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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

ZOOLOGICAL SERIES

OF

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 24 CHICAGO, AUGUST 30, 1941 No. 21

THE HERPETOLOGICAL FAUNA OF THE SALAMA
BASIN, BAJA VERAPAZ, GUATEMALA

BY

KARL P. SCHMIDT

CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY j

AND

L. C. STUART

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Although the plateau of Guatemala, the Pacific coast, and the
mountains of Alta Verapaz have received considerable attention
from herpetologists both in the past and again more recently, the
arid interior basins and the desert of the upper Motagua River valley
have remained almost untouched. This is surprising when one con-
siders the fact that here lies a large area of tropical desert hemmed
in on all sides by cloud forests, high plateaus, and tropical rain for-
ests, and constituting, as it does, a biotic province of considerable
extent and importance. Stejneger's description of Ctenosaura
palearis (1899, p. 381) from Gualan in the Motagua Valley has long
afforded a suggestion of distinctive faunal elements in this region.

Recently both authors have visited these areas and have been
fortunate enough to secure two small collections from the Salama
Basin, one of the largest of the chain of interior desert basins lying
north of the Motagua River. Although these collections are not rich
with respect to either species or individuals, they are of considerable
importance when viewed in the light of our lack of information on
those regions, and the following report is presented as a study of a spe-
cial area, probably typical of the isolated desert basins extending from
San Geronimo in Baja Verapaz westward to Sacapulas in El Quiche".
The first collection was assembled by Mr. Emmet R. Blake in April,
1934, when he visited Salama as a member of the Mandel Guate-
malan Expedition of Field Museum of Natural History under the
direction of the senior author, and the second was made in July, 1938,
by the junior author when he was carrying on investigations under

No. 499 233

. iDr»f.v

| 1 J i _ ] T 1 1 I V »— •• •"

Mfitural

234 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

the auspices of the Museum of Zoology of the University of Mich-
igan and the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

The Salama Basin is only one of a series of basins which, though
separated from each other, are identical in structure, climate, and,
superficially at least, in flora and fauna. The junior author has
visited briefly those in which Salama, Rabinal, and Chicaj (San
Miguel) lie, though collections were made only in the first, and except
for size, the first named being by far the largest, could see no appre-
ciable differences in them. The Salama Basin has been formed by
the Salama River and its tributaries, which have cut back into the
schists which form a high east-west ridge north of the Motagua River.
This ridge is known, to the east of Salama, as the Sierra de las Minas
and, to the west, as the Sierra de Chaucus. The valley itself has an
east-west trend, sloping towards the west, and is approximately ten
kilometers long and not more than four or five kilometers wide.
The valley floor has an elevation of about 900 meters at Salama and
is about 100 meters higher at San Geronimo. Surrounding this val-
ley on the east, west, and south are the schist ridges mentioned above
that rise 500-700 meters above the valley floor, while the north
side of the valley is walled off by a ridge of serpentine of approxi-
mately the same height, through which the Salama River has cut.
The valley floor presents a gently undulating surface covered with
quaternary alluvium ranging from sand to coarse gravel and talus.
The surrounding mountain slopes are either barren rock outcrops
or are covered at most with a thin mantle of gravel and are cut by
numerous arroyos which join to form the Salama River.

The climate is distinctly arid, contrasting greatly with the humid
forest of Alta Verapaz directly to the north. At Salama over a
period of seven years the average annual rainfall is given by Sapper
(1932, Tab. 1) as 764 mm. The driest months are January and
February during which no rain falls, and the wettest are June and
October with 233 mm. and 92 mm. of precipitation, respectively.
The average annual temperature is 22.6° C., May being the hottest
month with a temperature of 25.3° C. and January the coldest with
19.9° C. During the junior author's stay at San Geronimo, July
5-10, 1938, the highest temperature recorded was 28° C. and the
lowest 17° C. During the same period, afternoon and night rains of
considerable intensity but of short duration were recorded on four
of the six days. Precipitation was sufficient to form many tempo-
rary pools on the valley flats in which great numbers of amphibians
were found breeding.

r1

1 14

FIG. 21. The Salama Basin from above San Geronimo, looking northwest.

FIG. 22. The more arid northwestern end of the Salama Basin, below Salama.

