specimen hid in the states of Ciudad de México, Estado de México, in a hole in the ground. The specimen was collected Guanajuato, Hidalgo, , Michoacán, Querétaro, under a scientific collecting permit from SEMARNAT San Luis Potosí, , and Zacatecas (Meik et al., (FAUT 0243 issued to U. O. García-Vázquez). 2007; Carbajal-Márquez et al., 2015; García-Vázquez We confirmed the specimen’s identification based and Méndez-de-la-Cruz, 2016). on scutellation and morphological traits reported in Méndez-de-la-Cruz et al. (1992) reported the presence of Crotalus triseriatus from xerophytic scrub in the Sierra de Guadalupe, Ciudad de México. Considering that previously C. aquilus was considered a subspecies of C. triseriatus (Dorcas, 1992) and that C. triseriatus does not live in xerophytic scrub (Campbell and Lamar, 2004), it is probable that the specimens reported by Méndez-de-la-Cruz et al. (1992) actually represent C. aquilus. According to this, García-Vázquez and Méndez-de-la-Cruz (2016) reported the presence of Crotalus aquilus in the Sierra de Guadalupe. However,

1 Carrera de Biología, Facultad de estudios superiores Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Batalla 5 de Mayo s/n, Col. Ejército de Oriente. 09230, Ciudad de México, México. 2 Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular, Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Investigación Experimental Zaragoza, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Batalla 5 de Mayo s/n, Col. Figure 1. Crotalus aquilus (MZFZ 3665) hid in a hole in Ejército de Oriente. 09230, Ciudad de México, México. Sierra de Santa Catarina natural protected area, Ciudad de * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] , Mexico. Photo by Rafael Peralta-Hernández. 788 Rafael Peralta-Hernández et al. the literature (Campbell and Lamar, 2004; Meik et al., the iNaturalist website (NaturaLista.mx, CONABIO); 2007). The diagnostic traits that allowed us to verify these records came from Ciudad de México and Estado the identity of the specimen are the following: 13 de México but they are not within the Sierra de Santa supralabials, 10 infralabials, 21 midbody dorsal scales, Catarina natural protected. Because Crotalus aquilus is 148 ventral scales, and 24 subcaudals. In addition, the a protected species, the precise location of the records is dorsal colour pattern of the in life was grey-green not shown on the iNaturalist website, so they were not with 29 brown dark patches on the vertebral surface and used to calculate the distance to the nearest published 5 caudal bands. This colouration is typical of female C. locality to our record. aquilus (Campbell and Lamar, 2004). Our specimen The recording of C. aquilus in the Sierra de Santa was deposited in the Herpetological Collection, Museo Catarina natural protected area is of relevance for the de Zoología, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Zaragoza, conservation of the species because it is listed as Pr Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MZFZ) (Sujeta a protección especial; under special protection) and its identification was corroborated by Manuel Feria- under the NOM-059-SEMARNAT (SEMARNAT, 2010) Ortiz (collection curator). and as LC (Least Concern) by the International Union Our record of Crotalus aquilus is the first record from for the Conservation of Nature (Mendoza-Quijano and the Sierra de Santa Catarina natural protected area, Quintero-Díaz, 2007). Due to anthropogenic activity and confirms the presence of this species in Ciudad de that has modified its habitat, as well as pollution and México; being the first published record for C. aquilus water loss, this species is at risk of local extinction from this state with exact collection data (location, (Quintero-Díaz and Vázquez-Díaz, 2009). This record coordinates, microhabitat, date and hour). The new increases our knowledge about the distribution of record is located ca. 30.74 km SE from the closest the species in Ciudad de México and will hopefully known locality in the Sierra de Guadalupe, Ciudad de promote actions for its conservation in the Sierra de México (Fig. 2) (Méndez-de-la-Cruz et al., 1992; García- Santa Catarina Natural Protected Area, which has been Vázquez and Méndez-de-la-Cruz, 2016). In addition, illegally invaded by urban development (PAOT, 2009). there are photographic records of the species near the locality reported here, which have been uploaded to

