Cfreptiles & Amphibians

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Cfreptiles & Amphibians HTTPS://JOURNALS.KU.EDU/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSREPTILES • VOL &15, AMPHIBIANS NO 4 • DEC 2008 • 27(3):530–531189 • DEC 2020 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS AFEATURE Dicephalic ARTICLES Western Dusky Rattlesnake, . Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: CrotalusOn the Road to Understanding triseriatus the Ecology and Conservation (Squamata: of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Viperidae) Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198 Víctor Vásquez-Cruz, Felipe A. Lara-Hernández, and Jair Peña-Serrano RESEARCH ARTICLES PIMVS Herpetario Palancoatl, Avenida 19 No. 5525, Colonia Nueva Esperanza, Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico C.P. 94540 ([email protected]) . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida .............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212 ongenital CONSERVATIONmalformations that ALERT occur during embryonic Cdevelopment. World’shave beenMammals reported in Crisis ............................................................................................................................... in all classes of verte- .............................. 220 brates and usually. Moreare Thanassociated Mammals ...............................................................................................................................with limited life spans (de ....................................... 223 . Carvalho et al. 2017).The “Dow Most Jones instances Index” of Biodiversity have been ............................................................................................................................... reported in ............ 225 captive individuals,HUSBANDRY whereas records of congenital malforma- tions in wild animals. Captive tend Care toof the be Central rare Netted (Bárcenas-Ibarra Dragon ....................................................................................................... et al. Shannon Plummer 226 2015). Among PROFILEthe congenital malformations reported in rep- tiles (e.g., de Carvalho. Kraig Adler: et al. A Lifetime 2017; Promoting Murphy Herpetology 2018; ................................................................................................ Castillo- Michael L. Treglia 234 Juárez et al. 2020) is dicephalism (or bicephalism), the dupli- cation of part COMMENTARYor all of the cranium and/or spinal column . (Wallach 2007). A Thenumber Turtles Have of Beenpossible Watching causes Me ........................................................................................................................ of dicephalism Eric Gangloff 238 have been proposed;BOOK for REVIEW snakes in nature, suggestions of pos- sible causes include. Threatened incomplete Amphibians division of the World of a edited single by S.N.embryo, Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, partial fusion of two R.embryos, Berridge, P. Ramani,abnormally and B.E. Young low ..............................................................................................................or high tem- Robert Powell 243 peratures during incubation or gestation, regeneration after an CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 embryonic lesion, NATURAL and environmental HISTORY RESEARCH pollution REPORTS (see Wallach: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 2007 and references NEWBRIEFS therein). ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 We herein presentFOCUS ONthe CONSERVATION first record of: Adicephalism Project You Can in Support a ............................................................................................... 252 Western Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus triseriatus) (Fig. 1) from Necoxtla, Municipality of Camerino Z. Mendoza, Veracruz, Fig. 1. A bicephalic Western Dusky Rattlesnake (Crotalus triseriatus): Dorsal Mexico (18°46'26.8"N, 97°09'33.8"W; WGS 84; 2,300 m and ventral views of the snake (A–B), lateral views of the heads (C–D), the asl). At about 1100 h on 3 February 2017, a local resident laterally united heads at the angle of the jaws (E), and dorsal and ventral Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. viewsBack of the Cover. heads Michael (F–G). Kern Photographs by Víctor Vásquez-Cruz. found a neonate on a path betweenTotat patches et velleseque of secondaryaudant mo veg- Totat et velleseque audant mo etation and pine forest. On 15 estibusMarch inveliquo 2017, velique during rerchil field- estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus work at the