235

236 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

The vegetation of the valley floor has been considerably altered
owing to cultivation, especially in the vicinity of San Geronimo,
where cane is grown in considerable quantities. Corn, cultivated on
the milpa plan, is also extensively grown throughout the valley. In
the areas of poorer soils where the vegetation is probably more or
less virgin, short grass predominates, while cactus of the prickly-
pear variety is common, and low scrubby bushes and the nance
tree are all indications of aridity. Roads are lined with larger species
of cacti and these are often used to form cultivated fences around
dwellings. The lower mountain slopes are also well cultivated or
covered with dense second growth. At higher altitudes, pine pre-
dominates, usually mixed with oak. The mountain slopes to the
northeast, where the Salama River rises, are covered with nearly
pure stands of oak. On the highest part of the southern ridge, cloud
forest conditions prevail, and the trees, though still oak and pine,
are hung with moss and covered with epiphytic plants.

Birds and insects in the Salama Basin have been the chief aim
of the several naturalists who have studied it. San Geronimo was
a famous collecting locality of Champion and his patron Salvin.
Later Owen and Hague sent collections to both England and the
United States from that region. As a result we are not wholly in
the dark as to the faunal affinities of this entire interior desert region.
Godman (1915, p. 47) believes that they must be treated either as a
division of the Guatemalan highland or must be considered as a
separate faunal entity. More recently Griscom (1932, pp. 35-36)
believes they represent merely a subdivision of a Central American
Arid Zone, in which he may be correct, granting his premises. But
in so far as Guatemala is concerned, these interior deserts constitute
a faunal province of major importance. The nearest corresponding
area to the east is at Comayagua, Honduras.

Our present knowledge seems to indicate that Guatemala, her-
petologically at least, is made up of seven biotic provinces: the
Pacific coastal area, the Pacific escarpment with its associated vol-
canoes, the plateau and its non-volcanic ridges, the karst mountains
of Alta Verapaz, the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, the Pete"n and
Lake Yzabal lowlands, and the central desert region.1 This latter
will, largely on the basis of presence and absence of certain forms
owing to altitude, undoubtedly have to be subdivided into two

1 The Sierra de las Minas and the Sierra de Merendon are too poorly known
to be placed in this biogeographic scheme. It is suggested that while they may
demark provincial boundaries, their extensive cloud forests may constitute addi-
tional biotic provinces.

1941 GUATEMALAN AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES— SCHMIDT 237

separate subprovinces, namely, the upper Motagua Valley (here
referred to as the "Zacapa Desert") and the interior desert basins.
Certainly it will not fit into Godman's scheme, for such common
plateau items as the numerous salamanders, Bufo bocourti Brocchi,
Anolis uniformis Cope, Sceloporus formosus smaragdinus Bocourt, and
Trimeresurus godmani Giinther are lacking in this area, while the
seasonally arid Pacific coast and the escarpment above it, if the
senior author's earlier deductions are correct (Schmidt, 1936, pp.
138-146), represent two quite different faunas, and the humid moun-
tains of Alta Verapaz and the Pete"n and Caribbean lowlands have,
of course, a totally different assemblage. Moreover, the collections
before us have revealed two species which are known only from
specimens secured in this region. They are Hypopachus ckampioni
Stuart and Gymnophthalmus birdi Stuart. Until further material is
forthcoming from many of the biologically unexplored regions of
Guatemala, it seems futile to extend this discussion.

The following is a list of the species which are recorded from the
Salama Basin:

Bufo microtis Werner Cnemidophorus deppii deppii Wiegmann

Bufo marinus Linnaeus Cnemidophorus sackii Wiegmann

Hyla baudinii Dumeril and Bibron Gymnophthalmus birdi Stuart

Hyla staufferi Cope *Thamnophis scalaris Cope

Eleulherodactylus rugulosus Cope *Storeria dekayi Holbrook

Rana macroglossa Brocchi *Masticophis mentovarius Dumeril and

Rana pipiens Schreber Bibron

Hypopachus championi Stuart *Drymarchon corals melanurus Dumeril

*Phyllodactylus tuberculosus Wiegmann and Bibron

Basiliscus vittatus Wiegmann *Lampropeltis triangulum polyzona Cope

Sceloporus lunaei Bocourt *Xenodon rhabdocephala Wied

Sceloporus variabilis olloporus Smith Stenorhina degenhardtii Berthold

Ameiva undulata Wiegmann Leptodeira rhombifera Giinther

* An asterisk indicates that we have not seen this species from the Salama
Basin. The species so marked have, however, been recorded by Giinther (1885-
1902).

