natural history notes

and often grasped fecal pellets in their jaws and repeatedly shook them. The hatchlings' interest in the fecal pellets gradually waned after 15 minutes, and by 20 minutes, the plate of dried feces was largely ignored. However, thirteen days later, a plate of dried feces was placed in the cage with the 7 Agua Caliente hatchlings. Two of the hatchlings again tried to eat the feces, but the others showed no interest. TABLE

1. Food choice of hatchling chuckwallas.

Locality

(N)

Ate lettuce first

Ate feces first

Agua Caliente, AZ Crater Range, AZ Picacho Mts., AZ Salt River Mts., AZ Apple Valley, CA Desert Center, CA Palm Springs, CA

(19) (4) (8) (3) (6) (9) (5)

4 0 1 2 4

15 4 7

Totals

0

2 9 4

I2

42

The feces of adult chuckwallas were generally too large for the hatchlings to ingest. However, the neonates seized the dried fecal droppings in their mouths, usually at the tapered ends of the pellets, attempted to bite them, and subsequently shook them violently. In some instances, this repeated shaking behavior (up to 8 bouts observed), successfully led to breaking off small bits of the fecal pellet which could be ingested. Whether ingestion of fecal material is necessary for inoculation of symbionts remains conjectural. Only a few hatchlings succeeded in actually eating bits of fecal material, but all lizards eventually demonstrated normal food digestion. Hence, the repeated "mouthing" of the fecal pellets was probably sufficient to inoculate the neonates with symbiotic microbes. The gut symbionts of iguanas are obligate anaerobes and presumably do not survive long outside the intestinal environment. Thus, Troyer (1982) concluded that a brief association between juvenile and adult iguanas was necessary to effect microbial transfer. While the microbial symbionts in chuckwallas have not been studied, presumably they are also anaerobes. The strong social component to chuckwalla behavior (Berry 1974), would facilitate parent to offspring transfer (via coprophagy) of these colonic microbes. Coprophagy was not observed during the subsequent months that the hatchlings were reared, except on two occasions. A juvenile was observed tongue-flicking and briefly "mouthing" a fecal pellet from a sibling that shared its cage, and another hatchling actually ate an entire fecal pellet. These instances occurred after a two-day period of food deprivation and may simply have been due to hunger. Acknowledgments. Chuckwallas were collected in California under scientific permit numbers 0301 and 9044, and in Arizona under several nonresident hunting licenses. I wish to thank Jay Chance, Jerrold J. and Martin J. Feldner, Tom Greb, Ellen M. Kiley (USFWS), Jim McGuire, Tony Mills, Lester Milroy III, Regis Opferman, and Jeff Wines for help in procuring adult chuckwallas. T. Greb assisted in recording observational data. —

LITERATURE CITED BERRY,

K. H. 1974. The ecology and social behavior of the chuckwalla,

Sauromalus obesus obesus Baird. Univ. California Publ. Zool. 101:1-

60.

222

D. R., AND R. ETHERIDGE. 1989. A phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy of iguanian lizards (Reptilia: Squamata). Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Misc. Publ. 81:1-65. IVERSON, J. B. 1982. Adaptations to herbivory in iguanine lizards. In G. M. Burghardt and A. S. Rand (eds.), Iguanas of the World: Their Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, pp. 60-76. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, New Jersey. MONTANUCCI, R. R. 1997. Captive management, behavior and conservation of chuckwallas, Sauromalus obesus (Lacertilia: Iguanidae). Bull. Chicago Herpetol. Soc. 32(6):121-137. TROYER, K. 1982. Transfer of fermentation microbes between generations in a herbivorous lizard. Science 216:540-542. FROST,

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES Instructions for contributors to Natural History Notes appear in Volume 20, Number I (March 1999).

CAUDATA PLETHODON IDAHOENSIS (Coeur d'Alene Salamander) SKELETAL ABNORMALITY. Natural occurrence of scoliosis has been reported in Plethodon glutinosus (Marvin 1995. Herpetol.

Rev. 26:30). Herein we report a similar condition in an adult male (4.2 cm SVL) Plethodon idahoensis collected in the Kootenai River Gorge, Lincoln Co., Montana, USA, on 30 May 1985. A radiograph of the individual (Fig. 1) reveals that trunk and anterior caudal vertebrae were affected. Opacities more dense than bone also appear in the trunk and may represent ingested mineral. A comparison with cleared and stained P idahoensis specimens indicates that this abnormal salamander's SVL would have exceeded 5 cm if not for the unusual spine curvature. The individual was therefore at least 4 yrs old when collected (Lynch 1984. Reproductive Ecology of Plethodon idahoensis. M.S. Thesis, University of Idaho, Moscow). Thanks to Chris Davitt for the radiograph and Dan Bivens for photography.

FIG. 1. Scoliosis in an adult Plethodon idahoensis.

Submitted by SARA M. PETERSON and ALBERT G. WILSON, JR., Department of Life Sciences, MS 3180, Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 Fort George Wright Drive, Spokane, Washington 99224, USA, and EVELYN M. WILSON, Deer Park Animal Medical Center, 31207 North Short Road, Deer Park, Washington 99006, USA. ANURA BUFO SPECIOSUS (Texas Toad). DIET. Reports of food items for Bufo speciosus are nonexistent. However, like other xeric toad

species, it is presumed to feed on a diverse array of terrestrial and flying arthropods (Degenhardt et al. 1996. Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico. Univ. New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 431 pp.) On 7 August 1998 at ca. 0100 h, a subadult (54 mm SUL, 18.5

Herpetological Review 30(4), 1999

g) B. speciosus was collected alive on road (AOR) from Kerr County, Texas, USA, 10.6 rd km E of junction of US Hwy 83 and St Hwy 39, on St. Hwy 39. The stomach and intestines were removed and preserved in 70% ETOH the following day. Upon later examination, the following prey species were found, with number of individual prey items in parentheses. Hymenoptera: Odontomachus clarus (1), Pogonomyrmex barbatus (48), Solenopsis invicta (8); Coleoptera: Agrypnus sp. (2), Harpalus sp. (3); Hemiptera: Cnemodus marvoritus (1). The B. speciosus specimen has been deposited in the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A&M University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, College Station, Texas (TCWC 79864). Stomach contents were deposited in the Texas A&M University Insect Collection (TAMUIC 627), Department of Entomology, College Station, Texas. I thank Edward G. Riley, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, for correcting and verifying insect identifications.

313), as observed in some North American tadpoles. The importance of fishing spiders as predators on air-breathing tadpoles should be explored elsewhere, particularly in the tropics. Submitted by PETER McINTYRE, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. PTYCHADENA MASCARENIENSIS MASCARENIENSIS