site, we had the opportunityaut dolor apicto to inverephotograph pe dolum the aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum dicephalic individual. We depositedfugiatis maionsequata photo vouchereumque into onlyfugiatis traditional maionsequat subsistence eumque agriculture, we consider environ- the digital collection of the Naturalmoditia History erere nonsedis Museum ma sectiatur of Los moditiamental erere pollution nonsedis ma unlikely, sectia- leaving temperature variation or an ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as Angeles County (LACM PC 2591).accullabo. embryonic lesion as probable causes. The lack of other exter- The individual was a neonate (with an umbilical scar) with nal malformations in the individual leads us to believe that it snout-vent length = 159 mm, tail length = 19 mm (excluding originated from a single embryo, and we hypothesize that head button, which was 2 mm long), and tail length/total length ratio duplication occurred in the early stages of embryonic develop- = 10.5%. The scale row formula was 23-25-21, with 138 ven- ment, possibly stages 15, 16, or 17 (Zehr 1962), when head trals and 34 subcaudals. The left head was 14.3 mm long and differentiation occurs. This could explain why both heads were 8.5 mm wide with 13/13 supralabials and 12/11 infralabials; well developed and the fact that they vary slightly in scaling the right head was 14.2 mm long and 7.9 mm wide with 12/11 (supralabials and infralabials) and in dorsal head patterns. supralabials and 11/12 infralabials. The external morphology Records of dicephalism in the genus Crotalus are based suggests that the heads were united at the angle of the jaws. on isolated, fortuitous observations (McAllister and Wallach We cannot determine the cause of this particular malfor- 2006). Bicephalism has been reported in 15 species: Crotalus mation. Because the area where the snake was found supports adamanteus, C. atrox, C. basiliscus, C. cerastes, C. durissus col- Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a 530 Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. VÁSQUEZ-CRUZ ET AL. REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 27(3):530–531 • DEC 2020 lilineatus, C. d. terrificus, C. horridus, C. l. lepidus, C. lutosus, to congenital malformation rates in embryos and hatchlings of sea turtles. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 103: 203–224. C. mitchelli, C. molossus oaxacus, C. oreganus, C. scutulatus, C. Castillo-Juárez, J.L., V. Vásquez-Cruz, and L.P. Taval-Velázquez. 2020. Primer reg- tigris, C. viridis (Wallach 2018), and now Crotalus triseriatus. istro de cifoescoliosis en Sceloporus formosus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) en To the best of our knowledge, this observation represents the Veracruz, México. Cuadernos de Herpetología 34: 257–259. second case of dicephalism in a species of Crotalus in Mexico de Carvalho, M.P.N., S.S. Sant’Anna, K. Fernandes Grego, A.C.B.C. Fonseca- Pinto, C.A. Batista Lorigados, N.G.T. Queiroz-Hazarbassanov, and J.L. (the first was C. basiliscus in captivity; McAllister and Wallach Catao-Dias. 2017. Microcomputed tomographic, morphometric, and histo- 2006) and the first case in nature. pathologic assessment of congenital bone malformations in two Neotropical viperids. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 53: 804–815. McAllister, C.T. and V. Wallach. 2006. Discovery of a dicephalic western dia- Acknowledgments mondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox (Serpentes: Viperidae), from Texas, with We thank Arleth Reynoso-Martínez and Sean M. Rovito a summary of dicephalism among members of the genus Crotalus. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 60: 67–73. for their help in preparing the manuscript, Neftalí Camacho Murphy, J.B. 2018. Aberrant rattlesnakes—snake freak show. Herpetological Review (LACM) for cataloging the photographs, and Luis Canseco- 49: 381–385. Márquez for confirming the identity of the species. Wallach, V. 2007. Axial bifurcation and duplication in snakes. Part I. A synopsis of authen- tic and anecdotal cases. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 43: 57–95. Wallach, V. 2018. Axial bifurcation and duplication in snakes. Part VI. A 10-year Literature Cited update on authentic cases. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 53: 1–20. Barcenas-Ibarra, A., H. de la Cueva, I. Rojas-Lleonart, F.A. Abreu-Grobois, R.I. Zehr, D.R. 1962. Stages in the normal development of the common garter snake, Lozano-Guzman, E. Cuevas, and A. Garcıa-Gasca. 2015. First approximation Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. Copeia 1962: 322–329. 531.
