Official journal website:

amphibian-reptile-conservation.org

Amphibian & Reptile Conservation

16(2) [General Section]: 1-61 (e315).

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico: composition,

distribution, and conservation status

‘Ma. del Rosario Barragan-Vazquez, *Liliana Rios-Rodas, *Lydia Allison Fucsko, Louis W. Porras,

‘Vicente Mata-Silva, *Arturo Rocha, ‘Dominic L. DeSantis, ’Eli Garcia-Padilla, Jerry D. Johnson,

and ®Larry David Wilson

'Centro de Investigacién para la Conservacion y Aprovechamiento de los Recursos Tropicales, Division Académica de Ciencias Bioldgicas,

Universidad Judrez Autonoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, MEXICO *Facultad Maya de Estudios Agropecuarios, Universidad Aut6noma de Chiapas,

Carretera Catazaja-Palenque, Km 4, C.P. 29980, Catazaja, Chiapas, MEXICO +*Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Swinburne

University of Technology, Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA +7705 Wyatt Earp Avenue, Eagle Mountain, Utah, 84005, USA °Department of

Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968-0500, USA °Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences,

Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, Georgia 31061, USA ‘Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca 68023, MEXICO *Centro Zamorano

de Biodiversidad, Escuela Agricola Panamericana Zamorano, Departamento de Francisco Morazan, HONDURAS and 1350 Pelican Court,

Homestead, Florida 33035-1031, USA

Abstract.—The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico, consists of 170 species, including 39 anurans, five caudates,

one caecilian, two crocodylians, 111 squamates, and 12 turtles. We catalogued the distribution of these species

among the three physiographic regions we recognize in the state: the Gulf Coastal Plain (88 species), the

Sierras Bajas de Petén (93 species), and the Sierra Norte de Chiapas (145 species). The individual species are

found in either one, two, or all three regions (mean = 1.9). Approximately 68% of the herpetofauna in Tabasco

occupies only one or two of the three regions, which is of important conservation significance. The largest

number of single-region species is found in the Sierra Norte de Chiapas (50), followed by the Gulf Coastal

Plain (12) and the Sierras Bajas de Peteén (nine). Coefficient of Biogeographic Resemblance (CBR) calculations

indicate that the Sierra Norte de Chiapas and the Sierras Bajas de Peten share the greatest number of species

(79), followed by 71 species between the Sierra Norte de Chiapas and the Gulf Coastal Plain, and 61 between

the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Sierras Bajas de Peten. Fifty-five species occupy all three regions. A similarity

dendrogram based on the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) illustrates that

the Sierras Bajas de Peteén clusters with the Gulf Coastal Plain at the 0.67 level and the Sierra Norte de Chiapas

clusters with the previous pair at the 0.64 level, and overall indicates an intermediate level of similarly. With

reference to distributional categories, the greatest number of species is represented by the non-endemic

species (146 of 170), followed by the country endemics (20), and the non-natives (five). Of the 146 non-endemic

species, the majority (95) are MXCA species (i.e., those found only in Mexico and Central America). The

principal environmental threats to the Tabasco herpetofauna are deforestation, agricultural activities, roads,

soil contamination and oil extraction, myths and cultural factors (gastronomy), illegal commerce, and forest

fires. We evaluated the conservation status of each of the native species by using the SEMARNAT, IUCN, and

EVS systems, of which the EVS system provided the most inclusive assessment of the state’s herpetofauna.

We also employed the Relative Herpetofaunal Priority (RHP) method to determine the rank order of the three

physiographic regions and found the highest values in the Sierra Norte de Chiapas. Most of the protected areas

in the state are located in the Gulf Coastal Plain, which is only the second or third most important region from

a conservation perspective. Nonetheless, about 95% of the native herpetofauna has been documented within

the system of protected areas. Finally, we provide a set of conclusions and recommendations for the future

protection of the Tabasco herpetofauna.

Keywords. Anurans, caecilians, caudates, conservation status, crocodylians, physiographic regions, protected areas,

protection recommendations, squamates, turtles

Resumen.—La herpetofauna de Tabasco, Mexico, consta de 170 especies, incluidos 39 anuros, cinco caudados,

un cecilido, dos crocodilianos, 111 escamosos y 12 tortugas. Catalogamos la distribuciOn de estas especies

entre las tres regiones fisiograficas que reconocemos, incluyendo la Llanura Costera del Golfo (88 especies), las

Sierras Bajas del Peten (93 especies) y la Sierra Norte de Chiapas (145 especies). Las especies individuales se

Correspondence. rosariobarragan@gmail.com (MRB), aril707@hotmail.com (LR), lydiafucsko@gmail.com (LAF), empub@msn.com

(LWP); vmata@utep.edu (VM); arocha3(@miners.utep.edu (AR); dominic.desantis@gcsu.edu (DLD); eligarcia_18@hotmail.com (EG); jjohn-

son@utep.edu (JDJ), bufodoc@aol.com (LDW)

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 2 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

encuentran de una a tres regiones (media = 1,9). Aproximadamente el 68% de la herpetofauna de Tabasco ocupa

solo una o dos de las tres regiones, lo que es de gran importancia para la conservacion. El mayor numero de

especies de una sola region se encuentra en la Sierra Norte de Chiapas (49) seguida por la Llanura Costera del

Golfo (12) y las Sierras Bajas del Petén (nueve). Los calculos del Coeficiente de semejanza biogeografica (CBR)

demuestran que la Sierra Norte de Chiapas y las Sierras Bajas de Petén comparten el mayor numero de especies

(79), seguidas de 71 entre la Sierra Norte de Chiapas y la Llanura Costera del Golfo y 61 entre la Llanura Costera

del Golfo y Sierras Bajas del Petéen. Cincuenta y cinco especies ocupan las tres regiones. Un dendrograma de

similitud basado en el metodo de grupos de pares no ponderados con promedios aritméticos (UPGMA) ilustra

que las Sierras Bajas del Petén se agrupan junto con Llanura Costera del Golfo en el nivel .67 y la Sierra Norte

de Chiapas se agrupa con el par anterior en el nivel .64, lo que indica un nivel generalmente intermedio de

similitud en general. Con referencia a las categorias de distribucion, el mayor numero de especies es el de las

especies no endémicas (146 de 170), seguido de las endémicas del pais (20) y no nativos (cinco). De las 146

especies no endemicas, la mayor parte (95) son especies MXCA. Las principales amenazas ambientales para

la herpetofauna de Tabasco son deforestacion, actividades agropecuarias, carreteras, contaminacion del suelo

y actividades petroleras, mitos y factores culturales (gastronomia), comercio ilegal, e incendios forestales. El

estado de conservacion de cada especie nativa se evaluo mediante el uso de los sistemas SEMARNAT, UICN y

EVS, de los cuales el sistema EVS fue de mayor utilidad. También se utilizo el método de Prioridad Relativa de

la Herpetofauna (RHP) para determinar el orden de importancia de las tres regiones fisiograficas y los valores

mas altos se encontraron en la Sierra Norte de Chiapas. La mayoria de las areas protegidas en el estado estan

ubicadas en la Llanura Costera del Golfo, que es solo la segunda o tercera region mas importante desde una

perspectiva de conservacion. No obstante, alrededor del 95% de la herpetofauna nativa se ha documentado en

el sistema de areas protegidas. Finalmente, se entregan un conjunto de conclusiones y recomendaciones para

la futura proteccion de la herpetofauna de Tabasco.

Palabras Claves. Anuros, areas protegidas, caudados, cecilidos, crocodilidos, escamosos, estatus de conservacion,

recomendaciones de proteccion, regiones fisiograficas, tortugas

Citation: Barragan-Vazquez MR, Rios-Rodas L, Fucsko LA, Porras LW, Mata-Silva V, Rocha A, DeSantis DL, Garcia-Padilla E, Johnson JD, Wilson LD.

2022. The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 16(2): 1-61 (e315).

[Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction

in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The official and authorized publication credit sources, which will be duly enforced,

are as follows: official journal title Amphibian & Reptile Conservation; official journal website: amphibian-reptile-conservation.org.

Received: 9 May 2022; Accepted: 21 June 2022; Published: 8 August 2022

“The more we get done ourselves, the easier it will be for

our children and their children to move the world back

to sustainability. ”

Peter H. Raven (2021)

Introduction

Tabasco is an oddly shaped state in Mexico, in which a

western segment and an eastern segment are connected

to each other by a slender isthmus. With a total area of

24,731 km”, this state is relatively small (the 24" smallest

of the 32 federal entities in Mexico, http://inegi.org;

accessed 5 May 2022). The state’s area constitutes only

about 1.3% of the country’s area. The coastal region of

Tabasco lies adjacent to the southwesternmost corner of

the Gulf of Mexico. To the southwest, Tabasco 1s bordered

by the state of Veracruz, to the northeast by the state of

Campeche, to the south by the state of Chiapas, and to the

southeast by a small portion of the northwestern border

of Guatemala. To the west, much of the state lies in the

Gulf Coastal Plain, where it merges with part of this

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

physiographic region in Veracruz, and to the east, this

plain merges with the lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The two principal portions of the state are connected by

a slender segment of land at least 6 km in width between

Campeche and Chiapas, through which passes a portion

of the Usumacinta River (Google Earth, https://earth.

google.com, accessed: 9 May 2022).

The hydrography of Tabasco is dominated by the

presence of portions of the first and second largest

watersheds in Mexico, those of the Grijalva and the

Usumacinta rivers, which arise from divergent points in

the central highlands of Chiapas (the Grijalva) and the

central highlands of Guatemala (Usumacinta) and join

together in a common delta before entering the Gulf of

Mexico near the town of Frontera.