(NCN). DIET. During February 1999, we observed an adult Ptychadena m. mascareniensis (Ranidae) consuming other frogs at

two sites in southeastern Madagascar. On 5 February, in a rice paddy near the village of Amboavola (25°4S, 46°46'E) a large (ca. 50 mm SUL) P m. mascareniensis was observed beginning to swallow a smaller live conspecific (ca. 30 mm SUL). Processing of the prey required ca. three minutes as it was slowly engulfed head-first. The second observation was made in a bog at the Mandena littoral forest (25°58'S, 47°00'E) on 16 February. A 49 mm SUL P. m. Submitted by JOHN H. MALONE, Herpetological Independent mascareniensis was seen lingering for more than 30 minutes near a Study Group, Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collections, Texas A&M small (70 cm diam) temporary pool where more than ten male University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Col- Mantidactylus wittei were calling. It seized one of the M. wittei (18 mm SUL) by a rear leg, and began attempting to swallow it. The lege Station, Texas 77843, USA. prey struggled intensely for the first two minutes, them moved little in the following three minutes as it was swallowed. It was conHYLARANA ALBOLABRIS (NCN). PREDATION. In western sumed posterior first, as the P mascariensis employed a slightly Uganda, Hylarana albolabris (Ranidae) is found exclusively in inertial feeding strategy, especially early in the process, when it waters with low dissolved oxygen, typically permanent pools and opened its mouth quickly, then rapidly made a small anterior movestreams. Unlike most North American species (Wassersug and ment of its body. In the P. m. mascareniensis' stomach, one rear Seibert 1975. Copeia 1975:86-103), H. albolabris tadpoles begin limb of the M. wittei was in the normal resting position while the air breathing immediately after hatching. This reliance on atmo- other was extended forward to the head. We did not observe the spheric air as a source of oxygen is no doubt requisite to their sur- initial seizure of the prey, so cannot comment on the use of the vival under extreme hypoxia. However, air breathing increases tad- tongue. When it had completely swallowed the prey, we captured pole vulnerability to visual predators, such as turtles (Feder 1983. and preserved the Ptychadena for dissection. In addition to the M. Physiol. Zool. 56:522-531). For air-breathing fish, wading birds wittei, the stomach contained a snail (6 mm diam), a small grassare the dominant predators (Kramer 1987. Envir. Ecol. Fish 18:81- hopper (5 mm), a beetle grub (6 mm), and two types of vegetation. 92), and they may also be important tadpole predators. Hylarana The vegetation may have been secondarily ingested along with the albolabris tadpoles possess seven discrete glandular regions that frog. This is the first record of carnivory by P m. mascareniensis, which produce toxins which deter vertebrate predators (Clarias catfish and Xenopus frogs), but these glands seem to be ineffective against is widely distributed across all of Madagascar. In most disturbed areas, it is the largest and most abundant frog, and can be found invertebrate predators. During a field study of the ecology of H. albolabris tadpoles in active during day and night. Thus, if carnivory is a regular habit of Kibale National Park in western Uganda (0°33'S, 30°21'E), I ob- P m. mascareniensis, it may be an important predator on syntopic served the fishing spider Thalassius spinosissimus (or possibly T small frogs such as Heterixalus and Mantidactylus. We also note margaritatus) (Pisauridae) consume air-breathing H. albolabris tad- that inertial feeding is atypical of anurans and merits further invespoles at two different sites. In each case, the spider seized a tadpole tigation. as it surfaced to breathe. After struggling to subdue the tadpole as it Submitted by PETER McINTYRE, Harvard University, Camswam downward, the spider resurfaced and carried the tadpole to the shoreline or a nearby perch above the water, where it was con- bridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA, and JEAN BAPTISTE sumed without evidence of toxicity. Hylarana albolabristadpoles RAMANAMANJATO, QIT Madagascar Minerals, B.P. 225, Fort can reach 3.8 g wet mass and 74 mm TL. Both spiders captured Dauphin 614, Madagascar. tadpoles of approximately the same length as their leg span (ca. 50 mm) and of a much greater mass. RANA CATESBEIANA (Bullfrog) RECORD SIZE. A record size Thalassius fishing spiders are among the most common inverte- Rana catesbeiana from Oklahoma, measuring 20.4 cm SVL, was brate predators found at many forest pools and streams in Kibale reported by Lutterschmidt et al. (1996. Herpetol. Rev. 27:74-75). National Park. Hylarana albolabrismay be particularly susceptible Here we report a larger female, 22.0 cm from the tip of the snout to to fishing spiders because they must breath air regularly, and thus the posterior edge of the vent, in the collection of the Museum of are often exposed to surface predators. Although breeding in chroni- Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. The specimen (MCZcally hypoxic waters may reduce the diversity or efficiency of preda- A-25600) was collected June 1942 (collector unknown) from the tors to which H. albolabris are exposed (McIntyre and McCollum, north shore of Lake Verret, Atchafalya Basin, Assumption Parish, in prep.), it increases their susceptibility to certain predators, such Louisiana, USA. as fishing spiders, which attack air breathers. This may explain why We thank James D. Lazell, Jr. for the measurement, and Jose P. H. albolabris does not rest near the surface or use aquatic surface Rosado for confirmation of the measurement and for use of the respiration (Kramer and Mehegan 1981. Envir. Biol. Fish 6:299- MCZ collection. -


223

Submitted by LESLIE A. THOMAS and GUINEVERE O.U. WOGAN, Department of Herpetology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. (NCN). DEFENSIVE BEHAVIOR. Stiff-legged defensive behavior that involves limb immobil-

SCYTHROPHRYS SAWAYAE

ity and distention was described by Sazima (1978. Biotropica 10[2]:158) for the anurans Proceratophrys appendiculata (Leptodactylidae) and Stereocyclops parkery (Microhylidae), leaf litter inhabitants of the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil. This behavior is also known for Zachaenus parvulus (Leptodactylidae) (Sazima, op. cit.) and Proceratophrys boiei (Leptodactylidae) (Pombal Jr., pers. com .). During studies at Rancho Queimado (27°30'S 49°00'W, 800 m), Serra Geral in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, this behavior was also observed in the leptodactylid frog, Scythrophrys sawayae, an inhabitant of the leaf litter in the Atlantic Rainforest of Parana and Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. Nineteen S. sawayae were collected from 1991 to 1995 and were maintained in captivity for 3-5 days. While handling the frogs, I observed that, after being disturbed, individuals would leap 1020 cm and fall immediately with their vent down, their body fixed to the ground, and their limbs outstretched and rigid (Fig. 1). They remained stationary in this posture for between 30 sec and 10 min. All individuals, independent of sex, including amplexed pairs, demonstrated this behavior while in captivity (Fig. 2). During December 1997 this behavior was observed in the field in individuals engaged in reproductive activity. Some individuals fled from capture by jumping into shallow ponds (± 20 cm deep) where they remained stiff-legged, even while submerged. Sazima (op. cit.) suggested that this defensive behavior would be associated with the cryptic coloring of the dorsum (similar to dead leaves), although S. sawayae shows a different coloration. The specimens present three patterns of dorsal coloring: dark brown (50%, N = 16), green (28%, N = 9), and light brown (22%, N = 7). The dorsal surface of the limbs is yellowish brown, diverging from the dorsal coloring of the body. Dorso-lateral ridges are defined by a fine white line, and extend from the posterior region of the eyelids to the inguinal region. Below these, there is a lateral black strip. While the individual is immobile, the dorso-lateral ridges are more pronounced, and in conjunction with the color difference between the dorsum and the limbs this creates a disruptive effect, breaking the image of the animal from a distance. The chromatic polymorphism also camouflages the individual as it occupies a heterogeneous environment on the forest ground (Edmunds 1974. Defense in Animals. Longman, Harlow. 357 pp.; Krebs and Davies 1978. Behavioural Ecology. Blackwell, London. 494 pp). These chromatic characteristics achieve the same cryptic effect as the "dead leaf' coloration (Sazima, op. cit.) and, with the stiff-legged behavior, act by impeding the formation of search images by visually oriented predators that disturb the litter in search of food. Observation of this behavior in S. sawayae reinforces the observation of Sazima (op. cit.) that there is behavioral convergence among anuran species that inhabit leaf litter and are subject to the same type of predation pressure. Voucher specimens include: Colecao Cello Fernando Baptista Haddad (CFBH 2976-2978), deposited in Universidade Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Zoologia, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil; Museu de Ciencias e Tecnologia da Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCP 2064-75), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. I thank Christine Strussmann and Celio F. B. Haddad for reviewing this note and CAPES for the fellowship.

224

FIG. 1. Scythrophrys sawayae

(CFBH 2976, male, 16 mm) in stiff-legged

behavior.