Recommended publications
  • Bibliography and Scientific Name Index to Amphibians
    lb BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SCIENTIFIC NAME INDEX TO AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON BULLETIN 1-8, 1918-1988 AND PROCEEDINGS 1-100, 1882-1987 fi pp ERNEST A. LINER Houma, Louisiana SMITHSONIAN HERPETOLOGICAL INFORMATION SERVICE NO. 92 1992 SMITHSONIAN HERPETOLOGICAL INFORMATION SERVICE The SHIS series publishes and distributes translations, bibliographies, indices, and similar items judged useful to individuals interested in the biology of amphibians and reptiles, but unlikely to be published in the normal technical journals. Single copies are distributed free to interested individuals. Libraries, herpetological associations, and research laboratories are invited to exchange their publications with the Division of Amphibians and Reptiles. We wish to encourage individuals to share their bibliographies, translations, etc. with other herpetologists through the SHIS series. If you have such items please contact George Zug for instructions on preparation and submission. Contributors receive 50 free copies. Please address all requests for copies and inquiries to George Zug, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560 USA. Please include a self-addressed mailing label with requests. INTRODUCTION The present alphabetical listing by author (s) covers all papers bearing on herpetology that have appeared in Volume 1-100, 1882-1987, of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington and the four numbers of the Bulletin series concerning reference to amphibians and reptiles. From Volume 1 through 82 (in part) , the articles were issued as separates with only the volume number, page numbers and year printed on each. Articles in Volume 82 (in part) through 89 were issued with volume number, article number, page numbers and year.
    [Show full text]
  • Ephemeral Pleistocene Woodlands Connect the Dots for Highland Rattlesnakes of the Crotalus Intermedius Group
    Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2011) ORIGINAL Ephemeral Pleistocene woodlands ARTICLE connect the dots for highland rattlesnakes of the Crotalus intermedius group Robert W. Bryson Jr1*, Robert W. Murphy2,3, Matthew R. Graham1, Amy Lathrop2 and David Lazcano4 1School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, ABSTRACT Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Aim To test how Pleistocene climatic changes affected diversification of the Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA, 2Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Crotalus intermedius species complex. Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Location Highlands of Mexico and the south-western United States (Arizona). Canada, 3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Methods We synthesize the matrilineal genealogy based on 2406 base pairs of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, mitochondrial DNA sequences, fossil-calibrated molecular dating, reconstruction Kunming 650223, China, 4Laboratorio de of ancestral geographic ranges, and climate-based modelling of species Herpetologı´a, Universidad Auto´noma de distributions to evaluate the history of female dispersion. Nuevo Leo´n, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Results The presently fragmented distribution of the C. intermedius group is the Leo´n CP 66440, Mexico result of both Neogene vicariance and Pleistocene pine–oak habitat fragmentation. Most lineages appear to have a Quaternary origin. The Sierra Madre del Sur and northern Sierra Madre Oriental are likely to have been colonized during this time. Species distribution models for the Last Glacial Maximum predict expansions of suitable habitat for taxa in the southern Sierra Madre Occidental and northern Sierra Madre Oriental. Main conclusions Lineage diversification in the C.