To this may be added Gerrhonotus moreletii Bocourt, Leptophis
modestus Giinther, and Geophis chalybaeus (Wagler), which Giinther
(loc. cit.) reports from the Cubulco Basin to the west.

In the preparation of this report, the authors wish to acknowledge
the aid given by Mrs. Helen T. Gaige and Dr. Norman Hartweg,
both of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. The
senior author's studies on upper Central America were supported
by the grant of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in
1932. The junior author wishes to acknowledge financial aid received
from the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, Uni-
versity of Michigan. The photographs are by the junior author.

238 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

Bufo marinus Linnaeus

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84084 (4), 84085.

Abundant throughout the basin and occurring in very great
numbers within San Geronimo.

Bufo microtis Werner

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84083.

Both Bufo marinus and the specimen which we are tentatively
referring to B. microtis were common along ditches and on the desert
flats near San Geronimo in the evenings, especially following rains.
Unfortunately, the junior author assumed the species to be Bufo
vaUiceps and collected but a single specimen as a record. An exami-
nation of this specimen reveals that it lacks the lateral row of tubercles
so characteristic of vatticeps, has a comparatively smaller tympanum,
and possesses extremely prominent crests. An emaciated specimen
from Morazan (in the "Zacapa Desert" region) collected by the
senior author shows these same characteristics. Since Werner (1896,
p. 350) described Bufo vatticeps var. microtis as lacking the row of
lateral tubercles and having a relatively small tympanum, we are
referring the above specimens to that name and according it
specific rank.

Werner's specimen originated in Honduras where areas remark-
ably similar to the one under discussion are known to occur. That
a form of Bufo other than vatticeps occurs in the more arid portions
of Central America is very probable. In collecting in various parts
of Guatemala the junior author has noted in a number of instances
that any local pocket which approaches arid conditions lacks Bufo
vatticeps. This was found to be true in the region of Sacapulas on
the upper Rio Negro, at La Primavera in a savanna country in the
gorge of the Rio Negro just north of the Salama Basin, and in
the local savannas near Cahabon in Alta Verapaz.

In any case the interpretation of microtis as a Central American
subspecies of vatticeps is untenable.

Hyla baudinii DumeYil and Bibron
San Geronimo, UMMZ 84076 (16).

This variable and widespread species was found in great abun-
dance, breeding in temporary pools in the potreros to the south of San
Geronimo on the nights of July 6 and 8, 1938, following heavy after-
noon rains. Hypopachus championi occurred in great numbers in
the same pools.

1941 GUATEMALAN AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES— SCHMIDT 239

Hyla staufferi Cope

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84077 (7), 84078 (14).

Our series of 21 specimens agree well, in all characters, with
material from Tamaulipas, Oaxaca, Campeche, and El Pete"n, and
we concur with Smith (1938, pp. 9-10) in relegating Hyla culex
Dunn and Emlen to the synonymy of this species. Unlike Hyla
baudinii and Hypopachus championi, which were found breeding in
temporary pools, Hyla staufferi was not collected in the water, but
preferred to sing from the branches of the small acacia-like shrubs
bordering the pools.

Eleutherodactylus rugulosus Cope
Salama, FMNH 20670 (9).

The above specimens, except that they are not particularly rugose
above, agree well with Kellogg's description (1932, pp. 116-117), and
with University of Michigan material from Nicaragua. Specimens
from the latter country have been compared with specimens in the
collections of the United States National Museum and have been dis-
cussed in a previous paper (Gaige, Hartweg, and Stuart, 1937, pp. 5-6).

Rana macroglossa Brocchi

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84073-84074, 84075 (6).