FIG. 2. Amplectant S. sawayae pair (CFBH 2977, male, 15.5 mm; CFBH 2978 female, 18 mm) in stiff-legged behavior.

Submitted by PAULO CHRISTIANO DE ANCHIETTA GARCIA, Curso de Pos-Graduacao em Zoologia, Dept. Zoologia, I.B., UNESP, C.P. 199. Cep 13506-900. Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. TESTUDINES CHELONIA MYDAS (Green Sea Turtle). NESTING DISTRIBU-

TION. The waters off the North Carolina (USA) coast have been historically viewed as feeding grounds for the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas (Hirth 1971. FAO Fish. Synop. 85). North Carolina

beaches have not been considered nesting grounds for this species (Meylan et al. 1995. Florida Mar. Res. Publ. 52:1-51), although Schwartz et al. (1981. ASB Bull. 28:96) reported one tagged individual that nested five times in North Carolina during the summer of 1980. Here, we demonstrate that the green sea turtle regularly nests on North Carolina beaches. From 1980 to 1994, 34 green sea turtle nests were recorded on North Carolina beaches. Nests were reported from 10 different beaches with the highest concentrations occurring at Camp Lejuene Marine Base (N = 17), Bald Head Island (N = 7), and Cape Hatteras National Seashore (N = 3). The remaining seven beaches had one nest each. The number of nests per year varied from zero to nine and averaged (± standard error) 2.27 ± 0.73 nests. We know that more than one turtle is responsible for these nests due to multiple tag returns in 1992 and 1994. For 32 nests, the average number of eggs per nest was 165 ± 4.27. Four tagged individuals laid an average of 3.40 ± 0.68 nests per season with 11 nesting intervals aver aging 12.64 ± 1.60 days. The average hatch rate was 77.84 ± 4.68c/c for 32 nests and the average incubation was 62.48 ± 1.16 days for 25 nests. Hatch rate was significantly (one-way ANOVA, df = 2, 29, P = 0.003) greater for nests laid in June (90.73 ± 1.99%) and July (82.38 ± 6.97%) than for those laid in August (52.75 ± 10.83% ) Historically, Amelia Island, Florida, was thought to be the north ern boundary for green sea turtle nesting (Dodd 1982. Brimleyana 7:39-54). However, due to the regular nesting for the past 15 years on North Carolina beaches by the green sea turtle, North Carolina should be considered the northernmost limit of the nesting range of this species.


-

-

Submitted by HEATHER MILLER WOODSON and WM. DAVID WEBSTER, Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403-3297, USA (e-mail: [email protected]). CHRYSEMYS PICTA MARGINATA (Midland Painted Turtle). RETICULATE MELANISM. Reticulate melanism (RM) in

painted turtles refers to a netlike or vermiculate pattern of black markings on the carapace, found in addition to any normal carapacial patterns. The pattern was first reported by Smith et al. (1969. J. Herpetol. 3:173-176) as occurring occasionally in adult male western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) from North Dakota. Ernst and Ernst (1972. J. Minnesota Acad. Sci. 38:77-80) found RM in six male and three female C p. bellii from Lake Shetuck in Minnesota, MacCulloch (1981. J. Herpetol. 15:181-185) noted the pattern in Canadian C. p. bellii, and Schueler (1983. Blue Jay 41:8391) added that Canadian C. p. bellii with carapacial RM also typically have the dorsal head stripes interrupted by a reticulate or vermiculate pattern. Stuart (1998. Herpetol. Rev. 29:80-82) found RM to be common in, and restricted to, male C. p. bellii from New Mexico, with a developmental sequence of cephalic RM appearing initially, followed by a progressive anterior-to-posterior spread of carapacial RM.

1958:261-265), but lacked the usual plastral patterning (Fig. 1B); however, the lack of a plastral pattern is not unusual in C. p. marginata: seven others in this sample also lacked a plastral pattern. The RM occurred on the entire carapace (Fig. 1A), and is perhaps more aptly termed vermiculate than reticulate (Fig. 1C). There was no clear evidence of cephalic RM (Fig. 1D). This is apparently the first report of RM in a subspecies of Chrysemys picta other than bellii, and the only one other than that of Ernst and Ernst (op. cit.) for a female. In a study in progress, we have seen RM in other C. p. bellii, but we have not seen it in Chrysemys picta picta (29 from Massachusetts, 12 from Rhode Island, 107 from Connecticut, 28 from Virginia, 21 from North Carolina, 29 from South Carolina, 44 from Georgia), C. p. dorsalis (15 from Mississippi, 38 from Louisiana, 5 from Arkansas), or other C. p. marginata (24 from Michigan, 9 from Ohio, 4 from Tennessee). I thank M Nie for aiding in the collection of turtles in Michigan, and H. Smith-Somerville for taking and preparing the photographs. This investigation was partly supported by grant #IBN-9603934 from the National Science Foundation. Submitted by GORDON R. ULTSCH, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, USA (e-mail: [email protected]). CLEMMYS INSCULPTA (Wood Turtle) and EMYDOIDEA BLANDINGH (Blanding's Turtle). HYBRIDIZATION. Interge-

FIG. 1. A female midland painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata) collected in Shiawassee County, Michigan, in July, 1998. A. dorsal view, showing vermiculate patterning on entire carapace; B. ventral view, showing lack of typical plastral patterning of C. p. marginata; C. close-up of upper right quadrant of carapace, showing details of melanistic patterning; D. dorsal aspect of head, showing lack of reticulate or vermiculate pattern.

All reports of RM have been for C. p. bellii, and all except that of Ernst and Ernst (op. cit.), have found it only on adult males. Here I report a pattern resembling RM in a female Chrysemys picta marginata (14.1 cm straight-line carapace length, Fig. 1A). The animal (deposited at the Florida Museum of Natural History, OF 116102) was the only one of 86 turtles collected in 1998 in Shiawassee and Clinton Counties, Michigan (USA), to display this pattern. It had a typical C. p. marginata degree of disalignment of carapacial scutes (90.1%, using the method of Hartman 1958. Copeia

neric hybridization in turtles is apparently uncommon; most reported instances have occurred under captive conditions (Fritz 1995. Herpetofauna 17:19-34). Here we report repeated occurrences of hybridization between the emydine turtles Clemmys insculpta and Emydoidea blandingii in a semi-natural enclosure. In August 1997 a clutch of 12 hatchling turtles was discovered during the examination of a prepared sand nesting mound within a 0.1 ha research enclosure in Ingham County, Michigan, USA. The enclosure includes a 670 m2 pond with an average depth of about 1 meter. A variable number of freshwater turtles are maintained within this enclosure; these include research specimens as well as several donated specimens of pet trade or unknown origin, used for educational purposes. In spring of 1997 this population included four mature Clemmys insculpta (one male and three females) and two mature Emydoidea blandingii (one male and one female), as well as various deirochelines (Chrysemys, Pseudemys, Graptemys) and several Sternotherus odoratus. The male Clemmys insculpta had previously lost two limbs and had suffered severe damage to its cloaca and penis in a raccoon attack; it was assumed to be incapable of reproduction. The hatchling turtles were recognized to be anomalous based on coloration and details of morphology; a hybridization event was suspected but could not be confirmed based on external morphology. Tissues of one hatchling (killed accidentally during nest excavation) were subjected to DNA analysis (by SKD at Texas A&M University). Comparison of mitochondrial DNA confirmed that the mother of the hatchlings had been Clemmys insculpta. Paternity was resolved by using the microsatellite method (Weber and Wong 1993. Hum. Mol. Gen. 2:1123-1128); this confirmed that the clutch had been fathered by an Emydoidea blandingii. In June 1998 one of the captive female C. insculpta deposited a clutch of 12 eggs in the enclosure. Hatchlings resulting from this nesting were also obvious hybrids. It is presently unknown whether the 1997 and 1998 clutches shared the same mother. The presumed father (Emydoidea blandingii) of the 1997 clutch had been released in June 1997, and a second male E. blandingii had been present for


