The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacan, Mexico Part 11

With respect to geographic distribution, _A. nebulosus_ has been collected from southern Sinaloa southward to Michoacan. The lizards here referred to _A. nebuloides_ have been taken only in pine-oak forest on the mountain slopes near Oaxaca City. Zweifel and Norris (1955:233) reported anoles with pink throat-fans from southern Sonora; possibly those specimens are _A. nebuloides_; I have not examined them. I have seen several preserved specimens from the vicinity of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. Although they probably belong to this group, those specimens differ from both _A. nebulosus_ and _A. nebuloides_ in their larger size, relatively larger head, and much larger throat fan.

Aside from the minor variation in scutellation, specimens of _Anolis nebulosus_ from Michoacan vary greatly in coloration. Usually the females have some form of a broad middorsal pale-colored band. In life this is dull yellow, tan, or orange. Two females from Dos Aguas are strikingly different; one (UMMZ 119521) has a broad middorsal orange stripe that is scalloped laterally and bordered by gray. The other (UMMZ 119081) has a narrow middorsal cream-colored line. Males usually are unicolor brown or olive-tan; sometimes the middorsal region is darker.

Some individuals have dark cross-bands or chevrons on the dorsum. One male from Dos Aguas (UMMZ 119080) has a cream-colored lateral stripe.

In Michoacan _Anolis nebulosus_ occurs from sea level to elevations slightly in excess of 2100 meters, usually in areas of dense cover, whether this be herbaceous, viney, or woody, ordinarily on the ground as well as in bushes and trees. One was in a bromeliad growing about ten meters above the ground. In the arid Tepalcatepec Valley anoles of this species are most frequently found in the tangled growth along streams.

Above Uruapan they were found in pine-oak forest, and on the Mexican Plateau between Zamora and Zacapu they were found in a bunch gra.s.s-scrub oak a.s.sociation.

~Anolis schmidti~ Smith

_Anolis schmidti_ Smith, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., zool.

ser., 24:21, January 30, 1939.--Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.

La Placita; San Juan de Lima.

Peters (1954:11) reported on the specimen from La Placita; another was secured at San Juan de Lima in 1956. The latter (UMMZ 115078) is a male having a snout-vent length of 43.0 mm. and a tail length of 70.5 mm. The dorsal ground color is pale tan; there are five pairs of irregular dark brown dorsolateral blotches. In life the throat fan was pale orange.

These specimens agree with those from Colima described by Duellman (1958c:10). The distribution of _Anolis schmidti_ seems to be restricted to the coastal lowlands from Michoacan to Nayarit.

~Basiliscus vittatus~ Wiegmann

_Basiliscus vittatus_ Wiegmann, Isis von Oken, 21:373, 1828.--Mexico. Type locality restricted to Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico, by Smith and Taylor (1950b:72).

Apatzingan (9); Capirio; Coahuayana (5); El Cerrito; El Sabino (2); El Ticuiz; La Placita (3); Maruata (2); Motin del Oro; Ostula; Playa Azul (3).

This species has been found only on the coast and in the low Tepalcatepec Valley. In the latter area it is restricted to riparian situations along the larger streams. The lizard is abundant in the mangrove swamps bordering the brackish lagoons on the coast. In July, 1955, scores of individuals were seen around Estero Pichi at Playa Azul.

Adults, especially the large males, are exceedingly wary and difficult to collect. At all localities where they were found, the lizards were most often seen in dense bushes, where they are well camouflaged.

Individuals of all sizes were observed to run across the surface of the ponds.

~Iguana iguana rhinolopha~ Wiegmann

_Iguana rhinolopha_ Wiegmann, Herpetologia Mexicana, p. 44, 1834.--Mexico. Type locality restricted to Cordoba, Veracruz, Mexico, by Smith and Taylor (1950b:72).

_Iguana iguana rhinolopha_, Van Denburgh, Proc. Acad. Nat.

Sci. Philadelphia, 1897:461, January 18, 1898.

Apatzingan (8); Capirio (3); El Cerrito; El Ticuiz (2); La Placita; La Playa (2); Maruata; Playa Azul; Rio Cachan.

Like the preceding species, this lizard is always found near water. It does not ascend the foothills of the Sierra de Coalcoman, but in the Balsas Basin it reaches elevations of 800 meters at La Playa. Large adults are often seen in the large trees making up the gallery forests along rivers. From high perches the lizards drop into the water with a terrific splash. Bright green juveniles were abundant in bushes along the Rio Tepalcatepec in July, 1955.

~Ctenosaura pectinata~ (Wiegmann)

_Cyclura pectinata_ Wiegmann, Herpetologia Mexicana, p. 42, 1834.--Mexico (by inference). Type locality restricted to Colima, Colima, Mexico, by Bailey (1928:25).

_Ctenosaura pectinata_, Gray, Catalogue of the lizards...

British Museum, p. 191, 1845.