Tabasco is partitioned into 17 municipalities and its

capital is Villahermosa. As of 2020, its population was

2,402,598, which ranks 20" in the country. More recently

its density was noted as 97 people/km?’, ranking 12" in

the country (http://inegi.org; accessed 5 May 2022). This

figure is 1.6 times the average density for Mexico.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

The southeasternmost portion of the state contains

the highest elevation (http://inegi.org; accessed 5 May

2022), between 1,140 and 1,150 m on an unnamed peak

located at 17°24’38”N, 92°50’22”W near the border

with Chiapas, more or less south of Villahermosa (http://

peakbagger.com; accessed 7 June 2021). As expected,

the lowest elevation in the state is sea level, all along the

198.8 km of shoreline (http://inegi.org; accessed 5 May

2022).

Materials and Methods

Our Taxonomic Position

In this paper we follow the same taxonomic position

as detailed in previous works on other portions of

Mesoamerica (Johnson et al. 2015a,b; Mata-Silva

et al. 2015; Teran-Juarez et al. 2016; Woolrich-Pifia

et al. 2016, 2017; Nevarez-de los Reyes et al. 2016;

Cruz-Saenz et al. 2017; Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. 2017;

Lazcano et al. 2019; Ramirez-Bautista et al. 2020;

Torres-Hernandez et al. 2021; Cruz-Elizalde et al.

2022). Johnson (2015a) can be consulted for a formal

statement of this position, with special reference to the

subspecies concept.

System for Determining Distributional Status

We employed the same system developed by Alvarado-

Diaz et al. (2013) for the herpetofauna of Michoacan

to ascertain the distributional status of members of the

herpetofauna of Tabasco. Subsequently, Mata-Silva et

al. (2015), Johnson et al. (2015a), Teran-Juarez et al.

(2016), Woolrich-Pifia et al. (2016, 2017), Nevarez-de

los Reyes et al. (2016), Cruz-Sanchez et al. (2017),

Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. (2017), Lazcano et al. (2019),

Ramirez-Bautista et al. (2020), Torres-Hernandez et

al. (2021), and Cruz-Elizalde et al. (2022) utilized

this system, which consists of four categories: SE =

endemic to Tabasco; CE = endemic to Mexico; NE

= not endemic to Mexico; and NN = non-native in

Mexico.

Systems for Determining Conservation Status

To assess the conservation status of the herpetofauna

of Tabasco, we employed the same three systems (-e.,

SEMARNAT, IUCN, and EVS) used by Alvarado-Diaz

et al. (2013), Mata-Silva et al. (2015), Johnson et al.

(2015a), Teran-Juarez et al. (2016), Woolrich-Pifia et al.

(2016, 2017), Nevarez-de los Reyes et al. (2016), Cruz-

Sanchez et al. (2017), Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. (2017),

Lazcano et al. (2019), Ramirez-Bautista et al. (2020),

Torres-Hernandez et al. (2021), and Cruz-Elizalde et

al. (2022). Detailed descriptions of these three systems

appear in the earlier papers of this series, and thus are not

repeated here.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

The Mexican Conservation Series

The Mexican Conservation Series (MCS) was initiated

in 2013, with a study of the herpetofauna of Michoacan

(Alvarado-Diaz et al. 2013), as a part of a set of five papers

designated as the “Special Mexico Issue” published in

Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. The basic format

of the entries in the MCS was established in this paper,

1.e., providing an examination of the composition,

physiographic distribution, and conservation status of

the herpetofauna of a given Mexican state or group of

states. Two years later, the MCS resumed with a paper

on the herpetofauna of Oaxaca (Mata-Silva et al. 2015).

That same year, Johnson et al. (2015a) presented a paper

on the herpetofauna of Chiapas. The following year,

three entries in the MCS appeared, on Tamaulipas (Teran-

Juarez et al. 2016), Nayarit (Woolrich-Pifia et al. 2016),

and Nuevo Leon (Nevarez-de los Reyes et al. 2016).

Thereafter, three entries were published in 2017, on Jalisco

(Cruz-Saenz et al. 2017), the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula

(Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. 2017), and Puebla (Woolrich-

Pifia et al. 2017), followed by subsequent entries on

Coahuila (Lazcano et al. 2019), Hidaldo (Ramirez-

Bautista et al. 2020), Veracruz (Torres-Hernandez et al.

2021), and most recently one on Querétaro (Cruz-Elizalde

et al. 2022). Therefore, this paper on the herpetofauna of

Tabasco is number 14 in this series.

Physiography and Climate

Physiographic Regions

To analyze the distribution of the herpetofauna of Tabasco,

we used the classification system of physiographic

regions of INEGI (1986 and 2016). According to these

studies, two physiographic regions are distinguished, one

with two subregions (Fig. 1), which are described here.

Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP). This province (Fig.

2) comprises 95.7% of the state’s area. Located in

southeastern Mexico, it encompasses the states of

Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Veracruz; and

its average length in each state is between 125 and 150

km. To the north, its limits are defined by the Gulf of

Mexico; to the east, by the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize:

to the south, by the Central American Cordillera and the

Sierras de Chiapas and Oaxaca; and to the west by the

Sierra Madre del Sur and Sierra Volcanica Transversal or

Eye Neovolcanico.

The Gulf Coastal Plain was formed by alluvium

carried by the Papaloapan, Coatzacoalcos, Grijalva,

and Usumacinta rivers, which cross the province

before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. In the central

part of this plain, the lower basins of the Griyalva and

Usumacinta rivers (the largest basins in the country)

meet and then converge south of the port of Frontera,

Tabasco, to exit into the Gulf of Mexico. The Usumacinta

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

3315000 3400000 3485000 3570000

3655000

Gulf of Mexico

SNC Chiapas

Oaxaca

Physiographic regions

Mi Gulf Coastal Lowlands

™ Sierras del Norte de Chiapas y Guatemala

Physiographic subregions

M™) Sierras del Norte de Chiapas (SNC)

™) Sterras Bajas del Petén (SBP)

Guatemala

100 km

3315000 3400000 3485000 3570000

3655000

Fig. 1. Physiographic regions in the state of Tabasco, Mexico, and location of the state in Mexico.

and Grijalva rivers contribute about 27% of Mexico’s

hydrologic resources (West et al. 1985). Throughout

most of this province, relatively young sedimentary

rocks form extensive alluvial plains and coastal plains

with an almost flat relief at elevations below 100 m. This

relief creates extensive flood plains and lagoons, among

which La Machona, Mecoacan, Sitio Grande, and El

Rosario are the most prominent (INEGI 2006; SAHOP

1980). Two types of climates are evident: (1) warm humid

with abundant rainfall in summer, which covers 76.0% of

the surface area and is distributed from the coastal zone

to the vicinity of the mountains in the southern portion

of the state, and (11) warm subhumid with summer rains,

which is present toward northeastern Tabasco, in the

municipality of Balancan. This region is the least humid

in the state, with an average annual temperature of 26.4

°C (INEGI 2016).

Grasslands used for grazing livestock have displaced

the natural vegetation in this physiographic region, as they

cover 30.6% of the area; and additional agricultural areas

occupy 25.8% of this region. The third most common

type of vegetation is the Tular-popal association, which

forms dense patches that cover 26.6% of the swampy

areas. In addition, some forests are dominated by a single

species (16.2%), such as Cashan (7erminalia amazonia),

laurel (Nectandra sp.), Mulato (Bursera simaruba) or

Chicozapote (Achras zapota). To a lesser degree, the

mangroves (2.8%), which are composed of a group of

halophilic plants, are characterized by such dominant

species as Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), Black

Mangrove (Avicennia germinans), or White Mangrove

(Laguncularia racemosa) (INEGI 2016).

Sierras Bajas del Petén (SBP). This province (Fig. 3)

only covers 4.3% of the area of the state, and includes

the mountains that extend from southeastern Mexico to

Guatemala. This region is characterized by a parallel

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

arrangement of folded mountain ranges with rounded

summits, steep flanks, and wide intermontane valleys

at its base (Zavala-Cruz and Ortiz-Pérez 2019). To the

north, this province is limited by the occurrence of the

Gulf Coastal Plain, to the east by Belize, to the south

by Guatemala, and to the west it borders the Central

American Mountain Cordillera. This province is divided

into five physiographic subprovinces, two of which

occur in Tabasco: the northern Sierras of Chiapas and the

Lower Sierras of Petén.

Sierras del Norte de Chiapas (SNC). In Tabasco, this

region (Fig. 4) is composed of two small portions to

the south that together cover an area of 986.0 km? and

comprise parts of the municipalities of Huimanguillo,

Macuspana, Tacotalpa, and Teapa (INEGI 1986). In

these areas, the highest elevations are the hills of La

Pava and La Ventana (at elevations of 880 and 560 m,

respectively); and the Madrigal, Tapijulapa, and Poana

Mountains (at elevations from 560 to 900 m). The lower

hills are La Campana, La Corona, Cocona, Mono Pelado,

and El Tortuguero (CONAFOR 2013). Limestone rocks

such as dolomites and marls dominate this region, and

they alternate with shales and sandstones, but there

also are many types of ancient alluvium, igneous rocks

formed from volcanic clasts, andesites, and volcanic ash.

The lithological diversity gives these mountain ranges

a “complex character” (INEGI 1989; Zavala-Cruz and

Ortiz-Pérez 2019), and karst features are prominent.

Climate

Temperature. Here, we present the monthly minimum,

mean, and maximum temperatures for a single locality

in each of the three recognized physiographic regions

in Tabasco (Table 1). The elevations for these three

localities range from 10 m at Villahermosa in the Gulf

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Fig. 2. Gulf Coastal Plain. Mangroves in the municipality

Paraiso, Tabasco. Photo by José del Carmen Geronimo-Torres.

Fig. 4. Sierra Norte de Chiapas. Mountain Cloud Forest

fragment in the municipality of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Photo

by Liliana Rios-Rodas.

Coastal Plain to 34 m at Huimanguillo in the Sierra Norte

de Chiapas.