225

about three weeks in May 1998. Thus, the 1998 hatchlings were either fathered by a different E. blandingii than the 1997 hatchlings, or were the result of long-term sperm storage in the female C. insculpta, a phenomenon presently unreported for this species, but known in Emydoidea (unpublished data). The hybrid turtles display coloration and morphology that can be interpreted as intermediate between parental species, as well as features that may be unique: the hatchling carapace is light tan to dark brown, mottled with black pigment, and is keeled, broad but slightly elongate, with posterior marginal serrations; the lateral sutures of the first vertebral scute are nearly aligned with the lateral sutures of the first anterior marginal scutes; the terminus of the upper jaw is weakly notched, without cusps; the head is black or brown above, prominently marked with lateral and descending tan or yellow stripes and blotches; there is a large light spot or blotch on each side of the neck; the throat is pale yellow, invaded by dark striping. With growth, the carapace tends to elongate and darken, while becoming heavily flecked with yellow; the chin and throat become mostly yellow; and the soft skin on the neck and under the legs becomes a darker yellow-orange. The post-hatchling plastral pattern is yellow with black lateral blotches, a trait shared by both parental species. Hybrid specimens are being captive-raised to investigate questions about adult coloration and morphology, possible plastral hinge development, fertility, sex determination, and behavior. We speculate that hybridization between Clemmys insculpta and Emydoidea blandingii could occur under natural conditions, as they are sympatric over portions of the Upper Great Lakes region. While C. insculpta prefers lotic habitats, as opposed to the lentic tendencies of Emydoidea, one of us (JHH) has frequently noted each species in habitat more typical of the other. Submitted by JAMES H. HARDING, Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA (e-mail: [email protected]), and SCOTT K. DAVIS, Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA. PHRYNOPS WILLIAMSI (Williams' Side-necked Turtle). PREDATION. The mayuato, Procyon cancrivorus, is a nocturnal mam-

mal (Carnivora: Procyonidae) that feeds mainly on crabs, fish, insects, molluscs, amphibians, and occasionally on fruits (Bisbal 1986. Mammalia 50:329-339; Emmons 1990. Neotropical Rainforest Mammals. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 281 pp.). Individual mayuatos eat in specific places called rompederos, which are normally located on the banks of rivers and streams, and are so characteristic that they can be used to confirm the presence of this species in an area. On 9 June 1993, one of us (SB), travelling along a river at Iguazd National Park (25°39'S, 54°20'W) in Misiones Province, Argentina, found crabs and portions of the shell of a juvenile turtle (est. one year of age), identified as Phrynops williamsi, in the rompedero of a mayuato. As far as we know, this is the first account of mayuatos feeding on turtles. The reference material is housed at the Herpetological Collection, Fundacion Miguel Lillo (FML 07764). The identification of the turtle was verified by Gustavo Scrocchi (FML). Submitted by ENRIQUE RICHARD, Institute de Herpetologia, Fundacion Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251,4000 Tucuman, Argentina, and Reserva Experimental Horco Molle, Fac. de Cs. Nat. e IML, Univ. Nac. de Tucuman, casilla de correo 454,4000 Tucuman, Argentina (e-mail: [email protected]), and SAUL BORBOLLA, Reserva Experimental Horco Molle, Fac. de Cs. Nat. 226

e IML, Univ. Nac. de Tucuman, casilla de correo 454, 4000 Tucuman, Argentina. TRACHEMYS GAIGEAE (Big Bend Slider). ENDOPARASITES. In the only study of parasites of Trachemys gaigeae,

McAllister et al. (1995. J. Parasitol. 81:804-805) reported seven species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from turtles collected at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro Co., New Mexico, USA (33°48'N, 106°53'W). Herein we report two species of helminths from a T gaigeae taken in the same study area. On 1 August 1996, a previously-marked T gaigeae (immature female; 182 mm maximal straight-line carapace length, SCL; 790 g) was found drowned in a hoop trap in a pond that was ca. 1 m deep. The specimen was frozen and later dissected, at which time the stomach, intestines, kidneys, and lungs were removed and examined for helminths. The contents of the gastrointestinal tract (mostly filamentous algae, with fragments of aquatic insects, crayfish, and aquatic vascular plants) were also examined. Helminths were found only in the small intestine and included the digenetic trematode Telorchis corti (N = 11) and the spirurid nematode Serpinema trispinosum (N = 2 females). Trematodes were fixed in 10% buffered formalin, stained with Semichon's aceto-carmine, dehydrated in an alcohol series, mounted in Canada balsam, and identified using characteristics in MacDonald and Brooks (1989. Can. J. Zool. 67:2301-2320). Nematodes were cleared with lactophenol and identified using characteristics in Baker (1979. Can. J. Zool. 57:934-939) and Moravec and Vargas-Vazquez (1998. J. Nat. Hist. 32:455-468). Voucher specimens are deposited in the U.S. National Parasite Collection (Animal Parasitology Institute, Beltsville, Maryland, USA) as USNPC 88139 (T corti) and 88140 (S. trispinosum). Both helminths are the first records for T gaigeae and for New Mexico. The T gaigeae (University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology, MSB 60413) was first captured and released in a pond ca. 200 m from her drowning site on 19 July 1994 when she was 122 mm SCL and 228 g. A fecal sample obtained at that capture included six species of Eimeria (McAllister et al. 1995, op. cit.). Telorchis corti parasitizes many turtle species, including emydids

(Ernst and Ernst 1977. Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc. 13:1-75); metacercariae occur in aquatic snails, fingernail clams, and amphibian larvae. Serpinema trispinosum parasitizes Nearctic turtles (Baker 1979, op. cit.); paratenic hosts include lymnaeid snails and fish (Bartlett and Anderson 1985. J. Invert. Pathol. 46:153-159; Moravec et al. 1998. J. Parasitol. 84:454-456). Trachemys gaigeae is an omnivore and scavenger (JNS, pers. obs.), and probably consumes various potential intermediate and paratenic hosts for these helminths. We thank J Taylor, M. Oldham, and P. Norton (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) for facilitating work at the refuge under Special Use Permit No. 73599 (to JNS), and two anonymous reviewers for comments. Work by JNS was funded by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Share With Wildlife Program. Submitted by WADE D. WILSON, JOHN A. HNIDA, and JAMES N. STUART, Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA (e-mail: [email protected]). Present addresses: (WDW) 47 West Main Street, Apt. 1R, Millbury, Massachusetts 01527, USA; (JAH) Division of Sciences and Technology, Peru State College, Peru, Nebraska 68421, USA.


