WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
IRCF REPTILES IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, & NOAMPHIBIANS • 20(2):92–94 • JUN 4 • DEC 2008 189
2013
IRCF
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS
C O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y
T A B L E
O F
C O N T E N T S
INTRODUCED
FEATURE ARTICLES
SPECIES
First Account of the Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) in Texas Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer
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The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson
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RESEARCH ARTICLES
The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry
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............................................. Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky
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The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ...........................................................................................................................................
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1, Stephen G. Ross1, Chris Havel2, L.K. Wolfe III1, Chris Collins1, and Roxanne A. Losey3 Eric C. Munscher The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida 1
SWCA Environmental Consultants, 10245 West Little York Road Suite 600 Houston Texas 77040, USA
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]) C O N S E R V A T I (
[email protected], ON ALERT 2 Seaworld San Antonio, 10500 SeaWorld Drive, San Antonio, Texas, 78251, USA (
[email protected]) World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 3 Disney’s Animal...................................................................................................................................................................... Kingdom, 551 N Rainforest Rd, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830. USA (
[email protected])223 More Than Mammals Photographs by L.K. Wolfe III
HUSBANDRY
Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer
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n 16 April 2013, during annual turtle population samThis turtle was caught by hand while snorkeling the northPROFILE pling at Comal Springs (Landa Lake) in New Braunfels, ern escarpment side of Landa Lake, the headwaters of the Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234 Texas (29.714917°N, -98.135292°W, Datum WGS84), Comal River. Photographs of the specimen were sent to the COM M Eidentified NTARY the authors collected and an adult male (CL 166 Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center at the The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238 mm) Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta; Fig. 1). University of Texas at Arlington (UTA DC #s 8054–8056), BOOK REVIEW Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell
CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ...............................................................................................
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Back Cover. Michael Kern
Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.
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Fig. 1. An adult male Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta; UF 168594) captured during the 2013 spring sampling session of a long-term monitoring program at Comal Springs (Landa Park), New Braunfels, Texas. Note the yellow cheek patch characteristic of this taxon. Copyright © 2013. Eric C. Munscher. All rights reserved.
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INTRODUCED SPECIES
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(2):92–94 • JUN 2013
Fig. 2. Possible hybrid between native Red-eared and introduced Yellow-bellied Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans x T. s. scripta) showing characteristics of both subspecies. This turtle was captured during the 2013 spring sampling session of a long-term monitoring program at Comal Springs (Landa Park), New Braunfels, Texas.
where Dr. Carl J. Franklin, based on key morphological characteristics that differ substantially from those of the Redeared Slider (T. s. elegans) (e.g., Conant and Collins 1991, Buhlmann et al. 2008), identified this turtle as a Yellowbellied Slider. This subspecies has never been reported from Texas. Our photographic vouchers represent not only a Comal County record (Dixon 2000, 2012) but a new record for the state of Texas (Dixon 2000, 2012). Several other turtles captured during the first year of sampling at Comal Springs also had characteristics of Yellow-bellied Sliders that included large yellow cheek patches and black plastral mottling (Fig. 2). We believe that these individuals might be intergrades between Yellow-bellied and Red-eared Sliders. Many turtle species, including Red-eared Sliders, Yellowbellied Sliders, and Mississippi Map Turtles (Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii), have been widely sold throughout the country by the pet industry (Krysko et al. 2011). Although Yellow-bellied Sliders currently are not abundant in the Texas pet trade, we believe that the voucher specimen is most likely a “pet turtle” drop off, wherein a young turtle was purchased
and the owner subsequently released it into a local waterway. This individual’s relatively small size (presumably reflecting a young age class) suggests that this turtle had recently been released at the park. Rose et al. (1998) reported a similar situation in a nearby locality by documenting the introduction of Florida Red-bellied Cooters (Pseudemys nelsoni) in Hays County, Texas. Invasive species have been a major issue in Florida for many years (Krysko et al. 2011). Although Texas has fewer invasive species than Florida, species like the Yellow-bellied Slider can pose serious ecological issues. Introduced sliders could compete with native species or, as suggested by the presence of putative hybrids, compromise the genetic integrity of native Red-eared Sliders through interbreeding. Acknowledgements We thank the SWCA Environmental consultants for supporting the research crew during the sampling at Comal Springs as well as current and past North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG) volunteers, who have facilitated this long-term study over the past 14 years. 93
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Literature Cited
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(2):92–94 • JUN 2013
Dixon, J.R. 2013. Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas with Keys, Taxonomic Synopses, Bibliography, and Distribution Maps. 3rd ed. Texas A&M University Press, College Station.
Buhlmann, K, T. Tuberville, and W. Gibbons. 2008. Turtles of the Southeast. University of Georgia Press. Athens.
Krysko, K.L., K.M. Enge, and P.E. Moler. 2011. Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Florida. Final Report, Project Agreement 08013. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee.
Conant, R. and J.T. Collins. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Rose, F.L., R.W. Manning, T.R. Simpson, and S. Jenkins. 1998. A sustaining population of the Florida Red-bellied Turtle, Pseudemys nelsoni (Reptilia: Emydidae) in Spring Lake, Hays County, Texas. Texas Journal Science 50:89–92.
Dixon, J.R. 2000. Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas. 2nd ed. Texas A&M University Press, College Station.
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