    [Show full text]
  • Genetic Diversity and Structure of Crotalus Triseriatus, a Rattlesnake of Central Mexico
    Journal of Genetics, Vol. 97, No. 5, December 2018, pp. 1119–1130 © Indian Academy of Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-018-1004-y RESEARCH ARTICLE Genetic diversity and structure of Crotalus triseriatus, a rattlesnake of central Mexico ARMANDO SUNNY, OCTAVIO MONROY-VILCHIS∗ and MARTHA M. ZARCO-GONZÁLEZ Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Instituto Literario # 100, Colonia Centro, Toluca, Estado de México, CP 50000, México *For correspondence. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]. Received 27 November 2017; revised 10 March 2018; accepted 27 March 2018; published online 23 October 2018 Abstract. The isolated and fragmented populations are highly susceptible to stochastic events, increasing the extinction risk because of the decline in putative adaptive potential and individual fitness. The population has high heterozygosity values and a moderate allelic diversity, the heterozygosity values are higher than in most other Crotalus species and snake studies. Possibly these high levels of genetic diversity can be related to a large founder size, high effective population size, multiple paternity and overlapping generations. We did not find the genetic structuring but the effective number of alleles (Ne) was 138.1. We found evidence of bottlenecks and the majority of rattlesnakes were unrelated, despite the small sample size, endemic status, the isolated and fragmented habitat. The genetic information provided in this study can be useful as a first approach to try to make informed conservation efforts for this species and also, important to preserve the habitat of this species; the endangered Abies–Pinus forest of the Nevado the Toluca Volcano.
    [Show full text]
  • Multilocus Species Delimitation in the Crotalus Triseriatus Species Group (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae), with the Description of Two New Species
    Zootaxa 3826 (3): 475–496 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2014 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3826.3.3 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8D8FCB6B-E1DC-4A00-9257-BCAB7D06AE22 Multilocus species delimitation in the Crotalus triseriatus species group (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae), with the description of two new species ROBERT W. BRYSON, JR.1,8, CHARLES W. LINKEM1, MICHAEL E. DORCAS2, AMY LATHROP3, JASON M. JONES4, JAVIER ALVARADO-DÍAZ5, CHRISTOPH I. GRÜNWALD6 & ROBERT W. MURPHY3,7 1Department of Biology & Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Box 351800, Seattle, WA 98195- 1800, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 2Department of Biology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035-7118, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 3Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] 416310 Avenida Florencia, Poway, California 92064, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 5Instituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Av. San Juanito Itzic- uaro s/n, Col. Nueva Esperanza, C.P. 58337, Morelia, Michoacán, México. 6Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec Oriente #57-1, Col. Centro, C.P. 45920, Ajijic, Jalisco, México. E-mail: [email protected] 7State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, and Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kun- ming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming 250223, Yunnan, China. E-mail: [email protected] 8Corresponding author.
    [Show full text]
  • New Rattlesnakes in the Genera Crotalus Linne
    AustralasianAustralasian JournalJournal ofof HerpetologyHerpetology Hoser, R. T. 2020. New Rattlesnakes in the genera Crotalus Linne, 1758, Uropsophus Wagler, 1830, Cottonus Hoser, 2009, Matteoea Hoser, 2009, Piersonus Hoser, 2009 and Caudisona Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata: Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae). Australasian Journal of Herpetology 48:1-64. ISSN 1836-5698 (Print) ISSN 1836-5779 (Online) ISSUE 48, PUBLISHED 3 AUGUST 2020 2 Australasian Journal of Herpetology Australasian Journal of Herpetology 48:1-64. Published 3 August 2020. ISSN 1836-5698 (Print) ISSN 1836-5779 (Online) New Rattlesnakes in the genera Crotalus Linne, 1758, Uropsophus Wagler, 1830, Cottonus Hoser, 2009, Matteoea Hoser, 2009, Piersonus Hoser, 2009 and Caudisona Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata: Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae). LSIDURN:LSID:ZOOBANK.ORG:PUB:F44E8281-6B2F-45C4-9ED6-84AC28B099B3 RAYMOND