The mean annual temperature (MAT) is highest at

Tenosique (elevation 19 m) in the Sierras Bayas del Petén

(SBP) at 26.7 °C. The MAT for the other two localities

in the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) and the Sierra Norte de

Chiapas (SNC) differ by only 0.1 °C (26.4 °C for the GCP

and 26.3 °C for the SNC). These values are reflective of

the limited variation in elevational range in Tabasco.

The minimum annual temperatures range from 21.6

°C in the SBP and the SNC to 23 °C in the GCP, which

only represents a difference of 1.4 °C (Table 1). The

mean minimum monthly temperatures peak in May in

the GCP and SBP (at 25.6 °C in the former, and 23.6

°C in the latter) and in June in the SNC (at 23.7 °C).

The mean maximum monthly temperatures are highest

in May in all three regions, respectively 34.8 °C, 35 °C,

and 35.4 °C in the GLC, SNC, and SBP. The monthly

maximum temperatures are lowest in January in the GCP

(at 26.7 °C) and SBP (at 28.0 °C), and in December and

January in the SNC (at 26.9 °C).

Precipitation. Naturally, monthly precipitation is lowest

during the dry season in February (in the SBP), March (in

the GCP), or April (in the SNC), and highest during the

rainy season in September in all three regions (Table 2).

The data in Table 2 demonstrate that 63.0—76.3% of the

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

Fig. 3. Sierras Bajas del Petén. Panoramic view of the Sierras

Bajas del Petén, Ejido Nuevo Progreso, municipality of

Tenosique, Tabasco, near the border with Guatemala. Photo by

Nelly del Carmen Jiménez-Pérez.

yearly precipitation falls during the rainy season, from

May to October. The annual rainfall ranges from 1,476.0

mm in the SBP to 2,316.8 mm in the SNC (Table 2).

Composition of the Herpetofauna

Families

The members of the native and non-native herpetofauna

of Tabasco are arranged among 45 families, including

10 families of anurans, one of salamanders, one of

caecilians, one of crocodylians, 24 of squamates, and eight

of turtles (Table 3). The total of 45 families includes 72.6%

of the 62 families with native, non-native, and introduced/

questionable members represented in Mexico (J. Johnson,

unpublished, 26 March 2022). Among the 12 amphibian

families, 51.1% of the species (Tables 4 and 5) are

classified in the families Craugastoridae (seven species)

and Hylidae (16 species). Among the 33 reptile families,

59.5% of the species (Tables 4 and 5) are classified in the

families Dactyloidae (14 species), Phrynosomatidae (five),

Colubridae (20), Dipsadidae (30), and Viperidae (six).

Genera

The genera of amphibians and reptiles represented in

Tabasco number 104, including 24 genera of anurans, one

of salamanders, one of caecilians, one of crocodylians, 67

of squamates, and 10 of turtles. These 104 genera include

48.8% of the 213 recorded for Mexico (J. Johnson,

unpublished, 26 March 2022). Among the amphibians

(Table 4), the largest numbers of species are classified in

the genera Craugastor (seven species) and Bolitoglossa

(five); among the reptiles (Table 4), the most speciose

genera are Norops (14 species), Sceloporus (five), and

Coniophanes (Six).

Species

The herpetofauna of Tabasco consists of 170 species,

including 39 anurans, five salamanders, one caecilian,

two crocodylians, 111 squamates, and 12 turtles (Tables 3

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

August September October November December Annual

July

June

April May

February March

January

Table 1. Monthly minimum (Min), mean (Mean, in parentheses), maximum (Max), and annual temperature data (in °C) for the three physiographic regions of Tabasco, Mexico. The selected

localities for each region and their elevations are as follows: Gulf Coastal Plain—Cardenas (29 m asl), Centla (4 m), Villahermosa (10 m); Sierra Norte de Chiapas—Huimanguillo (29

Physiographic

region

m), Teapa (41 m), Macuspana (13 m); and Sierras Bajas del Petén—Tenosique (19 m). Data were taken from https://es.climate-data.org and https://smn.conagua.gob.mx/es/climatologia

(Accessed: 16 June 2021).

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

pee

(26.4)

30.4

24.5 23.6 21.9 20.8

(26.9) (25.9) (24.4) (23.5)

30.5 29.1 O17 27.0

25.2

(28.1)

32.1

25.2 25.2

(28.1) (28.4)

32.1 32.5

25.8

(29.5)

34.3

24.4

(28.6)

33.9

22.4

(26.2)

319

21.0

(24.1)

28.4

20.1

(22.8)

26.5

Gulf Coastal Plain

23.1 22.1 20.3 19.1 21.5

(26.8) (25.6) (24.0) (22.8) (25.8)

31.0 29.5 28.0 26.9 30.5

23.3

(27.6)

39 2

23.7 23.3

(28.1) (27.8)

32.8 32.6

23.7

(28.9)

34.3

22.2

(27.7)

33.4

19.0 20.2

(23.4) (25.3)

28.1 30.9

18.3

(22.2)

26.5

Sierra Norte de

Chiapas

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

21.6

(26.7)

31.9

19.4

(23.9)

28.5

20.7

(25.2)

29.8

22.3

(26.7)

22.9

(27.8)

32.7

22.9

(28.2)

33.5

22.9

(28)

33.1

23.5

(28.6)

33.7

23.6

(29.5)

35.4

22.5

(28.6)

34.8

20.4

(26.3)

32.1

19.4

(24.6)

29.7

18.8

(23.4)

Sierras Bajas del

Petén

and 4). The current numbers of native species in Mexico

for these six groups are, respectively, 258, 155, 3, 3, 902,

and 51 (J. Johnson, unpublished, 26 March 2022). The

165 native species in Tabasco comprise 12.0% of the

1,372 species in the entire native Mexican herpetofauna

(J. Johnson, unpublished, 29 May 2021).

Three states in Mexico border Tabasco, and all have

been evaluated in the Mexican Conservation Series

(Chiapas: Johnson et al. 2015a; Campeche: Gonzalez-

Sanchez et al. 2017; Veracruz: Torres-Hernandez et al.

2021). Based on these works, the total figures for the

native taxa in these states are as follows: Chiapas, 326;

Campeche, 125; and Veracruz, 351. The number of native

species in Tabasco (165) is closest to that in Campeche,

essentially another lowland state in the western portion

of the Yucatan Peninsula. As expected, the two larger and

more montane states to the north (Veracruz) and south

(Chiapas) contain 2.1 and 2.0 times as many species,

respectively, as Tabasco.

Patterns of Physiographic Distribution

We used a system of three regions (Fig. 1) to analyze

the physiographic distribution patterns of members of the

Tabasco herpetofauna. The results for the 170 species are

tabulated in Table 4 and summarized in Table 5.

The total number of taxa in each of the three regions we

recognize ranges from 88 in the Gulf Coastal Plain to 145

in the Sierra Norte de Chiapas. The total for the remaining

area (Sierras Bajas del Petén) is 93. The average of these

three values 1s 108.7, or 63.9% of the number for the total

herpetofauna (170). The lowest value (88) is 51.8% of the

total value (170), and the corresponding percentages for

the other two regions in numerical order are 54.7 (93/170)

and 85.3 (145/170). These results indicate that the higher

elevations in the state, as in the Sierra Norte de Chiapas

(see above), exhibit much greater herpetofaunal diversity

than the corresponding lower elevations. This situation

is consistent with the recognition that herpetofaunal

diversity in Mexico is highest in the nearby or bordering

states of Oaxaca and Chiapas (Mata-Silva et al. 2015;

Johnson et al. 2015a) to the south.

Six herpetofaunal groups are represented in Tabasco,

i.e., anurans, salamanders, caecilians, crocodylians,

squamates, and turtles. As is typical for the state

herpetofaunas in Mexico, anurans and squamates

contain the largest numbers of species and the caecilians

and crocodylians the fewest, while the salamanders

and turtles are represented by intermediate numbers.

The largest numbers of anurans (36 of 39, or 92.3%),

salamanders (four of five, or 80.0%), and squamates

(96 of 111, or 86.5%) and of the herpetofauna in

general (145 of 170, or 85.4%) occupy the Sierra Norte

de Chiapas. Nonetheless, turtles do not follow this

pattern, inasmuch as all 12 of the species in Tabasco

occur on the Gulf Coastal Plain, with only six of them

(50.0%) occurring in the Sierra Norte de Chiapas, and

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

No. 1. Hyalinobatrachium viridissimum (Taylor, 1942). The

Northern Glassfrog is a non-endemic species distributed

from Guerrero and Veracruz, Mexico, through Guatemala

and Belize to northwestern Honduras, and possibly to the

departments of Santa Ana and Cabafias in El Salvador (https://

amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). This individual is from

Muku Chem, in the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco. Torres-

Hernandez et al. (2021) calculated its EVS as 11, placing it

in the lower portion of the medium vulnerability category. Its

conservation status has not been assessed by either the IUCN or

SEMARNAT. Photo by Manuel Herndndez- May.

No. 2. Craugastor alfredi (Boulenger, 1898). Alfred’s Rain

Frog is distributed from central Veracruz, northern Oaxaca, and

southward to the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico (https://

amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). This individual was located

at Muku Chem, in the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco.

Wilson et al. (2013b) determined its EVS as 9, placing it at the

upper limit of the low vulnerability category. Its conservation

status has been considered as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN,

but this species is not listed by SEMARNAT. Photo by Liliana

Rios-Rodas.

No. 3. Craugastor berkenbuschii (Peters, 1870). Berkenbusch’s

Robber Frog ranges along the Atlantic slopes of southern San

Luis Potosi, Hidalgo, Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco, and northern

Oaxaca, north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico (https://

amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). This individual was located

at Muku Chem, in the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco.

Wilson et al. (2013b) assessed its EVS as 14, placing it at the

lower limit of the high vulnerability category. Its conservation

status has been considered as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN

and as a species of Special Protection (Pr) by SEMARNAT.

