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BULLETIN of the Chicago Herpetological Society Volume 53, Number 8 August 2018 BULLETIN OF THE CHICAGO HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY Volume 53, Number 8 August 2018 Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 19: An Update to the Herpetofauna of Volcán de Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico . .Juan Rubén Rojo-Gutiérrez, David Jaimes-Rodríguez, Daniel Cruz-Sáenz, Laura López-Fernández, Enrique Chávez-Uribe and David Lazcano 165 Toad Stools: Part Two . Dennis A. Meritt Jr. 170 The Digital Age and Herp Lit: An Evolving Playing Field in the New Millennium . R. Michael Burger 171 Deputy Louie . Roger A. Repp 174 What You Missed at the June Meeting: Daniel Parker . .John Archer 178 Herpetology 2018......................................................... 181 Advertisements . 184 New CHS Members This Month . 184 Cover: Coral-bellied ring-necked snake, Diadophis punctatus pulchellus, Tuolumne County, California. Photograph by Stephen L. Barten, DVM. STAFF Membership in the CHS includes a subscription to the monthly Bulletin. Annual dues are: Individual Membership, $25.00; Editor: Michael A. Dloogatch --- [email protected] Family Membership, $28.00; Sustaining Membership, $50.00; Copy editor: Joan Moore Contributing Membership, $100.00; Institutional Membership, $38.00. Remittance must be made in U.S. funds. Subscribers 2017 CHS Board of Directors outside the U.S. must add $12.00 for postage. Send membership dues or address changes to: Chicago Herpetological Society, President: Rich Crowley Membership Secretary, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614. Vice-president: Jessica Wadleigh Treasurer: John Archer Manuscripts published in the Bulletin of the Chicago Herpeto- Recording Secretary: Gail Oomens logical Society are not peer reviewed. Manuscripts and letters Media Secretary: Kim Klisiak concerning editorial business should be e-mailed to the editor, Membership Secretary: Mike Dloogatch [email protected]. Alternatively, they may be mailed Sergeant-at-arms: Mike Scott to: Chicago Herpetological Society, Publications Secretary, 2430 Members-at-large: Dan Bavirsha N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614. Back issues are limited but Lawrence Huddleston are available from the Publications Secretary for $2.50 per issue Tom Mikosz postpaid. Zac Oomens Visit the CHS home page at <http://www.chicagoherp.org>. The Chicago Herpetological Society is a nonprofit organiza- The Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society (ISSN 0009-3564) is published monthly by the Chicago Herpeto- tion incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois. Its logical Society, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago IL 60614. purposes are education, conservation and the advancement Periodicals postage paid at Chicago IL. Postmaster: Send of herpetology. Meetings are announced in this publication, address changes to: Chicago Herpetological Society, Mem- bership Secretary, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago IL 60614. and are normally held at 7:30 P.M., the last Wednesday of each month. Copyright © 2018 Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 53(8):165-169, 2018 Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 19: An Update to the Herpetofauna of Volcán de Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico Juan Rubén Rojo-Gutiérrez 1, David Jaimes-Rodríguez 1, Daniel Cruz-Sáenz 2, Laura López-Fernández 1, Enrique Chávez-Uribe 1 and David Lazcano 3 Abstract We conducted surveys with the purpose of expanding our knowledge of the amphibian and reptile species distributed on Volcán de Tequila. As a result of these surveys, we recorded a total of 32 species of herpetofauna, 23 of which are new records for the area. Resumen Llevamos a cabo muestreos de anfibios y reptiles con el fin de expandir el número de especies reportadas que están asociadas a estén volcán, como resultado de estos muestreos incrementamos la presencia de a 32 especies de herpetofauna, 23 de estos son nuevos registros para la zona. Introduction the resources they provide to the vertebrate fauna. On this vol- cano the following forest types are represented: subtropical Mexico as a megadiverse country is known for harboring a matorral (1140–1250 m), Juniperus flaccida (drooping juniper / large number of wildlife species. The herpetofauna of the coun- cedro liso) forest (1250–1380 m), oak forest (1380–1500 m and try is represented by 376 amphibians (Parra-Olea et al., 2014) 2400–2920 m), oak-pine forest (1500–2340 m) and montane and 864 reptiles (Flores-Villela and Garcia-Vazquez, 2014). cloud forest (2000–2450 m). On the highest portion of the Recently this number has increased slightly with 394 amphibi- volcano at 2920 m is a community of Cupressus lusitanica ans and 898 reptiles, making