T. HOSER LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:F9D74EB5-CFB5-49A0-8C7C-9F993B8504AE 488 Park Road, Park Orchards, Victoria, 3134, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9812 3322 Fax: 9812 3355 E-mail: snakeman (at) snakeman.com.au Received 1 June 2020, Accepted 20 July 2020, Published 3 August 2020. ABSTRACT Ongoing studies of the iconic Rattlesnakes (Crotalinae) identified a number of reproductively isolated populations worthy of taxonomic recognition. Prior to this paper being published, they were as yet unnamed. These studies and taxa identified and formally named herein are following on from earlier papers of Hoser in 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2018, Bryson et al. (2014), Meik et al. (2018) and Carbajal Márquez et al. (2020), which besides naming new genera and subgenera, also named a total of 9 new species and 3 new subspecies. The ten new species and eight new subspecies identified as reproductively isolated and named in accordance with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Ride et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Hoser, R. T. 2016. New Rattlesnakes in the Crotalus Viridis Rafinesque
    34 Australasian Journal of Herpetology Australasian Journal of Herpetology 33:34-41. ISSN 1836-5698 (Print) Published 1 August 2016. ISSN 1836-5779 (Online) New Rattlesnakes in the Crotalus viridis Rafinesque, 1818 and the Uropsophus triseriatus Wagler, 1830 species groups (Squamata:Serpentes:Viperidae:Crotalinae). RAYMOND T. HOSER 488 Park Road, Park Orchards, Victoria, 3134, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9812 3322 Fax: 9812 3355 E-mail: snakeman (at) snakeman.com.au Received 4 June 2015, Accepted 28 June 2015, Published 1 August 2016. ABSTRACT There have been a series of major reviews of the taxonomy of the Crotalus (Sayersus) viridis and the Uropsophus triseriatus Wagler, 1830 species groups in the last 16 years. Most authors now recognize all or most of the subspecies listed by Klauber (1972) as valid species. However Pook et al. (2000) provided evidence to suggest that the taxa C. nuntius Klauber, 1935, C. callignis Klauber, 1949, and C. abyssus Klauber, 1930 should at best be recognized as subspecies of C. viridis Rafinesque, 1820, C. helleri Meek, 1905 and C. lutosus Klauber, 1930 respectively. Pook et al. (2000) also produced evidence to show significant lineages that warranted taxonomic recognition, including central Californian C. oreganus Holbrook, 1840 and a population of C. helleri from California, distinct from both nominate C. helleri and C. callignis. The more recent data of Davis et al. (2016), although incomplete, also supported this contention. As no names are available for each group, both are formally named according to the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Ride et al. 1999). The central Californian form is herein named C.
    [Show full text]
  • New Distribution Records for the Querã©Tero Dusky
    Western North American Naturalist Volume 67 Number 4 Article 13 12-29-2007 New distribution records for the Querétero dusky rattlesnake Crotalus aquilus (Viperidae), with comments on morphology and habitat use Jesse M. Meik University of Texas at Arlington Estrella Mociño Deloya Campus Universitario de Fuentenueva, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España Kirk Setser Campus Universitario de Fuentenueva, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan Recommended Citation Meik, Jesse M.; Deloya, Estrella Mociño; and Setser, Kirk (2007) "New distribution records for the Querétero dusky rattlesnake Crotalus aquilus (Viperidae), with comments on morphology and habitat use," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 67 : No. 4 , Article 13. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol67/iss4/13 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Western North American Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Western North American Naturalist 67(4), © 2007, pp. 601–604 NEW DISTRIBUTION RECORDS FOR THE QUERÉTERO DUSKY RATTLESNAKE CROTALUS AQUILUS (VIPERIDAE), WITH COMMENTS ON MORPHOLOGY AND HABITAT USE Jesse M. Meik1, Estrella Mociño Deloya2, and Kirk Setser2 ABSTRACT.—We provide the 1st documented accounts of the Mexican endemic rattlesnake Crotalus aquilus from the state of México. The new records extend the known distribution of the species into a region where it may be sympatric with the superficially similar C. triseriatus. Because these taxa have previously been subject to some taxonomic confu- sion, we performed a preliminary morphological comparison using individuals of both species obtained from proximal localities.
