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Cfreptiles & Amphibians WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & IRCF AMPHIBIANS REPTILES • VOL &15, AMPHIBIANS NO 4 • DEC 2008 • 189 22(4):178–181 • DEC 2015 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCED SPECIES FEATURE ARTICLES . Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: Notes onOn the Road the to Understanding Striped the Ecology and Conservation Keelback of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... (Xenochrophis Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198 vittatusRESEARCH) in ARTICLES Puerto Rico: A Recently Reported . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 Non-native. The Knight Anole (AnolisSnake equestris) in Florida in the Western Hemisphere .............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212 CONSERVATION ALERT Adriana Herrera-Montes Department of Biology,. World’s University Mammals of in PuertoCrisis ............................................................................................................................................................. Rico-Rio Piedras Campus, P.O. Box 23360, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00931-3360 ([email protected]) 220 . More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 . The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ...........................................................................................................................................Photographs by the author. 225 HUSBANDRY he Striped Keelback. Captive ( CareXenochrophis of the Central Netted vittatus Dragon; .......................................................................................................Fig. 1) is a (six anurans and six reptiles Shannon have Plummer been 226 previously recorded). semi-aquatic snake (Pauwels et al. 2008) in a genus with Of the introduced reptiles, to date only one snake species, T PROFILE a historically confused. Kraig taxonomy Adler: A Lifetime (Vogel Promoting and Herpetology David ................................................................................................ 2012) the Boa Constrictor (Boa Michael constrictor L. Treglia spp.)234 is considered estab- that includes either 12 (Dubey et al. 2012) or 13 (Uetz and lished. However, five additional snake species have been doc- COMMENTARY Hošek 2015) species. The Striped Keelback occurs naturally umented, although they are not known to have established . The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238 in Indonesia (Banga, Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi [Celebes]; breeding populations (Mayer 2012). The new record of X. Inger and Voris 2001;BOOK de LangREVIEW and Vogel 2006; Raharjo and vittatus in Puerto Rico increases the total number of snake . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, Hakim 2015) and an introducedR. Berridge, P. Ramani,population and B.E. Young is established .............................................................................................................. in species in the island to twelve. Robert Powell 243 Singapore (Uetz and Hošek 2015). The presence of X. vit- In Puerto Rico, observations of X. vittatus have been tatus in Puerto Rico CONSERVATION is the first record RESEARCH of the REPORTS: species Summaries in the of Publishedrecorded Conservation since Research 2011 Reports in ................................. the northeastern 245 lowlands (Herrera- NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 Western Hemisphere NEWBRIEFS (Herrera-Montes ...................................................................................................................................................................................... et al. 2015) and is Montes 2014; Herrera-Montes et 248 al. 2015). Individuals the thirteenth introduced EDITORIAL herpetofaunal INFORMATION species ..................................................................................................................................................... on the island observed include adults and juveniles 251 detected in pastures FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252 Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Totat et velleseque audant mo Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as accullabo. Fig. 1. Juvenile Striped Keelback (Xenochrophis vittatus) captured in an urban pasture in Carolina Pueblo on 24 February 2012. Photograph deposited as voucher (MZUPRRP-PA-05) in the Museum of Zoology at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. Copyright © 2015. Adriana Herrera-Montes. All rights reserved. 178 HERRERA-MONTES IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 22(4):178–181 • DEC 2015 Fig. 2. Striped Keelback (Xenochrophis vittatus) habitat: Urban pasture in Carolina Pueblo (30 m elev.). Photograph deposited as voucher (MZUPRRP-PA-06) in the Museum of Zoology at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. with shorter grasses (<1.5 m height; Fig. 2) and along the assemblage. The Common Coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui edges of mature secondary forest (Fig. 3) near wet, swampy Thomas) was the dominant species (Herrera-Montes 2014; areas at elevations of 27–144 m asl. In its natural range, the Table 1). Anolis pulchellus, L. albilabris, E. coqui, and other species occurs from coastal plains to elevations of 1,200 m common or threatened native species could be potential prey and frequently is associated with terrestrial to semi-aquatic or competitors of X. vittatus in Puerto Rico (Table 1). habitats, such as wetlands, ponds, rice paddies, grasslands, The time of introduction of X. vittatus in Puerto Rico is scrublands, and suburban areas (Bergman 1950; Raharjo and unknown, but anecdotal accounts of “Garter Snake” sightings Hakim 2015). The Striped Keelback is diurnal, oviparous in Carolina Municipality can be traced to around 1994 and (clutches averaging five eggs), breeds year-round (Bergman refer to an accidental escape of snakes, presumably for the pet 1950), and feeds primarily on fishes and frogs (Bergman trade, from containers at the Luis Muñoz Marín International 1950; Hampton 2011; Guo et al. 2012). However, some Airport (Herrera-Montes et al. 2015). Xenochrophis vittatus Puerto Rican observations document individuals moving is currently not listed in CITES, but evidence indicates its through sampling sites at night, apparently searching actively presence in the international trade of live animals in the U.S. for food. Between 2004 and the first few months of 2015, over 19,000 In pastures where X. vittatus was observed, ten additional Striped Keelbacks have been imported (C. Romagosa, pers. species comprise the herpetofaunal assemblage (Table 1), and comm.). The Striped Keelback is an attractive snake and is two common species, the White-lipped Frog (Leptodactylus in Indonesia commonly kept as a pet. It is harmless, easy albilabris Cochran) and the Common Grass Anole (Anolis to catch, and does not bite; it lives around 10 years, and is pulchellus Duméril and Bibron), were dominant species easily maintained in captivity (Bergman 1950). All of these (Herrera-Montes 2014). The White-lipped Frog is a com- characteristics foster its popularity in the exotic animal trade, mon and adaptable frog endemic to the Puerto Rican Bank which increases the risk of new introductions and transloca- (Mayer 2012). This frog is mainly active in the evening and tions of individuals to other localities around Puerto Rico, the usually is associated with humid, swampy, and disturbed hab- Antilles, and the Western Hemisphere. itats around the island (Rivero 2006). The Common Grass With the exception of the Puerto Rican Slider (Trachemys Anole is a diurnal grass-bush ecomorph (Williams 1983) that s. stejnegeri Schmidt), Puerto Rico lacks native species of semi- is widely distributed in Puerto Rico (Gorman and Harwood aquatic reptiles (Joglar et al. 2007; Mayer 2012), and non- 1977). It is common in grassy and open habitats (Rand saline aquatic environments represent an unexploited resource 1964), where it is found in extremely high population densi- for other introduced reptiles and amphibians. Since observa- ties (to 20,000 individuals/ha; Gorman and Harwood 1977). tions of X. vittatus in Puerto Rico are indicative of a well- In the secondary forest parcel where I observed X. vittatus, established population (Herrera-Montes et al. 2015), studies 17 species including X. vittatus
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