Photo by Marco Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 4. Duellmanohyla chamulae (Duellman, 1961). The

Chamula Mountain Brook Frog is known only from a few

localities at elevations above 1,600 m on the northern slopes

of the Central Highlands of Chiapas and into adjacent extreme

southwestern Tabasco, Mexico (https://amphibiansoftheworld.

amnh.org/). This individual was encountered at Ejido Villa

Guadalupe, in the municipality of Huimanguillo, Tabasco.

Wilson et al. (2013b) determined its EVS to be 13, placing

it at the upper limit of the medium vulnerability category.

Its conservation status has been evaluated as Endangered

(EN) by IUCN, and as a species of Special Protection (Pr) by

SEMARNAT. Photo by José del Carmen Geronimo-Torres.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

Table 2. Monthly and annual precipitation data (in mm) for the three physiographic regions of Tabasco, Mexico. The selected

localities for each of the regions, with elevation given in parentheses) are as follows: Gulf Coastal Plain—Cardenas (29 m asl),

Centla (4 m), Villahermosa (10 m); Sierra Norte de Chiapas—Huimanguillo (29 m), Teapa (41 m), Macuspana (13 m); Sierras Bajas

del Petén—Tenosique (19 m). Data were taken from https://es.climate-data.org and https://smn.conagua.gob.mx/es/climatologia

(Accessed: 16 June 2021). The shaded area indicates the months of the rainy season.

Physiographic Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

region

GulfCoastal 76g 4g5 0303353 i

Plain

picwa deh None, “Ase wat Ween TA 120 2573

de Chiapas

Sierras Bajas del 62 34 eye 54 95 227

Petén

an intermediate number of nine (75.0%) occurs in the

Selvas Bayas del Petén.

The members of the Tabasco herpetofauna are

distributed in either one, two, or three physiographic

regions (Table 4), as follows: one (69 of 170 species;

40.6%); two (46; 27.1%); and three (55, 32.4%). The

mean regional occupancy figure is 1.9, which is slightly

higher than the 1.6 value for Querétaro, another state

with three physiographic regions that was assessed

in the Mexican Conservation Series (Cruz-Elizalde

et al. 2022). A sizable portion of the 170 species in

Tabasco (115; 67.6%) occurs in only one or two of the

three physiographic regions, which is of considerable

conservation significance (see below).

The number of species occupying a_ single

physiographic region ranges from eight in the Sierras

Bajas del Petén (SBP) to 50 in the Sierra Norte de

Chiapas (SNC).

The 50 single-region species in the SNC (Table 7) are

as follows (numbers refer to distributional categories as

reported by Wilson et al. [2017], and asterisks indicate

the country endemics):

Incilius macrocristatus 4

Hyalinobatrachium viridissimum 4

Craugastor berkenbuschii*

Craugastor pelorus*

Charadrahyla chaneque*

Duellmanohyla chamulae*

Exerodonta bivocata*

Ptychohyla macrotympanum 4

Quilticohyla zoque*

Rheohyla miotympanum*

Triprion spinosus 4

Gastrophryne elegans 4

Agalychnis moreletii 4

Bolitoglossa platydactyla*

Bolitoglossa rufescens 4

Bolitoglossa veracrucis*

Norops barkeri*

Norops capito 4

Norops compressicauda*

Norops laeviventris 4

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

136.5 193.3 2105 foe «125.8 79.8

L938 247.8 341.5 299 210.3. 178.3

141 206 261 196 104 60

Norops petersi 4

Lepidophyma tuxtlae*

Xenosaurus rackhami 4

Dendrophidion vinitor 4

Ficimia publia 4

Phrynonax poecilonotus 6

Senticolis triaspis 7

Stenorrhina freminvillii 4

Tantilla rubra 4

Tantilla schistosa 4

Tantillita lintoni 4

Adelphicos quadrivirgatum 4

Amastridium sapperi 4

Coniophanes piceivittis 4

Dipsas brevifacies 4

Geophis carinosus 4

Geophis laticinctus*

Geophis sanniolus 4

Leptodeira maculata 4

Leptodeira septentrionalis 4

Ninia diademata 4

Oxyrhopus petolarius 6

Rhadinaea decorata 6

Sibon dimidiatus 4

Sibon nebulatus 6

Xenodon rabdocephalus 6

Micrurus elegans 4

Scaphiodontophis annulatus 4

Amerotyphlops tenuis 4

Bothriechis schlegelii 6

Order Families Genera

Anura 10 24

Caudata 1 1

Gymnophiona 1 1

Subtotal 12 26

Crocodylia l 1

Squamata 24 67

Testudines 8 10

Subtotal 33 78

Total 45 104

Annual

1,489.8

2,316.8

1,476

Table 3. Taxonomic composition of the native and non-native

herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico.

Species

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

No. 5. Exerodonta bivocata (Duellman and Hoyt, 1961). The

Chiapan Highlands Treefrog is distributed along the Atlantic

slopes of extreme southwestern Tabasco, Oaxaca, and Chiapas

in southern Mexico (https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/).

This individual was located in Ejido Villa Guadalupe, in the

municipality of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013b)

assessed its EVS as 15, placing it in the lower portion of the

high vulnerability category. Its conservation status has been

judged as Endangered (EN) by the IUCN, but this species is not

listed by SEMARNAT. Photo by Liliana Rios-Rodas.

No. 6. Ptychohyla macrotympanum (Tanner, 1957). The Pine

Forest Stream Frog is distributed in humid montane and pine-

oak forest, on the northern slopes of the Chiapan Highlands of

Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico (https://amphibiansoftheworld.

amnh.org/). This individual was found in the Ejido Villa

Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013b)

assessed its EVS as 11, placing it in the lower portion of the

medium vulnerability category. Its conservation status has been

considered as Vulnerable (VU) by the IUCN, but this species

is not listed by SEMARNAT. Photo by Jenny del Carmen

Estrada- Montiel,

No. 7. Quilticohyla zoque (Canseco-Marquez, Aguilar-Lopez,

Luria-Manzano, Pineda-Arredondo, and Caviedes-Solis, 2017).

The Zoque Treefrog is distributed in evergreen tropical forest at

three localities in southern Mexico in the Selva Zoque, two in

southern Veracruz (Paso del Moral and Arroyo Zarco), one in

extreme southwestern Tabasco near the Veracruz and Chiapas

borders, and one in northeastern Oaxaca (Chalchijapa) (https://

amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). This individual was located

in Ejido Villa Guadalupe, in the municipality of Huimanguillo,

Tabasco. Torres-Hernandez et al. (2021) assessed its EVS as 14,

placing it at the lower limit of the high vulnerability category.

Its conservation status has been judged as Endangered (EN) by

the IUCN, but this species is not listed by SEMARNAT. Photo

by Liliana Rios-Rodas.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 8. Zriprion spinosus (Steindachner, 1864). The Coronated

Treefrog occurs in humid forests, primarily in the premontane

zone of eastern Mexico in the states of Tabasco, Veracruz,

Puebla, Oaxaca, and Chiapas, and on into Central America

south into Panama (https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/).

This individual is from Cerro El Madrigal, in the municipality

of Teapa, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013b) calculated its EVS as

10, placing it in the lower portion of the medium vulnerability

category. Its conservation status has been considered as Near

Threatened (NT) by IUCN, but this species is not listed by

SEMARNAT. Photo by Marco Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

Table 4. Distribution of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico, by physiographic region. No asterisk = non-endemic; * = country

endemic; ** = non-native.

Physiographic region

Sierras de Chiapas y Guatemala Number of

Taxon Gulf Coastal Plain regions

(GCP) Sierra del Norte de Sierras Bajas del

Chiapas (SNC) Petén (SBP)

| Total herpetofauna(170 species) |

| AMPHIBIA(4Sspeciesy) |

| Anura(39speciesy |

| Bufonidae(3species) |

| Incilius macrocristaus |

| Centrolenidae(I species) |

| Hyalinobatrachium viridissimum |

| Craugastoridae(7speciesy |

| Craugastoralfred’ |

| Craugastor berkenbuschit* |

| Craugastorlaticeps |

| Craugastorloki |

| Craugastorpalenque |

| Craugastorpelorus* |

ECraugasior@hodoy se ee || =e

| Eleutherodactylidae(2 species) |

| Eleutherodactylusleprus |

| Eleutherodactylusplanirostris** | +

| Hylidae (16 species) |

| Charadrahylachaneque® |

| Dendrosophusebraccatus | HP

| Dendrosophus microcephalus | HT 8

| Duellmanohyla chamulac* |

| Exerodontabivocata® |

| Ptychohyla macrotympanum |

| Quilticohylazoques |

| Rheohyla miotympamum® |

Se AAD AE Ss |

| Smiliscabaudini | 8

| Smilisca cyanosticta |

| Talocohylaloquax | 8

| Talocohylapicta |

| Trachycephalus vermiculatus | HT 8

| Triprionpetasatus |

| Triprion spinosus |

| Leptodactylidae(3 species) |

| Engystomopspustulosus |

| Leptodactylusfragilis |

| Microhylidae(2 species) |

| Gastrophyrneelegans |

| Hypopachusvariolosus |

| Phyllomedusidae(2 species) |

| Agalychnismoreletii |

| Ranidae(2 species) |

THEFT ITE

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 11 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Table 4 (continued). Distribution of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico, by physiographic region. No asterisk = non-endemic;

* = country endemic; ** = non-native.