    [Show full text]
  • HERP. G66 A7 Uhiumiiy B{ Koiifttu
    HERP. QL G66 .06 A7 The UHiumiiy b{ Koiifttu Wtmm «i Hobiuit Kiftto'uf HARVARD UNIVERSITY G Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Copies of publications may be obtained from the Publications Secretary, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Law- rence, Kansas 66045 Price for this number: $6.00 postpaid Front cover: The subspecies of the ridgenose rattlesnake C. iv. (Crotalus willardi). Clockwise, starting from the upper left, amahilis, C. w. meridionalis, C. w. silus, and C. w. willardi. All photographs by Joseph T. Collins, with the cooperation of the Dallas Zoo. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 5 December 14, 1979 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MEXICAN RATTLESNAKES By BARRY L. ARMSTRONG Research Associate and JAMES B. MURPHY Curator Department of Herpetology Dallas Zoo 621 East Clarendon Drive Dallas, Texas 75203 University of Kansas Lawrence 1979 University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History Editor: E. O. Wiley Co-editor: Joseph T. Collins Special Publication No. 5 pp. 1-88; 43 figures 2 tables Published 14 December 1979 MUS. COMP. ZOO' MAY 1 7 IPR? HARVARD Copyrighted 1979 UNIVERSITY By Museum of Natural History University of Kansas '~\ Lawrence, Kansas 66045 U.S.A. Printed By University of Kansas Printing Service Lawrence, Kansas ISBN: 0-89338-010-5 To Jonathan A. Campbell for his encouragement *?;:»:j>.^ ,_.. = -V-.^. ^4^4 PREFACE Beginning in November, 1966, studies on rattlesnakes (genera Crotalus and Sistrurus) and other pit vipers were initiated at the Dallas Zoo which included techniques for maintenance and disease treatments, in conjunction with observations on captive and wild populations.
    [Show full text]
  • Morphometrics, Molecular Ecology and Multivariate Environmental Niche Define the Evolutionary History of the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus Viridis) Complex
    MORPHOMETRICS, MOLECULAR ECOLOGY AND MULTIVARIATE ENVIRONMENTAL NICHE DEFINE THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RATTLESNAKE (CROTALUS VIRIDIS) COMPLEX BY MARK ALLEN DAVIS DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2012 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Adjunct Professor Michael E. Douglas, Chair Adjunct Associate Professor Marlis R. Douglas Professor Ken N. Paige Professor Patrick J. Weatherhead ABSTRACT Species are the currency of biodiversity and an accurate recognition of their status is a scientific necessity, particularly given the onset of the Anthropocene (the most recent biodiversity crisis). Yet, concept-based species approaches are contentious whereas those more deterministic work against the fluidity of speciation itself. This conceptual gap can be bridged through a comprehensive assessment of the nine subspecies comprising the historically enigmatic Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) complex, one that employs three disparate datasets. First, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data were used to derive a Bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis that revealed two well- supported lineages, each with subspecies as distinct clades. Second, morphological data relating to head shape were analyzed using Geometric Morphometric (GM) methodology to again reveal two distinct lineages, each composed of subspecies that differ significantly in shape, yet with confounding factors that obscure evolutionary relationships. Finally, GIS-based macroecological variables gathered from museum specimens again demonstrated significant subspecific niches, suggesting the potential for ecological speciation within the complex. The three datasets (molecular, morphological, and ecological) were coalesced using supertree methodology to derive a single hypothesis that supported two distinct lineages but with obscured subspecific relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • (Crotalus Oreganus Helleri) Hunting Behavior Through Community Science
    diversity Article Quantifying Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) Hunting Behavior through Community Science Emily R. Urquidi * and Breanna J. Putman Department of Biology, California State University San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: It is increasingly important to study animal behaviors as these are the first responses organisms mount against environmental changes. Rattlesnakes, in particular, are threatened by habitat loss and human activity, and require costly tracking by researchers to quantify the behaviors of wild individuals. Here, we show how photo-vouchered observations submitted by community members can be used to study cryptic predators like rattlesnakes. We utilized two platforms, iNaturalist and HerpMapper, to study the hunting