SPINY LIZARD Sceloporus sp. – “horridus albiventris”?

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MUD TURTLE Kinosternon sp. –

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HABITAT: Pine-Forest Habitat, 6,500′, Chihuahua, Mexico Pine-Forest Habitat, 6,500′, Chihuahua, Mexico

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TROPICAL NIGHT SNAKE Hypsiglena torquata – Gunther 1860 Hypsiglena torquata ssp. –

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HABITAT: Habitat, 250′, Sinaloa, Mexico

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SPINY LIZARD Sceloporus sp. –

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SPINY LIZARD Sceloporus sp. –

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SONORA TIGER WHIPTAIL LIZARD Aspidoscelis tigris – Baird & Girard 1852 Aspidoscelis tigris aethiops – Cope 1900

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HABITAT: Habitat, 100′, Sonora, Mexico

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REFERENCES: Maslin, T. P. and D. M. Secoy. 1986. A Checklist of the Lizard Genus Cnemidophorus (Teiidae). Contributions in Zoology, University of Colorado Museum, 1:1-60.

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: Conopsis megalodon is found only in the highlands of the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, as well as the mountains surrounding Ciudad Oaxaca and Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s elevational distribution is between 1730 and 3200 m.

HABITAT: This species is found in and [...]]]> SAN FELIPE GROUND SNAKE
Conopsis megalodon – Taylor & Smith 1942

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DISTRIBUTION:
Conopsis megalodon is found only in the highlands of the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, as well as the mountains surrounding Ciudad Oaxaca and Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s elevational distribution is between 1730 and 3200 m.

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This species is found in and at the edges of clearings, meadows, and grazed hillsides within pine, oak, pine-oak and deciduous forests. It is most commonly encountered beneath rocks, logs, and trash.

NATURAL HISTORY:
Like other members of the Genus Conopsis, this fossorial snake is probably a common inhabitant throughout it’s geographic range. It is probably diurnal, and seasonally nocturnal but is rarely found abroad during daylight hours. Prey items are likely invertebrates and lizards (particularly the Genus Eumeces). Small frogs (such as Eleutherodactylus) and young rodents may also be consumed. C. amphisticha appears to be most active during the summer rainy season (June-September).This species is Ovoviviparous, and probably gives birth to a small litter during the summer rainy season (July/August).

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Goyenechea & Flores-Villela (2006) synonomized the Genus Toluca with Conopsis. Synonomies include Toluca conica.

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Described as Toluca megalodon by Taylor & Smith (1942). Holotype: EHT-HMS 23640. Type-locality: Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico.

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This species is probably in no danger of local or wide-spread population decline; it is adaptable and may be found thriving in human-altered habitats.

REFERENCES:
Goyenechea, I., and Flores-Villela, O. (2006) Taxonomic summary of Conopsis, Gunther, 1858 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa 1271:1-27.
Taylor, E. H., and Smith, H. M. (1942) The snake genera Conopsis and Toluca. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 28(15):325-363.

MEXICO HIGHLAND GARTER SNAKE Thamnophis pulchrilatus – Cope 1885

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TAXONOMY: This species was long confused with Thamnophis cyrtopsis, a species with which it shares a striking resemblance (and is clearly closely allied to).

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PERSONAL NOTES: My experiences with this species are limited. In August, 2004 I found two large adult snakes (one pictured above) 1/4 [...]]]>
Adult, 7,500′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

MEXICO HIGHLAND GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis pulchrilatus – Cope 1885

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This species was long confused with Thamnophis cyrtopsis, a species with which it shares a striking resemblance (and is clearly closely allied to).

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My experiences with this species are limited. In August, 2004 I found two large adult snakes (one pictured above) 1/4 mile apart on a dirt road near Miquihuana, Tamaulipas on the lower slopes (7500′) of Cerro Pena Nevada. It was mid-day with partly cloudy skies, and the snakes were very easily spooked once we set foot out of the vehicle we were travelling in. The habitat was low scrubby growth, just below the pine/oak zone.

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BLACK BLIND SNAKE Leptotyphlops goudotii – Dumeril & Bibron 1844 Leptotyphlops goudotii ssp. – (phenops?)

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BLUNT-HEADED TREE SNAKE Imantodes gemmistratus – Cope 1861 Imantodes gemmistratus ssp. –

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