BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Volume 3 Number 5 AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA William E. Duellman and Albert Schwartz UNIVERSIT¥ OF FLORIDA Gainesville 1958 The numbers of THE BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, will be published at irregular intervals. Volumes will contain about 800 pages and will not necessarily be completed in any one calendar ytar. WILLIAM J. RIEMER, Editor ROLAND F. HUSSEY, Associata Editor All communications concerning purchase or exchange of the publication should be addressed to the·-Curator of Biological Sciences, Florida State Museum, Seagle Building, Gainesville, Florida. Manuscripts should be sent to the Editor of the BULLETIN, Flint Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Published 10 December 1958 Price for this issue $1.63 AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA . WILLIAM E. DUE:LLMAN and ALBERT SCHWARTZ l SYNOPSIS: The 85 species of reptiles and amphibians known to occur in southern peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys are treated systematically. The discussion for each species includes data on variation, ecology, life history, habits, and distribution. The definition of geographid races in southern Florida has been accomplished only after extensive analyses of the variation encountered throughout the peninsula. The area of study is broken down-into six major habi- tats; the distribution of the species in these habitats is analyzed. Ideas on the origin and relationships of the herpetofauna of southern F16rida are assayed on the basis of a knotledge of the history of the peninsula and Florida Keys and on what is known of the relationships of the component species of the herpetofauna. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .... 182 Acknowledgments .... 188 Area of study...... 184 Physiography and geology . 184 Climate . ... ... 188 Vegetation and animal habitats . 188 Composition of the herpetofauna . 208 Ecology of the herpetofauna. 206 Geography of the herpetofauna . 218 Origin of the herpetofauna... 215 Accounts of the species.... 222 Summary . 818 Literature cited..,.... 319 i William E. Duellman i5 an Instructor in the Department of Biology at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. (This paper is contribution No. 18 from that department.) He also is associated with the Museum of Zoology at the University of Michigan, where the work on this study was done; he comjleted the study under a grant from the National Academy of Sciences in 1957. Albert Schwartz is an Instructor_ in the Department of Biology at Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania. The collections for the present study were made while he was a student at the Museum of Zoology at tbe Univer5ity of Michigan. Man- uscript submitted 14 January 1958.-ED. 182 BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM Vol. 8 INTRODUCTION The southern tip of the Florida peninsula with its adjoining chain of islands, the Florida Keys, represents the only area in continental United States wherein semitropical and even trbpical conditions pre- vail. The peninsula also represents a cul-de-sac for animals from the north and -a springboiird for those from the West Indies. How- ever, man has also moved into southern Florida in great numbers, and in recent years he has wrought destruction to many of the natural habitats, so that many square miles of the "Big Cypress" have passed through the sawmill and no longer provide a mysterious abode for the "lurking denizens of the swamp," The Everglades have been burned and drained, and once where great bull alligators bellowed at night and huge flocks of snowy egrets and roseate spoonbills fed in the marshes byday, large herds of Brahman cattle now dot the landscape. In places oil derricks interrupt the Hatness of the saw- grass prairies and stand as monuments to human exploitation. Many of the most beautiful and extensive tropical harnmocks in the Miami area have been hewed away to make room for homes. Already it is too late to learn of many of the intimate relations between the animals and their natural environment. Our original intention was to present the accumulated data on the amphibians and reptiles of southern Florida in a manner that would be usable not only for the herpetologist, but for the layman as well. With the appearance of Carr and Goin's "Guide to the rep- ' tiles, amphibians, and fresh-water fishes of Florida" in 1955, this plan was abandoned; consequently, the material is embodied in. this techni- cal report. This study grew out of the collections of amphibians and reptiles made by the junior author while he was studying the mammals of southern Florida. He. spent the springs and summers of 1951 and 1952 in that area. Even' a cursory examination of his extensive col- lections showed the need for additional material and· extensive field work to untangle many problems concerning the herpetofauna. Both of us worked in the field in the summer of 1953, during which time