LACERTILIA

(Western Banded Gecko). DIET. Coleonyx variegatus is not known to consume centipedes (Pianka

COLEONYX VARIEGATUS

1986. Ecology and Natural History of Desert Lizards. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 208 pp.), nor have they been reported to consume carrion. Parker and Pianka (1974. Copeia 1974:528-531) reported the stomach contents of 185 C. variegatus, none of which contained centipede remains. On 16 May 1998 at 2015 h in Pima County, Arizona (USA), one of us (JRM) discovered an adult male C. variegatus (SVL 64 mm) attempting to consume a road-killed Scolopendra sp. much larger than itself (TL 82 mm; Fig. 1). The temperature was 21°C. The centipede was adhered to the road by dried entrails and the gecko was observed struggling to engulf it for approximately 5 minutes. After this time we took a photograph and the camera flash appeared to cause the gecko to regurgitate the centipede and attempt to escape; our measurements indicate that ca. 30 mm of the centipede had been ingested. Because of the size of the centipede, it seems unlikely that this gecko was capable of consuming this prey item whole. The fact that this centipede was apparently dead before the gecko attempted ingestion appears significant because large Scolopendra spp. have been reported to prey upon small lizards (Lewis 1981. The Biology of Centipedes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 476 pp.). Both the C. variegatus and the Scolopendra sp. are deposited in the University of Texas at Arlington, Collection of Vertebrates (UTA R-45195).

distance) from the home range occupied by this lizard as a hatchling. To study burrow architecture, I made an internal cast by pouring marine resin down the entrance (Chapman et al. 1990. J. Kansas Ent. Soc. 63:641-643). The burrow cast revealed a round entrance 4.5 cm in diameter that led into the burrow neck (8-9 cm diameter), which penetrated the substrate at a 80° angle relative to the surface horizontal (Fig. 1). At a depth of 11 cm, the shaft turned in a J-shape to form a blind-ended chamber (20 cm long and 9-11 cm in diameter). Unlike the chambers described by Legler and Fitch (op. cit.), this chamber was more than large enough to accomodate the lizard that I saw emerging from it. The bottom of the chamber was loose sand located 21 cm below the surface, which is 3.5 cm deeper than the average frost penetration of 17.5 cm in central Oklahoma (Anonymous 1938. Heating and Ventilating 35[6]:84).

10 cm

Flo. 1. Crotaphytus collaris hibemaculum showing the entrance (E), burrow neck (N), and chamber (C).

Submitted by TROY A. BAIRD, Department of Biology, University of Central Oklahoma, 100 North University Drive, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034, USA. SERPENTES

Flo. 1. Coleonyx variegatus attempting to ingest a DOR Scolopendra sp.

Submitted by STEPHANIE GARDNER and JOSEPH R. MENDELSON, HI, Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan Utah 84322-5305, USA.

HETERODON NASICUS NASICUS (Plains Hognose Snake).

LACK OF PARALYSIS FOLLOWING VERTEBRAL DISJUNCTION. On 30 September 1997 at 1008 h, a male Heterodon nasicus nasicus (57.0 cm SVL) was found on County Rd B.5 at the

junction of County Rd 12, Two Buttes State Wildlife Area, Prowers County, Colorado, USA. The snake has three scars on its dorsum; NACULUM. Temperate lizards often survive freezing winter tem- the most posterior caused constriction of the tail, the middle scar peratures by digging burrows in which they hibernate (Gregory was a large patch with missing scales and the most anterior had 1982. In C. Gans and H. Pough [eds.], Biology of the Reptilia Vol. bone protruding through the skin but no missing scales. At the point 13, pp. 53-154. Academic Press, New York). Crotaphytus collaris at which the bone protruded (26 cm from snout), the vertebral colhas been previously reported to dig hibernacula on sloping terrain umn was obviously misaligned. Radiographs of the snake showed beneath flat rocks that are partially embedded in soil (Legler and near complete disjunction of the vertebral column at the region where Fitch 1957. Copeia 1957:305-307). On 24 March 1998, I observed the bone protrudes through the skin, an area of calcification associa collared lizard emerging from a subterranean burrow on nearly ated with the large patch of missing scales and constriction of the flat open grassland, not beneath surface rocks. The burrow was al- tail but no internal injury associated with the posterior scar. The most certainly used as a winter hibernaculum because this was the vertebral column is upturned anterior to a 0.75 mm separation at first of five survey dates that lizards were active, and because the the anterior scar, and one vertebra is disarticulated and damaged, integument of this lizard was covered with caked mud. The obser- and protrudes through the skin (Fig. 1); however, limited muscle vation was made at the flood control spillway at the Arcadia Lake control indicates the spinal column is at least partially intact. The Dam (AL) located 9.6 km east of Edmond, Oklahoma (USA), on snake has fed on young mice since its capture and normal defecaState Hwy 66. Capture and examination of the animal revealed that tion has followed. The snake has limited voluntary muscle control it was a male (84 mm SVL) that had been toe-clipped as a hatchling posterior to the vertebral misalignment, although some localized on 3 August 1997, and was beginning its first full season of activity areas appear not to respond to stimulus. The snake compensates for in 1998. The burrow was dug in clay soil interspersed with small the posterior portion of the body with the anterior portion, which (1-4 cm) rocks, 1 m from the edge of a patch of larger boulders has resulted in some hypertrophy of the anterior and slight atrophy inhabited by collared lizards at AL, and 22.2 m (minimum linear of the posterior musculature of the body. The extensive healing of CROTAPHYTUS COLLAR'S (Eastern Collared Lizard). HIBER-


227

the scarred regions, and the level of muscle hypertrophy/atrophy suggests that this snake had survived in the wild for some time (>1 year) after being injured. Smith and Fitzgerald (Herpetol. Rev. 1983. 14:46) reported the first trauma-induced kyphosis in a snake, Thamnophis radix haydeni. This specimen had normal motor function and was eating well, although gross vertebral deviations were apparent in radiographs. Complete paralysis posterior to a vertebral column break has been noted previously in a female Thamnophis elegans vagrans (Kasper 1997. Herpetol. Rev. 28:46). This snake was feeding normally and gave birth to three low-birth-weight young, which subsequently died. The fact that these garter snakes and the hognose snake were alive and functioning close to normally, in spite of a broken vertebral column, is indicative of the resiliency of snakes in general. The hognose snake is currently housed in the Animal Facility of the University of Northern Colorado and will be deposited in the UNC Museum of Natural History Herpetology collection upon its death. A scientific collecting permit (97-0456) was issued to Stephen P. Mackessy by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW). We thank CDOW and the Great Outdoors Colorado Program for funding the project under which this specimen was collected. We thank Roger Klingenberg for assistance with interpreting radiographs.

A *01100POPOK''

amination were treated with sodium nitrate as described in Kelly (1977. Canine Parasitology. Univ. Sydney Post-Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science, Sydney, Australia. 110 pp.). Suspensions of discharges were examined using a compound microscope, and parasite ova and larvae were identified as described in Barnard (1986. Compendium on Continuing Education 8:145-369), and Barnard and Upton (1994. A Veterinary Guide to the Parasites of Reptiles. Krieger Publ. Co., Malabar, Florida. 164 pp.). Twenty-two cloacal discharges were collected from 22 different snakes (13 M, 9 F; mean ± SD [range] SVL = 67.0 ± 21.0 cm [31.5 ± 106.0 cm]). Prevalence (number of infected individuals/number individuals examined) and mean intensity (mean number parasites per infected host) were recorded for each parasite (Table 1). Infection by both species of nematodes was observed in 3 (13.6%) samples. While nematodes were the most prevalent parasites, cestodes (tapeworms) were observed in zero (0%) samples. This observation is consistent with past research, which has demonstrated that wild reptiles are primarily infected by nematodes and generally not infected by cestodes (Frank 1994. Endoparasites. In Cooper and Jackson (eds.), Diseases of the Reptilia, pp. 291-321. Academic Press, New York, New York). Voucher parasite specimens will be deposited in the U.S. National Parasite Collection (USNPC), Beltsville, Maryland. I especially thank John G. Byrd for the opportunity to conduct this study, and John E. Fauth for helpful suggestions concerning the manuscript. This study was funded by DOE grant DE-FG05930R22105. TABLE 1. Prevalence and mean intensity of endoparasites in cloacal discharges of Lampropeltis getula nigra (N = 22).

Parasite

Prevalence (%)

Intensity (Mean ± SD)

45 14

2.8 ± 2.4 1.3 ± 0.5

18

1.3 ± 0.5

18

24± 15

Nematoda FIG. 1: Lateral view of anterior scar. Note discontinuity of vertebral column and disarticulated vertebra at A.