Physiographic region

Sierras de Chiapas y Guatemala Number of

Taxon Gulf Coastal Plain regions

(GCP) Sierra del Norte de Sierras Bajas del

Chiapas (SNC) Petén (SBP)

Lithobates vaillanti

Rhinophrynidae (1 species)

Caudata (5 species)

Plethodontidae (5 species)

Bolitoglossa alberchi*

Rhinophrynus dorsalis

Bolitoglossa mexicana

Bolitoglossa rufescens

Bolitoglossa veracrucis*

Gymnophiona (1 species)

Dermophis mexicanus

Reptilia (125 species)

Squamata (111 species)

Norops biporcatus

Norops lemurinus

Norops petersii

Norops capito

Norops compressicauda*

Norops sericeus

Norops laeviventris

Norops sagrei**

Norops tropidonotus

Norops uniformis

Ctenosaura similis +

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 12 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

Table 4 (continued). Distribution of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico, by physiographic region. No asterisk = non-endemic;

* = country endemic; ** = non-native.

Physiographic region

Sierras de Chiapas y Guatemala Number of

Taxon Gulf Coastal Plain regions

(GCP) Sierra del Norte de Sierras Bajas del

Chiapas (SNC) Petén (SBP)

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 13 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Table 4 (continued). Distribution of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico, by physiographic region. No asterisk = non-endemic;

* = country endemic; ** = non-native.

Physiographic region

Sierras de Chiapas y Guatemala Number of

Taxon Gulf Coastal Plain regions

(GCP) Sierra del Norte de Sierras Bajas del

Chiapas (SNC) Petén (SBP)

| Stenorrhina degenhardtii__—— |

| Stenorrhina freminvillii__— |

| Tantillarubra |

| Tantillaschistosa |

| Tantillitalinton’ |

| Dipsadidae(30 species) |

| Adelphicos quadrivirgatum |

| Amastridium sapperi_ |

[Celia seytalina |

| Coniophanes bipunctatus |

| Coniophanesfissidens |

| Coniophanes imperialis | 8

| Coniophanespiceivitis |

| Coniophanes quinquevittatus | HT 8

| Coniophanes schmidti |

-ConophisHineatus FP

Dipsas brevifacies

+]+]+

+/+]+]+]+]4+]4]+

N Je PRO JR PRO PN TN IN JR fe

Enulius flavitorques

Geophis carinosus

Geophis laticinctus* _ SSS SSS ea SSS Ee

Geophis sanniolus pf

Geophis sartorii

NTH

ee | (A

| Imantodes gemmistraus | CC CU Cid tT

Leptodeira renata

| Leptodeiramaculaa | —C—“‘iLSCSCC“‘(S+TOTCOUWT CC

| Leptodeira septentrionalis | CE CU CS CC

Ninia diademata

ttt

Ninia sebae

Oxyrhopus petolarius _——S_——

Pliocercus elapoides SSE Se LS a es | ee

Rhadinaea decorata SSE ISS _ ee

Sibon dimidiatus

i |

+ tHe

Sibon nebulatus

Vanes

| Tretanorhinus nigroluteus |

| Xenodonrabdocephalus |

| Elapidae(2 species) |

| Micrurusdiastema* |

| Micruruselegans |

| Leptotyphlopidae(I species) |

| Epictiaphenops |

| Natricidae(3 species) |

| Nerodiarhombifera |

| Thamnophismarcianus |

| Thamnophisproximus |

| Sibynophiidae(I species) |

| Scaphiodontophisannulaus |

| Typhlopidae(2speciesy |

| Amerotyphlopstenuis |

+ ]+

— |r

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 14 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

Table 4 (continued). Distribution of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico, by physiographic region. No asterisk = non-endemic;

* = country endemic; ** = non-native.

Number of

Physiographic region

Sierras de Chiapas y Guatemala

Taxon Gulf Coastal Plain

(GCP) Sierra del Norte de Sierras Bajas del

Chiapas (SNC) Petén (SBP)

Viperidae (6 species)

Agkistrodon russeolus

Virgotyphlops braminus**

Cheloniidae (2 species)

Thirteen of these 50 species (26.0%) are country

endemics and 37 (74.0%) are non-endemics. Thirty of

the 37 non-endemics (81.1%) are MXCA species, and

Dermatemydidae (1 species) _—_ _)

regions

Oxybelis fulgidus 6

Stenorrhina freminvillii 4

Enulius flavitorques 6

thus are distributed some distance from Mexico into Epictia phenops 4

Central America. Six of these non-endemics (16.2%) Nerodia rhombifera 3

are MXSA species, and thus range from Mexico through Virgotyphlops braminus**

Central America and into South America. Finally, one Chelonia mydas 9

non-endemic (2.7%) is a USCA species, and thus ranges Lepidochelys kempii 9

from the United States to Central America.

The 11 single-region species in the GCP (Table 7) are as

follows (numbers refer to the distributional categories as

designated by Wilson et al. [2017]; one asterisk indicates

a country endemic species; and two asterisks a non-

native species):

Eleutherodactylus planirostris**

Aspidoscelis guttatus*

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

Dermochelys coriacea 9

Note that only one of these 11 species (9.1%) is a country

endemic, two (18.2%) are non-natives, and eight (72.7%)

are non-endemics. Of the eight non-endemics, one is a

MXUS species (12.5%), the only one in Tabasco that

ranges northward from Mexico into the United States.

Two of these are MXCA species (25.0%), two are MXSA

species (25.0%), and three are OCEA (or oceanic) species

(37.5%; the sea turtles).

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

lipped Frog is distributed from the Lower Rio Grande Valley

of southern Texas (USA) through eastern and southern Mexico

(southeast from Colima), and into Central America through

northern and western Colombia (https://amphibiansoftheworld.

amnh.org/). This individual was found in the Ejido Villa

Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013b)

calculated its EVS as 5, placing it in the lower portion of the

low vulnerability category. Its conservation status has been

considered as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but this

species is not listed by SEMARNAT. Photo by José del Carmen

Geronimo-Torres.

No. 11. Lithobates vaillanti (Brocchi, 1877). Vaillant’s Frog

ranges from “low and moderate elevations from north-central

Veracruz and northern Oaxaca to the central Rio Magdalena

region in Colombia on the Atlantic versant and on the Pacific

versant in southeastern Oaxaca and northwestern Chiapas,

Mexico, and from northwestern Nicaragua to southwestern

Ecuador” (https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). This

individual was located in the Ejido Villa Guadalupe of

Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013b) determined its

EVS as 9, placing it at the upper limit of the low vulnerability

category. Its conservation status has been considered as Least

Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but this species is not listed by

SEMARNAT. Photo by José del Carmen Geronimo-Torres.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 10. Agalychnis taylori Funkhouser, 1957. Taylor’s Leaf

Frog occurs on the Atlantic slopes and lowlands from southern

Veracruz and northern Oaxaca in Mexico, through the more

humid portions of Tabasco, Campeche, Quintana Roo and

Yucatan, and on through Guatemala to west-central Honduras

(https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). This individual was

found in the municipality of Centro, Tabasco. Torres-Hernandez

et al. (2021) calculated its EVS as 11, placing it in the lower

portion of the medium vulnerability category. Its conservation

status has been considered as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN,

but this species is not listed by SEMARNAT. Photo by José del

Carmen Geronimo-Torres.

No. 12. Bolitoglossa mexicana Dumeéril, Bibron, and Dumeéril,

1854. The Mexican Mushroom-tongued Salamander is

distributed from the “Atlantic slope from southern Veracruz

(Mexico) across the base of the Yucatan Peninsula, with an

isolated population in the northern part of Yucatan Peninsula, to

Honduras (extending to the Pacific versant in the Ocotepeque)

and El Salvador (Departamento de Chalatenango, municipio

de La Palma, Cerro La Palma)” (https://amphibiansoftheworld.

amnh.org/). This individual was encountered in Villa Luz, in

the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013b)

assessed its EVS as 11, placing it in the lower portion of

the medium vulnerability category. Its conservation status

has been considered as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN

and it is allocated to the Special Protection (Pr) category by

SEMARNAT. Photo by Liliana Rios-Rodas.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

Table 5. Distribution of herpetofaunal families in Tabasco, Mexico, by physiographic province. See Table 4 header for an explanation

of the abbreviations.

Distribution among physiographic regions

———<—<$<$<=__— = — | =< — = |

ay ee, a a a a a

ri |, = a= fe ee

inate alt sie dus age aly cass | J

a a CT a CT CT

a SS a a a as a

waa sss |

Subiowl ae 0

Se |

YS SY TY "ST

re ——$ $1 — a — ee a

PDiploglossidae

i |?) ae | |

in i ee ies ols oe |. te 4

Ga a ee ee ea ee

a Ts Se a CT

Siedegiiee = a pF

7 so. | oe

Si i Re: ia ge l= ome

eal ee |

St | a |

a a TS ce

ee. “|| __™e 0) aS al) @e =|) «=

a ——— I

i a a a |

[sibynophiidae |

ies a le a nl

| |

PS (| TY ST

ee | | |

Number of species

AHHH

HTH i

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 17 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Table 6. Pair-wise comparison matrix of Coefficient of Biogeographic Resemblance (CBR) data of the herpetofaunal relationships

for the three physiographic regions in Tabasco, Mexico. Underlined values = number of species in each region; upper triangular

matrix values = species in common between two regions; and lower triangular matrix values = CBR values. The formula for this

calculation is: CBR = 2C/N, + N, (Duellman, 1990), where C is the number of species common to both regions, N, is the number of

species in the first region, and N, is the number of species in the second region. See Table 4 for an explanation of the abbreviations,

and Fig. 12 for the UPGMA dendrogram produced from the CBR data.

Gulf Coastal Plain Sierra Norte de Chiapas Sierras Bajas del Petén

Gulf Coastal Plain 88 71 61

Sierra Norte de Chiapas 0.61 145 79

Sierras Baja de Petén 0.67 0.66 93

The eight single-region species inthe SBP (Table 7) areas 79 between the SNC and the SBP. The average value of

follows (numbers refer to the distributional categories as — shared species among all three regions is 70.3.

designated by Wilson et al. [2017]; an asterisk indicates The CBR data in Table 6 demonstrate values ranging from

country endemics): 0.61 to 0.67 (see below), with a mean value of 0.65. This

range of CBR values is limited and the values are relatively

Triprion petasatus 4 high, indicating that many of these species are widespread.

