قراءة كتاب Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Petén, Guatemala
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Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Petén, Guatemala
localities from which specimens were obtained are cited below and shown on the accompanying map (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1. Map of El Petén, Guatemala, showing localities mentioned in text.Chinajá.—Lat. 16° 02´, long. 90° 13´, elev. 140 m. Camp of the Ohio Oil Company of Guatemala and formerly a small settlement. On some maps Chinajá is located just to the north of the Alta Verapaz—El Petén boundary; recent surveys place the location just to the south of the imaginary line through the rainforest. Field work was conducted in the immediate vicinity of the camp, on the lower slopes of the Serrania de Chinajá, and at several sites to the northwest and north-northwest of Chinajá, where the forest was being cleared. The entire area supports rainforest.
La Libertad.—Lat. 16° 47´, long. 90° 07´, elev., 170 m. A town on the savannas in central El Petén; although we collected there in the rainy season, the specimens obtained on the savannas are not included in this report.
Paso Subín.—Lat. 16° 38´, long. 90° 12´, elev. 90 m. A small settlement on the Río Subín, a tributary of the Río de la Pasión. Specimens were obtained in rainforest in the immediate vicinity of the settlement.
Río de la Pasión.—A large river flowing northward through southern El Petén and thence westward into the Río Usumacinta. Specimens were obtained along the river between the Río Subín and Sayaxché.
Río San Román.—A river flowing northward in south-central El Petén to the Río Salinas (Usumacinta). We collected along the river at a place about 16 kilometers north-northwest of Chinajá, approximately at Lat. 16° 10´, long. 90° 17´, elev. 110 m. In the dry season the river was clear; it is surrounded by rainforest.
Sayaxché.—Lat. 16° 31´, long. 90° 09´, elev. 80 m. A town on the southern bank of the Río de la Pasión. Specimens were obtained in the rainforest and in cleared areas in the immediate vicinity of the town.
Toocog (formerly Sojío).—Lat. 16° 41´, long. 90° 02´, elev. 140 m. A camp of the Ohio Oil Company of Guatemala located at the rainforest-savanna edge, 15 kilometers southeast of La Libertad. Although we collected on the savannas as well as in the forest, especially to the east of the camp, only species obtained in the forest are considered in this report.
THE HERPETOFAUNA OF THE RAINFOREST
In presenting an account of the herpetofauna of southern El Petén three items need to be considered: (1) The composition of the fauna; (2) the ecology of the fauna; (3) the relationships of the fauna. Each of these topics is discussed briefly below. Logically a discussion of the origin of the fauna should follow, but this is being withheld for inclusion in a report on the herpetofauna of the entire El Petén by L. C. Stuart and the author; at that time the above topics will be expanded to cover the herpetofauna of the whole region.
Composition of the Fauna
Table 1.—Composition of the Herpetofauna in Southern El Petén, Guatemala.
|
Group |
Families | Genera | Species |
| Gymnophiona | (1)[A] | (1) | (1) |
| Caudata | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Salientia | 6 | 10 (1) | 19 (1) |
| Crocodilia | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Testudines | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Sauria | 6 | 13 (1) | 19 (1) |
| Serpentes | 4 | 21 (7) | 29 (10) |
|
Total |
22 (1) | 53 (10) | 78 (13) |
[A] Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of additional taxa that probably occur.
A total of 78 species of amphibians and reptiles has been found in the rainforests in southern El Petén; a break down into families and genera is given in table 1. Another 13 species probably occur in southern El Petén (see Hypothetical List of Species). The fauna primarily is composed of typical humid lowland forest inhabitants, such as:
| Hyla ebraccata | Eumeces sumichrasti |
| Hyla loquax | Ameiva festiva edwardsi |
| Phyllomedusa callidryas taylori | Imantodes cenchoa leucomelas |
| Smilisca phaeota cyanosticta | Leptophis ahaetulla praestans |
| Anolis biporcatus | Xenodon rabdocephalus mexicanus |
| Anolis capito | Bothrops nasutus |
| Anolis humilis uniformis | Bothrops schlegeli schlegeli |
Nevertheless, the region also provides at least a limited amount of habitat suitable for some species that are more frequently found in open forest of a drier nature; such species include:
| Hyla microcephala martini | Anolis sericeus sericeus |
| Hyla staufferi | Eumeces schwartzei |
| Hypopachus cuneus nigroreticulatus | Oxybelis aeneus aeneus |
Because of the absence of sufficiently open habitat or owing to the presence of competitors, some conspicuous members of sub-humid forests are not present in southern El Petén. Conspicuous absentees are the following:
| Rhinophrynus dorsalis | Ameiva undulata |