Submitted by CHAD MONTGOMERY and STEPHEN P. MACKESSY, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, 501 20th St., Greeley, Colorado 80639, USA (e-mail [SPM]: [email protected] ). (Black Kingsnake). ENDOPARASITES. Although internal parasites have been reported in Lampropeltis getula and a congener (Lindsay et al. 1992. J. Helminth. Soc. Washington 59:9-15; Klingenberg 1993. Understanding Reptile Parasites. Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside, California. 81 pp.), specific endoparasites have yet to be described. I identified internal parasites and calculated their relative prevalence and intensity (Goldberg and Bursey 1996. Herpetol. Rev. 27:19) in the cloacal discharges (primarily feces) of naturally infected L. g.

LAMPROPELTIS GETULA NIGRA

nigra.

Snakes were captured from the Anderson County Wildlife Sanctuary (ca. 36°03'N, 84°10'W) located in Anderson County, Tennessee, USA. Metal and wood cover objects (N = 150) were scattered over a 10-ha area (environments included recovering landfill, old field habitat, and woodland-field ecotone), and were searched for ca. 4 h/wk between 1 April and 1 October, 1994-1997. Cloacal discharges were collected from captured L. g. nigra by gently massaging the ventral side sequentially from anterior to posterior, down to the cloaca. Samples were stored in 10% formalin, and upon ex228

Strongyloides spp. Ascaris spp.

Trematoda Ochetosoma spp.

Coccidia Eimeria spp.

Submitted by STRANT T. COLWELL, JR., Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, USA. MICRURUS FULVIUS TENER (Texas Coral Snake). DIET. Mi crurus fulvius is reported to feed primarily on small snakes and

-

slender lizards (Conant and Collins 1998. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.). Greene (1984. Spec. Publ. Univ. Kan sas Mus. Nat. Hist. 10:147-162) reports that throughout its range Micrurus fulvius feeds almost entirely on elongated lizards amphisbaenians, and small snakes including young Elaphe obsoleta Here we report predation on E. obsoleta lindheimeri by M. fulvius tener in Texas. On 9 September 1998, at 0800 h, an adult male M. fulvius tener was captured crossing a park road in Cedar Hill State Park, Dallas Co., Texas, USA. The snake (56.3 cm total length, 138.0 g) was placed in a five-gallon bucket for ca. six hours. During that time it regurgitated a juvenile E. obsoleta lindheimeri (ca. 24.0 cm total


-

length), which was partially digested and missing the anterior third of its body. The remains of the E. obsoleta lindheimeri were preserved and placed in the University of Texas at Arlington Collection of Vertebrates (UTA R-45192). The M. fulvius tener was released. We thank Ardell Mitchell for reviewing this manuscript, and the staff of the Dallas Zoo Department of Herpetology for their support. We also thank the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (Permit # 51-98), and the staff of Cedar Hill State Park. Submitted by RICHARD D. REAMS and CARL J. FRANKLIN, Dallas Zoo Department of Herpetology, Dallas, Texas 75203, USA, and JOHN M. DAVIS, Texas Parks and Wildlife,

was in the process of swallowing the dead bird when it, too, was run over (Fig. 1). Owing to the badly crushed condition of the specimens, neither was retained. The diet of T. sirtalis includes "young birds" (Wright and Wright 1957. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Vol. 2. Comstock Publ. Assoc., Ithaca, New York. 1105 pp.). Conant and Collins (1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd Ed. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.) describe the diet of the genus Thamnophis as . . birds, and carrion, are eaten occasionally." We believe this to be the first record of T s. sirtalis feeding on bird carrion.

P.O. Box 941 Cedar Hill, Texas 75106, USA (e-mail: [email protected]). PSEUDOBOA NIGRA (NCN). PREY. The limited available data on the diet of Pseudoboa nigra (Colubridae) suggest that it feeds

primarily on lizards (Cunha and Nascimento 1983. Bol. Mus. Paraense EmIlo Goeldi, Ser. Zool. 122:1-42; Vitt and Vangilder 1983. Amphibia-Reptilia 4:273-296; Strussman 1992. M.S. thesis. Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brasil. 135 pp.). On 4 May 1997 at 2230 h, while traveling on a dirt road from Barra do Cahy village to Cumuruxatiba village (17°37'S, 39°33'W) in Prado municipality, southern Bahia State, northeastern Brazil, we found a subadult female P nigra (Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, MNRJ 6670) preying on an adult male Tropidurus torquatus on the ground at the edge of roadside vegetation. The observation occurred in restinga habitat of the Atlantic Rainforest Domain. The snake (161.5 cm SVL, 18 cm tail length, 91.0 g preserved mass) was ingesting the lizard (86.7 mm SVL, 12.6 g preserved mass) no. 1. DOR Thamnophis sirtalis, killed while ingesting a DOR passehead first, and the lizard's head and neck were completely ingested. Upon our arrival, the snake regurgitated and released the lizard and rine bird. attempted to escape. The lizard moved ca. 2 m and stopped, reSubmitted by RICHARD A. SAJDAK, 4 Callingham Road, maining motionless for several minutes. Both specimens were collected and placed in the same plastic bag. The following morning, Pittsford, New York 14534, USA, and S. LINN SAJDAK, Departthe lizard was completely ingested by the snake. This observation ment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York reinforces previous reports that P nigra consumes lizards and indi- 14627, USA. cates that this nocturnal snake preys on the diurnal T torquatus. The authors benefited from research grants (300 819/94-3 to CFDR, 301 372/95-0 to HGB and 300 124/96-1 to LG) from Conselho Nacional do Desenvolvimento Cientffico e Tecnologico CNPq. We thank Ronaldo Fernandes, Curator, Herpetology Section, Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, who verified the snake's identity. Submitted by CARLOS FREDERICO DUARTE ROCHA, HELENA GODOY BERGALLO, LENA GEISE, and LUCIANA G. PEREIRA, Departamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Sao Francisco Xavier, 524 Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (e-mail [CFDR]: [email protected]). THAMNOPHIS SIRTALIS SIRTALIS (Eastern Garter Snake). CARRION FEEDING. On 15 May 1998 we observed a DOR (dead on the road) Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis on State Hwy 23, 2.6 km

south of the intersection with County Hwy ZZ (USA: Wisconsin: Iowa Co: T6N, R3E, Sec 4). The snake (55 cm SVL) was lying next to an unidentified DOR adult passerine bird. Although both specimens were badly crushed, it was clear that the garter snake

Gopherus polyphemus. Illustration by Michael Frick.