Apatzingan (27); between Ario de Rosales and La Playa; Barranca de Bejuco; Capirio (2); Coalcoman (4); El Espinal; El Sabino (2); El Ticuiz; Jazmin (2); La Huacana; La Placita (8); La Playa (3); Limoncito; Lombardia; Motin del Oro; Playa Azul; Rio Cancita, 12 km. E of Apatzingan (2); Rio Marquez, 10 km. S of Lombardia (2);? Uruapan; Volcan Jorullo.

_Ctenosaura pectinata_ is a common lowland species that ascends the slopes of the Sierra de Coalcoman and the Cordillera Volcanica to elevations of about 1050 meters (approximating the lower limits of the oak forest). The record from Uruapan (USNM 10234, collected by Duges) is doubtful.

These large lizards are most easily observed on rock fences along roads.

Near Apatzingan innumerable individuals can be seen in mid-morning.

Later in the day, as the sun rises higher in the sky, the lizards retreat to the shade of the crevices in the fences. The abundance of these lizards in the Tepalcatepec Valley, together with evidence gathered from the natives of the valley, indicates that these lizards are seldom used for human consumption there. On the other hand, several people in Coalcoman consider the "iguana negra" (local name for _Ctenosaura_) to be a delicacy and serve it at every opportunity. In early July, 1951, brilliant green young of the year were collected at La Playa and at Coalcoman.

~Enyaliosaurus clarki~ (Bailey)

_Ctenosaura clarki_ Bailey, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 73:44, September 26, 1928.--Ovopeo (= Oropeo), Michoacan, Mexico.

_Enyaliosaurus clarki_, Duellman and Duellman, Occ. Pap.

Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 598:1, February 16, 1959.

Twelve km. SSW of Apatzingan; Capirio (7); Cofradia (3); El Espinal (2); 32 km. E of Huetamo; Jazmin (5); Oropeo (10); Rancho Nuevo; Rio Cancita, 12 km. E of Apatzingan (8); Tepalcatepec (3); Zicuiran (6).

This species is known only from the low areas of the Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin between elevations of 200 and 510 meters. It is commonly found in the open arid tropical scrub forest dominated by _Prosopsis_ sp., _Apoplanesia paniculata_, and _Cercidium plurifoliolatum_. Continued collecting in the Tepalcatepec Valley has borne out the suggestions of Duellman and Duellman (1959) concerning the distribution and abundance of this lizard. Also, continued collecting in Colima and on the Pacific coast has failed to reveal the presence of _Enyaliosaurus_ there.

~Phrynosoma asio~ Cope

_Phrynosoma asio_ Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 16:178, September 30, 1864.--Colima, Colima, Mexico.

Apatzingan (4); San Salvador.

In Michoacan this species has been obtained only in the Tepalcatepec Valley and on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Coalcoman between 300 and 700 meters. Apparently the lizard is absent from the coastal lowlands of Michoacan and Guerrero. The distribution of this species, therefore, is discontinuous. One population inhabits the lowlands of Colima and the Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin inland to northern Guerrero and Morelos; a southern population inhabits the Plains of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca.

A juvenile from Apatzingan (USNM 47739) has a snout-vent length of 40.0 mm. and a tail length of 19.5 mm.

~Sceloporus aeneus aeneus~ Wiegmann

_Sceloporus aeneus_ Wiegmann, Isis von Oken, 21:370, 1828.--Mexico. Type locality restricted to Tres c.u.mbres, Morelos, Mexico, by Smith and Taylor (1950b:137).

_Sceloporus aeneus aeneus_, Smith, Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool.

Univ. Michigan, 361:6, December 15, 1937.

Angahuan; Araparicuaro (2); Capacuaro (2); Carapan (11); Cheran (11); 18 km. WNW of Ciudad Hidalgo (10); Cuseno Station; Jerahuaro; Los Conejos (36); Macho de Agua (7); Opopeo; Paracho (2); Patzcuaro (4); Pino Gordo; 18 km. W of Quiroga (2); Tancitaro (49); Uruapan (14); 16 km. NW of Zacapu (5); between Zacapu and Zamora (2); 13 km. E of Zinapecuaro; 14 km. SE of Zitacuaro (14).

This small terrestrial species inhabits the pine and fir forests of the Cordillera Volcanica between elevations of 1850 and 3100 meters; apparently it is absent from the Sierra de Coalcoman. It seems to prefer rather open coniferous forests in which there is a more or less continuous cover of gra.s.ses on the ground. On warm sunny days the lizards can be observed scurrying about in the gra.s.s; in the early hours of the day, or on cold days, they are found beneath stones, logs, or dead clumps of bunch gra.s.s.

~Sceloporus asper~ Boulenger

_Sceloporus asper_ Boulenger, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1897:497, October, 1897.--La c.u.mbre de los Arrastrados, Jalisco, Mexico.

Apatzingan (3); 10 km. E of Dos Aguas; Uruapan (41).