this a total of 1292 species (John- (Mexican cypress / ciprés Mexicano) (Reynoso-Dueñas, 2010; son et al., 2017). This richness of herpetofauna other groups of Huerta-Martínez et al., 2014). vertebrates has generated an increasing interest in protecting these species by establishing Areas Protegidas Naturales (APN), which at present number 182, allocated to different categories, such as national parks, biosphere reserves, and natural monu- ments (CONANP, 2017). Although Mexico is recognized as one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, there are still regions lacking exhaustive studies, such as Volcán de Tequila in the state of Jalisco. The herpetological richness for the state stands as that documented by Cruz-Sáenz et al. (2009, 2017). Volcán de Tequila is located in the municipality of Tequila, in central Jalisco between 20E45' and 20E49'N, and between 103E48', and 103E54'W. This volcano is part of Mexico’s Trans- volcanic Belt, one of the most herpetofaunal rich regions in the country and a boundary between the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. Volcán de Tequila is the fourth highest mountain in Jalisco at 2918 masl. It has an altitudinal gradient from 1120 to 2918 masl. Dominant soil types are ortic chromic luvisol and eutric regosol (Reynoso-Dueñas, 2010; Huerta-Martínez et al., 2014). Climate on the middle part of the volcano is classified as C(w), with mean temperatures varying from 10 to 20EC, where- as in the lower part the climate is Aw(w), with average tempera- tures from 17 to 27EC. Annual precipitation varies from 800 to 1000 mm, and the most humid period occurs in summer (June to October). This volcano is 50 km east of the city of Guadalajara. A very important factor that influences profoundly the distri- bution of the herpetofauna is the different vegetation types and Location of the municipality of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico. 1. Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Km. 15.5 Carretera Guadalajara-Nogales, Predio Las Agujas, A.P. 1-1919, Zapopan, Jalisco, C.P. 44101, México. 2. Centro de Estudios en Zoología, Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias. Km. 15.5 Carretera Guadalajara-Nogales, Predio Las Agujas, C.P. 44101, A.P. 1-1919, Zapopan, Jalisco, México. 3. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Herpetología, Apartado Postal # 513, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, C.P. 66450 México. 165 Panoramic view of Volcán de Tequila. Photograph by Guadalupe Chui. Huerta-Martínez et al. (2014) found the following dominant species from 1420 to 2918 m: Quercus obtusata (white oak / encino blanco); Q. crassifolia (leather leaf Mexican oak / encino chilillo); Q. laurina (lesser oak / atlalpitzahul); Pinus oocarpa (hazel pine / pino avellano); Acacia farnesiana (sweet acacia / huizache); Q. gentryi (oak hazel / roble avellano); Q. rugosa (netleaf oak / roble de hojuela); Q. candicans (red oak / ahua- mextli); Arbutus tesselata (Mexican madroño / madroño Mexi- cano); Q. resinosa (yellow oak / encino amarillo); Q. castanea (red oak / aguacatillo). Another paper (Aguilar-Peralta et al., 2016) cited Quercus magnoliifolia (yellow oak / encino ama- rillo) for the area. Materials and methods We conducted eight non-continuous surveys during August View of the summit of Volcán de Tequila, known as “La Tetilla.” of 2016 and August of 2017 with the purpose of documenting Photograph by Minerva Araceli Ramírez-Orozco. the composition of the herpetofauna of this region. Samples were taken during the day in the following vegetation types: herpetofaunal species, of which ten are amphibians and 22 are POF = Pine-Oak forest; TDF = Tropical deciduous forest; PF = reptiles. Though we have not drawn any cumulative curve, we Pine forest; OF = Oak forest; MCF = Mountain cloud forest, and now add 23 newly found species, of which seven are amphibians G=Grassland. In our study we didn’t sample the Juniperus and 15 are reptiles. Of this list, three amphibian species and 15 flaccida and Cupressus lusitanica forests. reptiles are under protection of Mexican environmental law Transects varied in size because of the terrain; the purpose (SEMARNAT, 2010). Of the 32 species reported presently, 22 was only to increase the size of the checklist of the herpeto- (six amphibians and 16 reptiles) are endemic to Mexico (Table 1). fauna. We recorded microhabitat use within each type of forest, but no other ecological data.. Discussion and Conclusions In the future we wish to continue our survey of Volcán de Results In our survey of Volcán de Tequila we observed a total 32 Crotalus lepidus. This rattlesnake species is not endemic to Mexico, but is protected by Mexican environmental law. This locatity represents the Crotalus basiliscus. This species is endemic to Mexico and is protected southern limit of distribution for this species.