Engystomops pustulosus 6 We determined the numbers of species inhabiting one,

Bolitoglossa alberchi* two, and three of the recognized physiographic regions

Scincella gemmingeri* (Table 7). In each of the two smaller herpetofaunas for

Coniophanes schmidti 4 the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Sierras Bajas del Petén

Leptodeira frenata 4 subregion the numbers of species found in one, two,

Agkistrodon russeolus 4 and three regions increase from the lowest to the highest

Crotalus tzabcan 4 value. However, in the area with the largest herpetofauna

(145 species), the Sierra de Norte de Chiapas, the number

Two of these eight species (25.0%) are country endemics __ of single-region species (50) is higher than the number

and the remaining six are non-endemics. Of the six non- — of the double-region species (40), and is closer to the

endemic species, one is an MXSA species and the other number of species occupying all three regions (55).

five are MXCA species. Of the 170 total herpetofaunal species in Tabasco, 101

In summary, of the 69 single-region species distributed (59.4%) are found in two or three physiographic regions,

in Tabasco, 51 (73.9%) are non-endemics, 16 (23.2%) leaving 69 (40.6%) with a distribution in only a single

are country endemics, and two (2.9%) are non-natives. region (see above). Thus, 50 of these 69 single-region

Of the three physiographic regions in Tabasco, the SNC __ species are restricted to the Sierra Norte de Chiapas.

is of greatest conservation importance, given that it The highest CBR value (0.67) is that between the

supports the largest overall number of species (145), as | GCP and the SBP, and the lowest value (0.61) is between

well as the largest numbers of single-region species (50) — the GCP and the SNC. We expected a relatively high

and country-endemics (13). level of resemblance among these three areas, since the

two higher-elevation regions are adjacent to the lower-

We constructed a Coefficient of Biogeographic elevation region, and all three regions contain relatively

Resemblance (CBR) matrix for establishing the —lowelevations (see above).

herpetofaunal similarity relationships among the three The overall CBR values among the three physiographic

physiographic regions in Tabasco (Table 6). The SNC _ regions are as follows, arranged from the highest to

supports the highest level of species richness at 145 — lowest value (species numbers in parentheses):

species, followed by 93 in the SBP, and 88 in the GCP.

The mean species richness for the three regions is 108.7. GCP (88) — 0.61 — SNC (145)

The numbers of shared species among all regional SBP (93) — 0.66 — SNC (145)

pairs range from 61 between the GCP and the SBP to GCP (88) — 0.67 — SBP (93)

Table 7. Counts of the number of species within each of the three physiographic regions in Tabasco, Mexico, which occupy one,

two, or three of the physiographic regions.

Physiographic Number of regions inhabited

region One Two Three Total

Gulf Coastal Plain 1] 22 55 88

Sierra del Norte de 50) AO 55 145

Chiapas

Sierras Baja del Petén 8 30 55 93

State total 69 46 55 170

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 18 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

pes ae SF

No. 13. Bolitoglossa veracrucis Taylor, 1951. The Veracruz

Salamander previously was known only from the type

locality (Veracruz, Mexico), at 100 to 1,000 m elevation

(https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/). In 2008, however,

a population of this species was recorded for the first time

in the state of Tabasco, from Cuevas de Muku Chem, in the

municipality of Tacotalpa (Geronimo-Torres et al. 2022).

Wilson et al. (2013b) calculated its EVS as 17, placing it

in the middle portion of the high vulnerability category. Its

conservation status has been considered as Endangered (EN)

by IUCN, and as a species of Special Protection (Pr) by

SEMARNAT. Photo by Marco Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

No. 15. Corytophanes hernandesii (Wiegmann, 1831).

Hernandez’s Helmeted Basilisk occurs at low and moderate

elevations on the Atlantic versant from southeastern San Luis

Potosi, Mexico, to northwestern Honduras (McCranie et al.

2004). This individual was encountered in the Ejido Villa

Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013a)

determined its EVS as 13, placing it at the upper limit of the

medium vulnerability category. Its conservation status has not

been determined by the IUCN, but this species was provided

Special Protection (Pr) status by SEMARNAT. Photo by José

del Carmen Geronimo-Torres.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 14. Corytophanes cristatus (Merrem, 1820). The Smooth

Helmeted Iguana is found at low and intermediate elevations

on the Gulf and Caribbean slopes from central Veracruz to

Colombia (Lee 1996). This lizard ranges from central Veracruz

and the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico,

southward on the Atlantic versant and lowlands of Central

America through northern Guatemala and Belize to Costa Rica,

where it occurs on both the Atlantic and Pacific slopes into

northwestern Colombia (Campbell 1998). This individual was

found in the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco, in secondary

vegetation. Its EVS has been determined as 11, placing it in

the middle portion of the medium vulnerability category, and

its IUCN status has been assessed as Least Concern (LC). This

species was allocated to the Special Protection (Pr) category

by SEMARNAT. Photo by Marco Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

No. 16. Norops barkeri Schmidt, 1939. Barker’s Anole is a

semiaquatic anole endemic to southern Mexico. This species

is known from states of Veracruz, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and

Tabasco (Powell and Birt 2001). This individual was found

in the Ejido Villa Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco.

This lizard’s EVS has been assessed as 15, placing it in the

lower portion of the high vulnerability category (Wilson et al.

2013a). Its IUCN status has been determined as Vulnerable

(VU), and it is considered a species of Special Protection (Pr)

by SEMARNAT. Photo by Jenny del C.-Estrada- Montiel.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

SBP GCP SNC

1.00

10 ss .64

.20

Fig. 5. UPGMA-generated dendrogram illustrating the simi-

larity relationships of species richness among the herpetofau-

nal components in the three physiographic regions of Tabasco

(based on the data in Table 6; Sokal and Michener 1958). Simi-

larity values were calculated using Duellman’s (1990) Coef-

ficient of Biogeographic Resemblance (CBR).

Based on the data in Table 6, we created a UPGMA

dendrogram (Fig. 5) to demonstrate the herpetofaunal

resemblance patterns among the three physiographic

regions in Tabasco (see map, Fig. 1). The dendrogram

indicates that the CBP and GCP cluster at the 0.67 level

and the SNC clusters to the previous pair at the 0.64

level. This overall pattern indicates that all three regions

are closely aligned together at an intermediate level of

resemblance.

Distribution Status Categorizations

We utilized the same system as Alvarado-Diaz et al.

(2013) to examine the distribution status of members

of the Tabasco herpetofauna, and this system has been

used in all the subsequent entries in the MCS (see above).

The categories in this system are non-endemic, country

endemic, state endemic (of which none occur in Tabasco),

and non-native. These categorizations are listed in Table

8 and summarized in Table 9.

The numbers of species in each of the three applicable

categories, in decreasing order of size, are as follows:

non-endemics, 145 (85.3% of total of 170 species):

country endemics, 20 (11.8%); and non-natives, five

(2.9%). As with the states of Oaxaca (Mata-Silva et

al. 2015), Chiapas (Johnson et al. 2015a), Tamaulipas

(Teran-Juarez et al. 2016), Nuevo Leon (Nevarez-de los

Reyes et al. 2016), Coahuila (Lazcano et al. 2019), and

Veracruz (Torres-Hernandez et al. 2021), as well as the tri-

state Yucatan Peninsula (Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. 2017),

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

most of the herpetofaunal taxa in Tabasco fall within the

non-endemic category. In the other six states evaluated

in the Mexican Conservation Series, the largest number

falls within the country endemic category: Michoacan

(Alvarado-Diaz et al. 2013); Nayarit (Woolrich-Pifia

et al. 2016); Jalisco (Cruz-Saenz et al. 2017); Puebla

(Woolrich-Pifia et al. 2017); Hidalgo (Ramirez-Bautista

et al. 2020); and Querétaro (Cruz-Elizalde et al. 2022).

Twenty country endemic species are present in

Tabasco, and perhaps this relatively low number was

expected because the state lies largely on the Gulf

Coastal Plain and adjacent to relatively low-elevation

areas, which generally are not known for significant

herpetofaunal endemism. No state endemic species

occur in Tabasco. In the 13 previous entries in the MCS

(including the Oaxaca update; Mata-Silva et al. 2021),

the number of state endemic species ranges from one

in Nayarit and Nuevo Leon (Woolrich-Pifia et al. 2016;

Nevarez-de los Reyes 2016) to 105 in Oaxaca (Mata-

Silva et al. 2021).

Five non-native species have been recorded from

Tabasco, including Eleutherodactylus _ planirostris,

Norops sagrei, Hemidactylus frenatus, H. turcicus, and

Virgotyphlops braminus. Two of these five species (7.

frenatus and V. braminus) are the most widespread of the

non-native species recorded in the 13 entries in the MCS

(Cruz-Elizalde et al. 2022), and to date they have been

reported in 13 states or tri-state regions.

Wilson et al. (2017) introduced a system for the

distributional categorization of the Mesoamerican

herpetofauna. The data for the categories applicable to this

work are summarized in Table 10. Previously, we noted

that 145 species are non-endemic to Tabasco, and we

allocated them to six of the nine categories developed by

Wilson et al. (2017), including MXUS, MXCA, MXSA,

USCA, USSA, and OCEA. As expected, the greatest

number and proportion of species fall into the MKCA

category (95, or 65.5%), given the proximity of Tabasco

to Central America and since a significant portion of its

eastern border is shared with Guatemala. Interestingly,

the next largest number and proportion of species are

allocated to the MXSA category (34, or 23.4%). Oddly,

only a single species (0.7%) is assigned to the MXUS

category. By way of comparison, this category contains

29 species, or 17.2%, in the herpetofauna of the adjacent

state to the west (1.e., Veracruz; Torres-Hernandez et al.