229

ingression of the Chilean valdivian rain forest at low altitude toward the east through the Andes. Species is distributed in Chile from Puyehue (40°42'S, 72°18'W) to Caleta Vidal (45°16'S, Instructions for contributors to Geographic Distribution appear in 73°27'W) (Formas 1989, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 102[3]:568576). The nearest previously known locality was Rio Lenca Volume 30, Number 1 (March 1999). (41°37'S, 72°27'W) in Chile. Extends the distribution of the speCAUDATA cies 98 km SE from Rio Lenca, to the E of the Andes, at the proximity of a trans-Andean pass of low altitude (200 m elev. at Rio EURYCEA TYNERENSIS (Oklahoma Salamander). USA: OKLAHOMA: LEFLORE Co: Cucumber Creek, ca. 1.2 km upstream from Puelo). Submited by CARMEN A. UBEDA, Centro Regional Bariloche, where US Rt. 259 intersects Cucumber Creek (34°36'26"N, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Unidad Postal Universidad, 94°36'54"W), Sec. 8, TIN, R25E, Octavia quadrangle. 20 May 1999. 8400 Bariloche, Argentina (email: [email protected]), Sam Houston State Vertebrate Museum (SHSVM 1-99 and 2-99). EDUARDO RAMILO and CLAUDIO CHEHEBAR, Verified by R. D. Durtsche. New county record; extends geographic Administracion de Parques Nacionales, Delegacion Regional range ca. 96.5 km S of Sequoyah County into the most south-cenPatagonia, C.C. 380, 8400 Bariloche, Argentina (email: tral part of LeFLore County. Cucumber Creek is an intermittent [email protected]), and FELIX VIDOZ, Parque Nacional stream with small isolated pools along the creek bed. Pool subLago Puelo, 8431 Puelo, Argentina. strates consists of large boulders to small limestone cobbles with some organic detritus. At the time of specimen collection, the creek had moderate flow with only a few isolated pools observed within HYLA BOANS (Giant Gladiator Treefrog). VENEZUELA: ESTADO TACHIRA: Valle del Rio Doradas, 650 m elev. 10 Nohigher levels of the creek bed. Submitted by WILLIAM I. LUTTERSCHMIDT, Department vember 1984. Collected by Proyecto Uribante-Caparo, Facultad de of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes. Coleccion de Vertebrados, Texas 77341, USA (email: [email protected]), JULIAN G. Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Ciencias (CVULA 3573). HILLIARD, Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Verified by A. Orellana. Species was known in Venezuela (Barrio Norman, Oklahoma 73019, USA, and TAMMY R. LANGE, De- 1998, Acta Biol. Venezuela 18[2]:28) in three bioregions: Amazopartment of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, nian Venezuela, Guianan Shield, and Orinoco Delta, all related to lowland rainforests in southern and eastern Venezuela. Only known Huntsville, Texas 77341, USA. report of this species in western Venezuela; extends distribution 600 km NW of the nearest known record in the country at Tobogan ANURA de la Selva, 30 km out of Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas (Barrio 1998, BUFO STERNOSIGNATUS (Sapito con Cruz). VENEZUELA: op. cit.; Hoogmoed 1990, Zool. Meded. 64:71-93). Presence of Hyla COJEDES: municipio San Carlos, El Candelo, SW "La Sierra" boans in the Rio Doradas valley was anticipated as this zone is the (Tucuragua) (09°50'54"N, 68°40'22"W). 31 February 1983. Reyes only Amazonian relict in Andean Venezuela, as appears in Barrio's Lopez. Museo de la EstaciOn BiolOgica de Rancho Grande, Maracay map (1998, op. cit: 93) of the biogeographic regions in relation to (EBRG 3605-3606). Verified by R. Rivero. First state record. Pre- amphibian distribution. Submitted by CESAR LUIS BARRIO AMOROS, Fundacion viously known from several localities in states of Aragua, Carabobo, Distrito Federal, Falcon, Portuguesa, and Yaracuy (La Marca 1992, ANDIGENA, Apartado 210, 5101-A Merida, Venezuela (email: Catalog° Taxonomic°, Biogeografico y Bibliografico de las Ranas [email protected]). de Venezuela; La Marca and Manzanilla 1998, Herpetol. Rev. 28:207; Marnr 1993, Diccionario Geografico del Estado Cojedes. HYLA URUGUAYA. BRAZIL: PARANA: Palmas municipality (ca. 26°30'S, 52°00'W). 6 September 1998. P. S. Bernarde and A. Servicio Autonomo de Geografia y Cartograffa Nacional). Submitted by GILSON FtIVAS, Fundacion La Salle de Ciencias A. Giaretta. Museu de Hist6ria Natural da Universidade Estadual Naturales, EDIAGRO, Avenida Bolivar No. 20-1219, San Carlos de Campinas, Campinas, Sao Paulo (ZUEC 11551). Verified by 2201, Estado Cojede, Venezuela (email• [email protected] ), and Ariovaldo A. Giaretta. Species was previously known from a few JESUS MANZANLLLA, Institute de Zoologia Agricola, Facultad localities in Uruguay and the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil de Agronomia, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Estado Aragua, (Langone 1990, Corn. Zool. Mus. Hist. Nat. Montevideo 12[172]:1-9). First state record and the northernmost known Venezuela (email: [email protected]). locality; extends the known distribution ca. 480 km NE airline BUFO WOODHOUSII (Woodhouse's Toad). USA: COLORADO: from previous records (Porto Alegre Municipality, state of Rio Grande do Sul). Individuals were found calling near ground at EAGLE Co: ca. 1 km NW El Jebel near Blue Lake, Sec. 34, T7S, R87W. 26 July 1999. John Talbot and Dana Talbot. UCM Ancillary night in low vegetation bordering a lake. Submitted by PAULO SERGIO BERNARDE, Curso de P6sCollection of Herpetological Slides and Prints 134-136. Verified Graduacao em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade by Hobart Smith. First county record. Submitted by CHARLES W. LOEFFLER, Colorado Depart- Federal do Parana, C.P. 19020, 81531-990, Curitiba-PR, Brazil ment of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, 6060 Broadway, (email: [email protected]). Denver, Colorado 80216, USA. OSTEOPILUS SEPTENTRIONALIS (Cuban Treefrog). USA: EUPSOPHUS EMILIOPUGINI. ARGENTINA: CHUBUT: Florida: ST. JOHNS Co: Anastasia Island, Fort Matanzas National Cushamen Department: Lago Puelo National Park, Arroyo Melo Monument (29°42'56.3"N, 81°13'59.0"W). 10 June 1999. K. L. (42°07'50"S, 71°43'18"W), 415 m elev. 12 March 1998. C. A. Ubeda. Krysko and F. W. King. Florida Museum of Natural History (UF Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" 117746). Verified by Joseph T. Collins. New county record colMACN 36786. Verified by J. R. Formas. First record for Argentina. lected at 2130 h on nature boardwalk in maritime forest. During the Two mature females were found in a forest that represents the only course of monthly surveys of amphibians and reptiles of FOMA