we attempted to collect adequate series of many species and to de- termine the geographical distribution of all of the forms. Our field work was repeated in the summer of 1954, at which time the em- phasis was placed on gathering ecological data. The only other major field work was a winter excursion to the Florida Keys by the junior author and L. Neil Bell in 1958. The field work resulted in the collection of several thousand herpetological specimens, of which 1958 DUELLMAN AND SCHWARTZ: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES 188 4740 were deposited in the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology; smaller numbers were deposited in the University of Miami reference collection and in the Charleston Museum. These added to previously existing specimens in various museums in the United States make a total of 8562 specimens from southern Florida that were examined during the course of this study. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS While the authors were in the field they enlisted the aid of several people for collecting specimens and called on others for information and observations. Although the entire list is too long to print here, each individual has our sincere thanks for the time and effort that helped to make this study a reality. Certain individuals must be singled out for special acknowledgment. Among these are three residents of Miami, Florida-L. Neil Bell, Dennis R. Paulson, and Raymond P. Porter. Bell, who at one time was working with the authors on this report, was responsible for the collection of large numbers of specimens and for gathering· data on the distribution and life histories of many species. Paulson, through his energetic field work, greatly enlarged our collections. Porter, with his knowledge of Florida wildlife and the Everglades, was a constafit source of valuable information and ideas. To these people we are, deeply in-, debted, for had it not been for their interest and enthusiasm, much of the data presented here would still be awaiting our discovery. Other individuals deserving special mention for their assistance in the field are Ann S. Duellman, Julian Harrison, Norman Hartweg, James E. Mosimann, Daniel R. Stanland, Thomas M. Uzzell, Jr., and Harold J. Walter. For the loan of specimens or permission to work in their respec- tive institutions we wish to thank Charles M. Bogert, American Mu- seum of Natural History; Doris M. Cochran, United States National Museum; the late Emmett R. Dunn, Acadamy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; Coleman J. Coin and Duke Wilder, University of Flor- ida; Arthur Loveridge, Museum ' of Comparative Zoology; Wilfred T. Neill, Ross Allen Reptile Institute; M. Graham Netting and Neil Richmond, Carnegie Museum; Oscar T. Owre, University of Miami; William J. Hamilton, Jr. and C. Richard Robins; Cornell University; the late Karl P. Schmidt, Chicago Natural History Museum; and Hobart M. Smith, University of Illinois. Iii ~one way or another Walter Auffenberg, Roger Conant, Richard Edgren,: Arn-bld B. Grob- man, William Haast, and M. B. Mittleman have helped with certain 184 BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM V61. 8 problems. Irving J. Cantrall, Fred G. Thompson, and Harold J. Walters of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, and H. F. Strohecker of the University of Miami, identified invertebrate remains from stomach contents. Pierre Dansereau, formerly of the University of Michigan and now of the Universitd de Montrdal, greatly assisted the senior author in formulating the ecological section of this report; a preliminary paper on this aspect of the study was presented at the meetings of the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Gaines- ville, Florida, in 1954. All of the senior author's work on this project was done at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Sincere thanks are due to Norman Hartweg, T. H, Hubbell, the late J. Speed Rogers, and Charles F. Walker for not only placing at his disposal the facilities of the institution, but for suggestions and assistance during the course of the study. The photographs of preserved specimens were taken by William L. Brudon, those of habitats in southern Florida by the senior author and his wife. All of the 6ther illustrations are the work of the senior author. We are indebted to Daniel B. Beard, Superintendent, Everglades National Park, for permission to collect in the area under his jurisdic- tion. Financial support for field work in southern Florida was fur- nished by the Museum of Zoology University of Michigan. The study was completed by the senior author under a grant from the Bache Fund of the National Academy of Sciences. AREA OF STUDY In this study we have concerned ourselves only with the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and the adjacent Florida Keys. Of course, reference is made to the area to the north, but the northern boundary of the present survey consists of an imaginary line from Fort Lauder- dale to Naples.