Figure 2. New record of Crotalus aquilus and nearest record reported in the literature. Presence of the Querétaro Dusky Rattlesnake in ta natural protected area, México 789

Acknowlegments. Support for laboratory work was provided by Quintero-Díaz, G.E., Vázquez-Díaz, J. (2009): Historia natural de grants from Dirección General de Apoyo al Personal Académico, una rana muy mexicana. Aguascalientes, México. Universidad Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (PAPIIT grant Autónoma de Aguascalientes. number IN-216619) and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Meik, J.M., Mociño-Deloya, E., Setser, K. (2007): New distribution Tecnología (CONACyT A1-S-37838), to UOGV. We thank M. records for the Querétaro dusky ratlesnake Crotalus aquilus Feria-Ortiz (MZFZ) for verifying the identity of the collected (Viperidae), with comments on morphology and habitat use. specimen. To Carlos Pavón for commenting on preliminary Western North American Naturalist 67: 601–604. versions of this manuscript. Méndez-de-la-Cruz, F.R., Camarillo-R, J.L., Villagrán-SantaCruz, M.,, Aguilar-Cortez, R. (1992): Observaciones sobre el status References de los anfibios y de la Sierra de Guadalupe (Distrito Federal-Estado de México). Anales del Instituto de Biología. Bryson, R.W. Jr., Linkem, C.W., Dorcas, M.E., Lathrop, A., Jones, Serie de Zoología 63: 249–256. J.M., Alvarado-Díaz, J., Grünwald, C.I., Murphy, R.W. (2014): Mendoza-Quijano, F., Quintero Díaz, G. (2007): Crotalus Multilocus species delimitation in the Crotalus triseriatus aquilus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007. species group (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae), with the e.T64310A12763161. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN. description of two new species. Zootaxa 3826: 475–496. UK.2007.RLTS.T64310A12763161.en. Accesed on 07 Campbell, J.A., Lamar, W.W. (2004): The Venomous Reptiles February 2020. of the Western Hemisphere. 2 Volumes. New York, USA, Naturalista, CONABIO http://www.naturalista.mx/taxa/73723- Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Crotalus-aquilus. Accessed on 10 January 2019. Ithaca and London. PAOT. (2009): Estudio sobre la superficie ocupada en áreas Carbajal-Márquez, R.A., Gonzales-Saucedo, Z.Y., Arenas-Monroy, naturales protegidas del Distrito Federal. Procuraduría Ambiental J.C. (2015): Crotalus aquilus Klauber, 1952 (Squamata: y del Ordenamiento Territorial del D.F, Ciudad de Mexico, p. Viperidae), a new state record for Zacatecas, Mexico. Acta 78. http://centro.paot.org.mx/documentos/paot/estudios/EOT- Zoológica Mexicana 31: 131–133. 03-2009.pdf. Accessed on 02 January 2019. Dorcas, M.E. (1992): Relationships among montane population SEMARNAT (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales). of Crotalus lepidus and Crotalus triseriatus. In: Biology of the (2010): Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-059-SEMARNAT- Pitvipers, p. 71–88. Campbell, J.A., Brodie, E.D., Ed., Tyler, 2010, Protección ambiental, especies nativas de México de flora Texas, USA, Selva Publihing. y fauna silvestres, categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para García-Vázquez, U.O., Méndez-de-la-Cruz, F.R. (2016): Reptiles su inclusión, exclusión o cambio – Lista de especies en riesgo. In: La biodiversidad en la Ciudad de México, Volumen II, p. Diario Oficial de la Federación, segunda sección. Ciudad de 390–397. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de México, México, 30 December 2010: 1–78. la Biodiversidad (CONABIO) y Secretaria del Medio Ambiente del Distrito Federal (SEDEMA), Ed., Ciudad de México, México, CONABIO/SEDEMA.

Accepted by Andrew Durso