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

230


conducted on behalf of the U.S. National Park Service from Sep- seum; corroborates the above records and extends known distributember 1998 through September 1999, we found a total of five tion ca. 200 km NNE in state of Amazonas, and 100 km NNE in state of Bolivar. Osteopilus septentrionalis, the first as noted above. The remaining Submitted by CESAR LUIS BARRIO, Fundacion para el four include one specimen on 12 June 1999 at 2200 h (UF 117747), one on 10 July 1999 at 2155 h (UF 117774), and two on 10 Septem- Desarrollo de las Ciencias Ffsicas, Matematicas y Naturales, ber 1999 at 2025 h and 2115 h. A majority of the introduced am- FUDECI, Apartado Postal 185, 1010-A, Venezuela (email: phibians and reptiles in southern Florida have been unable to ex- [email protected] and cesarlba @ yahoo.com ), and RAM* pand their range north of Lake Okeechobee because of cold winter RIVERO, Museo de la Estacion Biologica Rancho Grande, temperatures (Wilson and Porras 1983, Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. MARNR, Apartado 184, Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela. Spec. Publ. 9). However, some species including the Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) and Greenhouse Frog (Eleutherodactylus PLEURODEMA NEBULOSA. ARGENTINA: RIO NEGRO: Departamento de San Antonio Oeste: Las Grutas (40°48'S, planirostris) are more cold-tolerant, and edificarian species like the Indo-Pacific Gecko (Hemidactylus garnotii) and Mediterranean 64°44'W). 24 January 1997. R. Martori and L. Aun. Coleccion de Gecko (H. turcicus) have found refuge from the cold in warm cracks Vertebrados Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, Cordoba, Argenand crevices on buildings. As a consequence, these species have tina (ZVUNRC 4047). Verified by G. Scrocchi. First provincial reestablished breeding populations farther north within peninsular port, mentioned as probably occurring by Cei (1980, Amphibians Florida and along both coasts. Because all five 0. septentrionalis of Argentina. Monit. Zool. Ital. Monogr. 2[1]:609) and cited by we collected at FOMA are adults of variable sizes, this suggests Christie (1995, In Ubeda and Grigera [eds.], Recalificacion del that if not already, there soon may be breeding populations of this estado de conservacion de la fauna silvestre Argentina. Consejo non-indigenous frog species all along the northeastern coast of pen- Asesor Regional Patagonico de la Fauna Silvestre), but no voucher specimen was referenced. Specimen was found chorusing at night insular Florida. Submitted by KENNETH L. KRYSKO (email: in a temporary pond after a storm. Submitted by LILIANA AUN and RICARDO MARTORI, [email protected]), Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and Florida Museum of Natural History, Division of Zoologia de Vertebrados, Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, 5800 Herpetology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, Rio Cuarto, Cordoba, Argentina (email: [email protected]). USA, and F. WAYNE KING (email: [email protected]), Florida Museum of Natural History, Division of Herpetology, Uni- RANA GRYLIO (Pig Frog). PUERTO RICO: TOA BAJA: SABANA SECA: wetland area known as Cienaga de San Pedro, versity of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA. 2.9 km, Rt. 867 within the North Tract sector of the U.S. Naval PHYLLOMEDUSA HYPOCONDRIALIS. VENEZUELA: Security Group Activity (18°27'04"N, 66°12'42"W). 12 November COJEDES: municipio Romulo Gallegos, Asentamiento La Blanca, 1998. Neftali Rios-L6pez. Museo de Biologia, Universidad de Sector Rincon Moreno, SW San Carlos City, 09°34'18"N, Puerto Rico-Recinto de Rio Piedras. UPRRP 5752-54. Verified by 68°37'14"W, 140-150 m elev. 1996 (exact date not given). Numa Julian Lee. First record for Puerto Rico and the southeasternmost Hurtado. Museo de la Estacion Biologica de Rancho Grande, record for the species. A female (111.7 mm SVL) and a juvenile Maracay (EBRG 3582). Verified by R. Rivero. Previously known (68.6 mm SVL) were collected at 2200 h from a flooded channel, from states of Barinas, Bolivar and Apure (Ramos and Busto 1989- which runs parallel to a side road within the North Track area, where 90, Mem. Soc. Cienc. Nat. La Salle 52-53[131-134]:287-308; there is an apparently large population from which calling males Hoogmoed and Gorzula 1979, Zool. Med. Leiden 54[13]:183-206; were heard in March, August, and September 1995, and in October La Marca 1992, Catalog° Taxonomic°, Biogeografico y and November 1998. Females, sub-adults, and juveniles were obBibliografico de las Ranas de Venezuela). First state record; ex- served while submerged, partially or up to the head, in open waters surrounded by vegetation. However, calling males were heard from tends range more than 150 km from the previous records. Submitted by GILSON RIVAS, Fundacion La Salle de Ciencias within large clumps of Typha dominguensis, and these animals were Naturales, EDIAGRO, Avenida Bolivar No. 20-1219, San Carlos not openly exposed while calling. This calling behavior might ex2201, Estado Cojede, Venezuela (email: [email protected]) and plain why the species was not previously reported. It is possible JESUS MANZANILLA, Institute de Zoologia Agricola, Facultad that chorusing individuals were confused with birds calling within de Agronomia, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Estado Aragua, vegetation clumps throughout the area. Rana grylio is present also in the Tortugero Lagoon Reserve and associated nearby wetlands Venezuela (email: [email protected]). (MANATI/VEGA BAJA, Tierras Nuevas Saliente, Rt. 686, VENEZUELA: 18°28'00"N, 66°27'48"W). A sub-adult (102.7 mm SVL, UPRRP PHYLLOMEDUSA TOMOPTERNA. AMAZONAS: Mavaca (Yanomami village), Mavaca River, upper 5761) and a juvenile (40.4 mm SVL, UPRRP 5762) were collected Orinoco drainage. 28 June 1981. J. Finkers Museo de la Estacion by Carlos Toledo and Neftali Rios-Lopez on 17 August 1999 at the BiolOgica Rancho Grande, Maracay, Venezuela (EBRG 2938). edge of a small pool surrounded by T dominguensis. The species BOLIVAR: Reserva Forestal Imataca, 180 m elev. May 1990. L. was also found all along the Call° Tiburones (water channel which Balbas. EBRG 2455. Both verified by Gilson Rivas. Species has cuts an associated wetland area) at the northwesternmost part of its been reported previously in Venezuela from only two localities, one geographic distribution within Puerto Rico (Arecibo, Factor, Rt. at the base of the Cerro de la Neblina (state of Amazonas) by 682, 18°27'47"N, 66°38'21"). A juvenile (53.6 mm SVL, UPRRP McDiarmid and Paolillo (1988, In Brewer-Carfas [ed.], Cerro de la 5763) was collected (NRL) from within the channel on which males Neblina, Resultados de la Expedici6n 1983-1987. FUDECI, were heard calling in the water. All these data indicate that Rana Caracas), on the basis of voucher specimens apparently deposited grylio is well established in northern Puerto Rico and it is reproin USNM and the other by Duellman (1997, Univ. Kansas Nat. ductively active during most of the year. The previous geographiHist. Mus. Sci. Pap. 2:1-52) at Km 13 on the road between El Dorado cal range of this species includes southern South Carolina to exand Santa Elena de Uairen, Estado Bolivar (KU 167188). We re- treme southern Florida and extreme southeastern Texas. It has been port the first vouchered specimens discovered in a Venezuelan mu- also introduced on Andros and New Providence islands in the Ba-


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hamas (Conant and Collins 1991, Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Third Ed. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.). Submitted by NEFTALI RIOS-LOPEZ and RAFAEL L. JOGLAR, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Rio Piedras, Departamento de Biologia, Apartado 23360, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360, USA. RANA SPHENOCEPHALA (Southern Leopard Frog). USA: IL-

LINOIS: WAYNE Co: Bedford Twp. (Sec. 34, T1N, R7E). Found dead in culvert at jct. County Roads 1550N and 1500E. 27 April 1999. J. W. Walk and T. Esker. Southern Illinois University voucher number H05719. Verified by S. Ballard. New county record (Smith 1961, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois. Illinois Nat. His. Surv. Bull. 298 pp.). Submitted by DANIEL J. OLSON and JEFF W. WALK, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. RANA SYLVATICA (Wood Frog). USA: OKLAHOMA: ADAIR Co:

Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge, SW 1/4 Sec. 34, T15N, R26E. 8 September 1999. Richard C. Stark, Kevin C. Stubbs, and Steven L. Hensley. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (OMNH 35836). Verified by Janalee P. Caldwell. First state record (Black and Sievert 1989, A Field Guide to Amphibians of Oklahoma. Publ. Oklahoma Dept. Wildlife Conserv. 80 pp.). Extends range ca. 30 km SW from nearest location in Washington County, Arkansas (Trauth 1995, Bull. Chicago Herpetol. Soc. 30[3]:46-51). Submitted by RICHARD C. STARK, KEVIN C. STUBBS, and STEVEN L. HENSLEY, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Ecological Services, 222 South Houston Avenue, Suite A, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74127, USA. SCAPHIOPUS HOLBROOKII (Eastern Spadefoot). USA: TEN-

NESSEE: BLouisrr Co: Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Gum Swamp in Cade's Cove (35°35'21"N, 83°50'21"W). 12 July 1999. Kelly J. Irwin, C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., and Marian L. Griffey. USNM 533211, adult male. Verified by Steve Gotte. A small chorus of