2021). The remaining 15 species are in the USCA (eight,

or 5.5%), USSA (four, or 2.7%), and OCEA (three, or

2.1%) categories.

Principal Environmental Threats

Deforestation

Deforestation in southeastern Mexico is a serious matter

that has worsened over time, and the state of Tabasco is

no exception (Fig. 6). The continuous loss of vegetational

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

No. 17. Norops compressicauda Smith and Kerster, 1955. The

Malposo Scaly Anole is endemic to Mexico. This anole has

been reported from the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Chiapas.

Here we present the first records of this species from the state

of Tabasco, from the municipalities of Teapa and Tacotalpa,

in montane areas at elevations from 100 to 700 m (Rios

Rodas et al. 2017). Wilson et al. (2013a) calculated its EVS

as 15, placing it in the lower portion of the high vulnerability

category. Its conservation status has been considered as Least

Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but this species is not listed by

SEMARNAT. Photo by Liliana Rios-Rodas.

a Geer ea

No. 19. Ctenosaura similis (Gray, 1831). The Common

Spiny-tailed Iguana occurs at low and moderate elevations

from southern Veracruz and Oaxaca southward to Panama

(Lee 1996). The native range of this species extends along

the Atlantic versant from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

southeastward to northeastern Nicaragua, and on the Pacific

versant from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec southeastward

to Panama (Kohler 2003). This individual was found in

rainforest at an elevation of 200 m, in the municipality of

Tenosique, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013a) calculated its EVS

as 8, placing it in the upper portion of the low vulnerability

category. Its conservation status has been considered as Least

Concern (LC) by the IUCN. This species was allocated to the

Threatened (A) category by SEMARNAT. Photo by Maria del

Rosario Barragan-Vazquez.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 18. Coleonyx elegans Gray, 1845. The Yucatan Banded

Gecko is distributed on the Gulf and Pacific slopes in the

states of the southeastern region of Mexico. In Tabasco, this

species has been recorded in the municipalities of Tacotalpa,

Huimanguillo, and Teapa. This individual is from Muku

Chem, in the municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco. Its EVS has

been determined as 9, placing it at the upper limit of the low

vulnerability category (Wilson et al. 2013a). Its IUCN status

has been assessed as Least Concern (LC), and as Threatened

(A) by SEMARNAT. Photo by Manuel Herndndez-May.

— S ee _

No. 20. Sceloporus teapensis Ginther, 1890. The Teapen

Rosebellied Lizard occurs at low elevations on the Atlantic

slopes from southern Veracruz and Oaxaca, eastward through

Chiapas, Tabasco, and Campeche, and through the Petén region

of Guatemala to Belize, and south to Coban, Alta Verapaz,

Guatemala (Lee 1996). This individual was encountered in the

Ejido Villa Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al.

(2013a) determined its EVS as 13, placing it at the upper limit

of the medium vulnerability category. Its conservation status

has been assessed as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but

has not been determined by SEMARNAT. Photo by Jenny del

Carmen Estrada- Montiel.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Fig. 6. Deforestation due to road construction in the vicinity

of Paraiso, Tabasco. Photo by José del Carmen Geronimo-

Torres.

cover in tropical forest has been precipitated primarily by

a shift in land use for livestock and agricultural activities,

lumber extraction, an increasing number of roads, oil

production-related activities, and the direct effect of

human population growth (Maldonado-Sanchez et al.

2016). To date, Tabasco has lost more than 90% of its

original vegetational cover (Zavala-Cruz and Castillo

2003), and more recent data indicate that approximately

only 2% of this vegetation remains (Sanchez-Munguia

2005). In the basins of the Grijalva and Usumacinta

rivers, the tropical forest cover has been reduced from

36% in 1993 to only 9% in 2007 (Kolb and Galicia 2012).

The above numbers reveal the somber panorama

that Tabasco currently faces, which directly affects the

prospects for conserving biodiversity, including its

herpetofauna. The last remnants of forest in Tabasco

are distributed mostly in the municipalities of Teapa,

Tenosique, Huimanguillo, and Macuspana (Castillo and

Zavala 1996); ironically, these are the same geographic

entities where various extension records of amphibians

and reptiles have been reported in recent years. Species

such as the Northern Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium

viridissimum), the Chiapan Highlands Treefrog

(Exerodonta bivocata), the Smooth-headed Helmeted

Basilisk, locally known as Turipache (Corytophanes

cristatus), Barker’s Anole (Norops barkeri), and the

Keeled Earth Snake (Geophis carinosus) are just a few

worthy of mention. These records highlight the need for

continuous and urgent exploration, especially in areas

that still contain tropical forest.

Agricultural Activities

As mentioned earlier, one of the main drivers of

deforestation is farming (Fig. 7) and livestock activities.

In this regard, Alejandro-Montiel et al. (2010) stated

that these activities are responsible for 94% of the land

change that has taken place in Tabasco. Noteworthy

agricultural policies for Tabasco were developed in the

1960s and 1970s (Plan Chontalpa and Plan Balancan-

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

Fig. 7. Conversion of land use for agricultural purposes in

the community of Villa Luz, in the municipality of Tacotalpa,

Tabasco. Photo by Liliana Rios-Rodas.

Tenosique), and have affected more than 200,000 ha,

resulting in the complete elimination of evergreen

tropical forest and the desiccation of wetlands for the

later development of urban communities (Barkin 1978).

For example, immediately after the completion of one of

these projects, a subsequent study revealed that only 8%

of the forests remained in the municipalities of Balancan

and Tenosique, which increased flooding and soil erosion

in those areas (Tudela 1989; Torres-Masuera 2021).

These programs did not have the promised results, but

on the contrary were responsible for the loss of forest

and biodiversity that have not recovered thus far. This

infamous action was never reported; therefore, there are

no actual numbers that can reveal the specific amount of

biodiversity affected.

Currently, Tabasco dedicates more than 253,000 ha

to the cultivation of banana, sugarcane, cocoa, corn,

and oil palm. Unfortunately, these large-scale crops

are damaging to the remaining natural ecosystems in

the state, whose effects are exacerbated by the large

amount of associated chemicals. The municipalities of

Huimanguillo and Balancan have the largest amount of

land used for cultivation, and Huimanguillo also has the

largest livestock production (Infografia Agroalimentaria

2017). Atthe same time, the municipality of Huimanguillo

contains remnants of evergreen tropical forest where

additional species have been reported in recent times,

expanding their geographic distributions. The current

and historical situation regarding the development of

agriculture in the state also indicates the continuous

damage inflicted on natural ecosystems and, therefore,

all of the species they harbor.

Roads

Roads represent an important contributor to the

intensification of productivity in communities, and

simultaneously are an instrumental component for social,

economic, and cultural integration. According to INEGI

(2009), Tabasco has an extensive system of roads, and is

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

No. 21. Sphaerodactylus continentalis Werner, 1896. The

Upper Central American Geckolet occurs at “low and

moderate elevations from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in

northern Oaxaca, Mexico, to about the Catacamas, Olancho,

region of east-central Honduras;” this species “also occurs

on Utila Island in the Honduran Bay Islands and possibly

on Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo, Mexico” (McCranie and

Hedges 2012). This individual is from Muku Chem, in the

municipality of Tacotalpa, Tabasco. Mata-Silva et al. (2021)

determined its EVS as 10, placing it at the lower limit of the

medium vulnerability category. Its conservation status has

been evaluated as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but it

has not been assessed by SEMARNAT. Photo by Liliana Rios-

Rodas.

Ab si ares

No. 23. Lepidophyma flavimaculatum Dumeril, 1851. The

Yellow-spotted Night Lizard is found at low and moderate

elevations on the Atlantic slope from Veracruz eastward

through northern Guatemala, Belize, and northern Honduras.

In the Yucatan Peninsula it is known from northeastern

Chiapas, El Petén, Belize, and southern Quintana Roo

(Lee 1996). This individual was located in the Ejido Villa

Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013a)

assessed its EVS as 8, placing it in the upper portion of the

low vulnerability category. Its conservation status has been

evaluated as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, and this

species was placed in the Special Protection (Pr) category by

SEMARNAT. Photo by José del Carmen Gerénimo-Torres.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 22. Holcosus stuarti Smith, 1940. The Rainbow Ameiva

occurs on the “Atlantic slopes of Mexico from the middle of

the Isthmus of Tehuantepec eastward in the lowlands to the

southern borders of Laguna de Términos and to Tenosique,

Tabasco; southward up the valley of the Rio Grijalva at least

as far as Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas” (Meza-Lazaro and Nieto-

Montes de Oca 2015). This individual was located in the

Ejido Villa Guadalupe of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Wilson et

al. (2013a) determined its EVS as 7, placing it in the middle

limit of the low vulnerability category. Its conservation status

has been evaluated as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but

this species is not listed by SEMARNAT. Photo by Jenny del

Carmen Estrada- Montiel.

No. 24. Leptophis mexicanus Duméril, Bibron, and Dumeéril,

1854. The Mexican Parrot Snake is distributed in southeastern

Mexico, including Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco,

Yucatan, Campeche, San Luis Potosi, Querétaro, Tamaulipas,

Puebla, Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Guerrero, and Yucatan

Peninsula, into Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador,

Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In Guatemala it occurs from near

sea level to about 1,360 m in elevation (Lee 1996; Campbell

1998). This individual was found in the municipality of

Tacotalpa, Tabasco, in secondary vegetation (acahual). Its

EVS has been determined as 6, placing it in the middle portion

of the low vulnerability category. Its conservation status has

been considered as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN and it

is allocated to the Threatened (A) category by SEMARNAT.