behaviors of wild Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes. From 220 observation photos, we quantified the direction of the hunting coil (i.e., “handedness”), microhabitat use, timing of observations, and age of the snake. With these data, we looked at whether snakes exhibited an ontogenetic shift in behaviors. We found no age differences in coil direction. However, there was a difference in the microhabitats used by juveniles and adults while hunting. We also found that juveniles were most commonly observed during the spring, while adults were more consistently observed throughout the year. Overall, our study shows the potential of using Citation: Urquidi, E.R.; Putman, B.J. community science to study the behaviors of cryptic predators. Quantifying Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) Keywords: citizen science; conservation; ontogeny; behavioral lateralization; snakes Hunting Behavior through Community Science. Diversity 2021, 13, 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/ d13080349 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Crotalus Tancitarensis. the Tancítaro Cross-Banded Mountain Rattlesnake
    Crotalus tancitarensis. The Tancítaro cross-banded mountain rattlesnake is a small species (maximum recorded total length = 434 mm) known only from the upper elevations (3,220–3,225 m) of Cerro Tancítaro, the highest mountain in Michoacán, Mexico, where it inhabits pine-fir forest (Alvarado and Campbell 2004; Alvarado et al. 2007). Cerro Tancítaro lies in the western portion of the Transverse Volcanic Axis, which extends across Mexico from Jalisco to central Veracruz near the 20°N latitude. Its entire range is located within Parque Nacional Pico de Tancítaro (Campbell 2007), an area under threat from manmade fires, logging, avocado culture, and cattle raising. This attractive rattlesnake was described in 2004 by the senior author and Jonathan A. Campbell, and placed in the Crotalus intermedius group of Mexican montane rattlesnakes by Bryson et al. (2011). We calculated its EVS as 19, which is near the upper end of the high vulnerability category (see text for explanation), its IUCN status has been reported as Data Deficient (Campbell 2007), and this species is not listed by SEMARNAT. More information on the natural history and distribution of this species is available, however, which affects its conservation status (especially its IUCN status; Alvarado-Díaz et al. 2007). We consider C. tancitarensis one of the pre-eminent flagship reptile species for the state of Michoacán, and for Mexico in general. Photo by Javier Alvarado-Díaz. Amphib. Reptile Conserv. | http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org 128 September 2013 | Volume 7 | Number 1 | e71 Copyright: © 2013 Alvarado-Díaz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted use for Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 128–170.
    [Show full text]
  • Venom Phenotypes of the Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus Lepidus) and the Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus Willardi)Frommexico and the United States
    Toxicon 138 (2017) 119e129 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Toxicon journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/toxicon Venom phenotypes of the Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus) and the Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi)fromMexico and the United States Anthony J. Saviola a, 1, Anthony J. Gandara a, 1, Robert W. Bryson Jr. b, * Stephen P. Mackessy a, a School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA b Department of Biology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA article info abstract Article history: Although the Mexican Highlands has the highest diversity of small-bodied rattlesnakes in the world, Received 24 May 2017 studies on the species found throughout this region have been relatively scarce. This has led to challenges Received in revised form with examining venom phenotypic characteristics, as well as species misidentifications and mis- 21 July 2017 classifications. In the current study we investigated venom variation among four subspecies of Crotalus Accepted 17 August 2017 lepidus (C. l. klaluberi, C. l. lepidus, C. l. maculosus, C. l. morulus) and four subspecies of C. willardi (C. w. Available online 19 August 2017 amabilis, C. w. obscurus, C. w. silus, and C. w. willardi) that inhabit regions of southwestern United States and central Mexico. SDS-PAGE patterns show the presence of many of the major compounds found in Keywords: Enzyme other rattlesnake venoms, although minor variations in protein banding patterns and intensity are Evolution recognizable. Most notably, PI-metalloproteinase (SVMP) bands appear to be very faint to absent in Phenotypic variation northern C. l.
    [Show full text]