Photo by Marco Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Fig. 8. Roads. A Boa imperator dead on the road in the Pantanos

de Centla Biosphere Reserve, in the municipality of the same

name, Tabasco. Photo by Coral J. Pacheco-Figueroa.

among the three best-served states in the country, with

an index of 248 m/km? (Vidal-Garcia and Negrete 2019).

The construction and functioning of roads are elements

that have drastic and long-term consequences on the

natural landscape, as they significantly affect the survival

of the native herpetofauna (Trombulak and Frissell 2000;

Coffin 2007). The building and maintenance of roads

implies the unavoidable removal of native vegetation

cover, thus enabling a series of linked processes that

ultimately lead to the detriment of adjacent habitats.

With respect to the mortality of fauna on roads (Fig.

8), Pozo-Montuy et al. (2019) reported 111 individuals

killed by vehicles on the road from Villahermosa to

Zacatal; of those, 22.5% were reptiles and 20.7%

amphibians. The species affected more frequently were

in the families Iguanidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Viperidae,

and Geoemydidae; more specifically for lizards they

included Green Iguanas ([guana rhinolopha) and Black

Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) (Canales-Delgadillo et al.

2020). Other studies carried out in the state reported the

killing of 1. rhinolopha on highway 186 (Villahermosa-

Aeropuerto) and the Cane Toad (Rhinella horribilis) on

the Tabascan plains. Lastly, a survey conducted at Reserva

de la Bidsfera Pantanos de Centla showed that 43% of the

road-kills were amphibians, primarily Brown’s Leopard

Frog (Lithobates brownorum) (Pacheco-Figueroa 2021).

Soil Pollution and Ojil-related Activities

In Tabasco, the municipalities with the highest numbers

of oil spills that affected numerous hectares of land

from 1995 until 2001 were Cardenas, Huimanguillo,

Cunduacan, and Comalcalco (Ochoa-Gaona et al.

2011). The long history of oil spills and gas explosions

in Tabasco (Fig. 9) has led to serious consequences in

many communities, because this activity also resulted in

the pollution of soils and vegetation such as grasslands

(Zavala-Cruz et al. 2005). Some studies have identified

approximately 7,500 ha that are affected, more than 90%

of which are located in wetlands (Adams-Schroeder

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

Fig. 9. Deforestation due to oil activities in the vicinity of

Paraiso, Tabasco. Photo by José del Carmen Geronimo-

Torres.

1999; Beltran-Paz 2006). It was estimated that 0.07% of

the state was polluted with fossil fuels (Rivera-Cruz and

Trujillo-Narcia 2004; Ferrera-Cerrato et al. 2006). All

amphibian groups found in Tabasco have been affected

by the oil industry, although a study by Reynoso-Rosales

(1999) in southeastern Mexico, including Tabasco,

determined that the detriment to amphibians ts the result

of a combined effect from both farming and the oil

industry. With respect to the latter activity, this includes

consecutive processes such as exploration, perforation,

and production. Among the direct effects from the oil

industry are the disturbances caused by permanent

light sources at all installations, which likely affect

the behavior of species present around these industrial

facilities. For instance, toads (Rhinella and Incilius)

congregate at light sources to search for food.

Myths and Cultural Factors

With respect to the herpetofauna, ethnozoological

knowledge includes symbolic, spiritual, and social

meanings in indigenous societies (Avila-Najera et

al. 2018), although few studies have addressed this

subject in Tabasco. Among the most frequent uses of

native herpetofauna are for food (iguanas, turtles, and

crocodiles, Hernandez-Lopez et al. 2012) and magic-

religious uses in conjunction with medicinal application.

For example, rattlesnakes (Crotalus) are used to treat

cancer, diabetes, acne, and skin health issues (GOmez-

Alvarez and Pacheco 2010). On the other hand, snakes

generally are considered as dangerous, and _ their

encounters usually result in their immediate elimination.

A similar situation 1s experienced by amphibians, which

are considered mostly as undesirable.

People in Tabasco have consumed native terrestrial

vertebrates for millennia, primarily reptiles, birds,

and mammals as food, as well as for skins, pets, and

medicinal purposes (Pozo-Montuy et al. 2019). To date,

16 species of reptiles have been identified as traditionally

consumed in Tabasco, such as iguanas, turtles, snakes,

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

No. 25. Oxybelis potosiensis (Taylor, 1941). The Gulf Coast

Vine Snake is distributed from San Luis Potosi and northern

Veracruz, southward to Yucatan, Mexico, and Belize (Jadin

et al. 2020). This individual was found in the municipality

of Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Its EVS has been determined as

5 (Cruz-Elizalde et al. 2022), placing it in the lower portion

of the low vulnerability category. Its conservation status has

not been evaluated (NE) by the IUCN, and it is considered

as having No Status (NS) by SEMARNAT. Photo by Marco

Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

= = aa

j ©Maseo A. TorreZ érez

No. 26. Coniophanes imperialis (Baird and Girard, 1859). The

Black-striped Snake occurs at low and moderate elevations

on the Atlantic slope from southern Texas southward on

the Atlantic watershed through eastern Mexico, Yucatan,

Belize, and northern and eastern Guatemala to Honduras;

it also occurs locally on Pacific slopes in Oaxaca, Chiapas,

Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo (Lee 1996; Campbell

1998). This individual was found in the municipality of

Huimanguillo, Tabasco. Its EVS has been determined as

8, placing it in the upper portion of the low vulnerability

category. Its conservation status has been established as Least

Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but has been assigned No Status

(NS) by SEMARNAT. Photo by Marco Antonio Torrez-Pérez.

No. 27. Enulius flavitorques (Cope, 1868). The Pacific Long-

tailed Snake occurs at low and moderate elevations on the

Pacific versant from Jalisco, Mexico, to Panama, and on the

Atlantic versant in Chiapas, Mexico, Honduras (including Isla

Utila in the Islas de la Bahia), Panama, northern Colombia,

and northwestern Venezuela (Hernandez- Valadez et al. 2016).

This individual was found in a coconut plantation in Playa

Chiltepec, in the municipality of Paraiso, Tabasco. Its EVS

has been determined as 5, placing it in the lower portion of

the low vulnerability category. Its conservation status has been

evaluated as Least Concern (LC) by the IUCN, but its status

remains undetermined (NS) by SEMARNAT. Photo by Marco

Antonio Lopez-Luna.

Amphib. Reptile Conserv.

No. 28. Jmantodes cenchoa (Linnaeus, 1758). The Neotropical

Blunt-headed Treesnake occurs at low and moderate elevations

in Mexico, from Chiapas on the Pacific slope and Tamaulipas

on the Atlantic slope, southward throughout most of the

Petén region in Guatemala and the northeastern portion of

Yucatan Peninsula, through the remainder of Central America

to Argentina and Paraguay (Lee 1996; Campbell 1998). This

individual was found in Muku Chem, in the municipality of

Tacotalpa, Tabasco. Wilson et al. (2013a) determined its EVS

as 6, placing it in the middle portion of the low vulnerability

category. Its conservation status has been considered as Least

Concern (LC) by the IUCN, and as a species of Special

Protection (Pr) by SEMARNAT. Photo by José del Carmen

Geronimo-Torres.

August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

The herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico

Table 8. Distributional and conservation status measures for members of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico. Distributional

status: CE = endemic to country of Mexico; NE = not endemic to state or country; and NN = non-native. The numbers suffixed

to the “NE” category signify the distributional categories developed by Wilson et al. (2017) and implemented in the taxonomic

list at the Mesoamerican Herpetology website (http://mesoamericanherpetology.com), as follows: 3 (species distributed only in

Mexico and the USA); 6 (species ranging from Mexico to South America); 7 (species ranging from the USA to Central America);

and 8 (species ranging from the USA to South America). Environmental Vulnerability Score (taken from Wilson et al. 2013a,b):

low (L) vulnerability species (EVS of 3-9); medium (M) vulnerability species (EVS of 10—13); and high (H) vulnerability species

(EVS of 14-20). IUCN Categorization: CR = Critically Endangered; EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened;

LC = Least Concern; DD = Data Deficient; NE = Not Evaluated. SEMARNAT Status: A = Threatened; P = Endangered; Pr =

Special Protection; and NS = No Status. See Alvarado-Diaz et al. (2013), Johnson et al. (2015a), and Mata-Silva et al. (2015) for

explanations of the EVS, IUCN, and SEMARNAT rating systems.

Distributional | Environmental IUCN SEMARNAT

Taxa Vulnerability ce

Status categorization status

Category (score)

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 26 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315

Barragan-Vazquez et al.

Table 8 (continued). Distributional and conservation status measures for members of the herpetofauna of Tabasco, Mexico.

Distributional status: CE = endemic to country of Mexico; NE = not endemic to state or country; and NN = non-native. The numbers

suffixed to the “NE” category signify the distributional categories developed by Wilson et al. (2017) and implemented in the

taxonomic list at the Mesoamerican Herpetology website (http://mesoamericanherpetology.com), as follows: 3 (species distributed

only in Mexico and the USA); 6 (species ranging from Mexico to South America); 7 (species ranging from the USA to Central

America); and 8 (species ranging from the USA to South America). Environmental Vulnerability Score (taken from Wilson et al.

2013a,b): low (L) vulnerability species (EVS of 3—9); medium (M) vulnerability species (EVS of 10-13); and high (H) vulnerability

species (EVS of 14-20). IUCN Categorization: CR = Critically Endangered; EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near

Threatened; LC = Least Concern; DD = Data Deficient; NE = Not Evaluated. SEMARNAT Status: A = Threatened; P = Endangered;

Pr = Special Protection; and NS = No Status. See Alvarado-Diaz et al. (2013), Johnson et al. (2015a), and Mata-Silva et al. (2015)

for explanations of the EVS, IUCN, and SEMARNAT rating systems.

Distributional. | E2vironmental IUCN SEMARNAT

Taxa Vulnerability ahee

status categorization status

Category (score)

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. 27 August 2022 | Volume 16 | Number 2 | e315