Kellogg (1932, pp. 203, 206-207) considers both Rana macro-
glossa and Rana maculata of Brocchi (1877, pp. 177-178) synonyms
of Rana pipiens Schreber, though he questions the identity of one
of the cotypes of the former. Gunther (1900, pp. 198, 201-202)
accepted Rana maculata as valid but gave no opinion as to the status
of Rana macroglossa beyond pointing out that Brocchi's second
description does not agree with his figures (1882, pp. 12-13, pi. 3, figs.
1-2). Brocchi's descriptions of the two are poor, in that only two
diagnostic characters are presented to distinguish between the two
species, namely, the size of the tongue and the arrangement of the
vomerine teeth. For this reason it is difficult to decide which of
Brocchi's names is applicable to the series at hand, for, as will be
shown later, they possess characters in common with each of Brocchi's
forms. One thing is certain — they are not to be confused with Rana
pipiens. At Finca Samac, just west of Coban, Alta Verapaz, both
pipiens and specimens like the above were found living together
along a small stream.

They may readily be distinguished from pipiens by the following
characters: (1) More extensive webbing of the feet; (2) absence of

240 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

glandular, dorsal tuberosities between the lateral folds; (3) differ-
ence in dorsal pattern; and (4) smaller tympanum. Inasmuch as
the identity of these specimens is questionable, it seems worthwhile
to present a full description of them.

Head elongate with a moderately slender snout, 70-80 per cent
as long as broad. Tympanum about one-half the diameter of the
eye, though occasionally slightly larger; diameter of the eye greater
than the distance from the eye to the nostril. The nasal region
oblique, the canthus rostralis rounded, and the loreal region con-
siderably depressed. The tongue is large and rounded with moder-
ately large cornua and is slightly indented on its anterior margin.
Vomerine teeth in two rounded or slightly oblique series between
the choanae. The first finger is decidedly longer than the second
and is swollen at the base. The extended hind leg reaches to a point
between the eye and the end of the snout. The webbing on the feet
is broad and extends about one-half the distance up the antepenulti-
mate phalange of the fourth toe, and continues as a narrow fringe
to the last phalange. The palmate tubercles are only slightly devel-
oped, and the tubercle at the base of the fourth toe is feeble.

The skin of the back and the upper surface of the legs is pustular.
Dorsally, the ground color of the head and back is olive-green in
life and greenish gray in spirits. On the back are numerous, irregu-
lar, dark spots which become fainter anteriorly and often completely
disappear on the head. A distinct, white, pineal spot is present at
the level of the anterior margin of the eyes. Laterally the head shows
a distinct, black line extending from the tip of the snout, through
the nostril and eye, and curved around and behind the tympanum,
which is light brown. A conspicuous white glandular line extends
obliquely from the tip of the snout posteriorly below the eye, and
across the angle of the mouth to the level of the arm insertions. The
upper and lower lips are gray, marbled with white. The dorso-
lateral folds are white or gray and extend from the posterior margin
of the eye almost to the anus. These folds are bordered above and
below by a diffused dark line. The flanks are light gray (in spirits)
and are generally lightly spotted with irregular dark dots with a
few white punctations.

The upper surfaces of the arms are brownish gray, the upper arm
slightly spotted with dark and the lower arm generally banded with
black on their anterior faces. A conspicuous black bar is present on
the under side of the shoulder. The legs are brownish gray, barred
and spotted with black or gray above and marbled with darker

1941 GUATEMALAN AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES— SCHMIDT 241

shades on their posterior surfaces. Beneath, all are light yellow
(in life; white in spirits), either immaculate or with scattered
brownish gray spots on the throat.

The maximum head-body length of these specimens is 46 mm.
and the minimum 34 mm. Mrs. Helen T. Gaige of the University
of Michigan Museum of Zoology has called our attention to the
fact that they may not be fully adult. In comparing these speci-
mens with the small lot from Finca Samac, several discrepancies are
noted. These latter have smoother skin on the back and legs, a
relatively narrower tongue, heavy brown stippling on the throat
and chest in the males, and the lateral, glandular, white stripe on
the head does not extend forward onto the snout. The darkened
throat and chest are obviously a character of adult males, and Mrs.
Gaige has suggested that in these the lateral white stripe on the
head may be obscured during breeding activities. The pustulose
condition of the skin in the San Geronimo specimens may be a
response to the arid conditions of the region as compared with the
humid forests of the Coban area.

In referring the above specimens to macroglossa we have been
guided by several facts. In structural characters (arrangement of
teeth, size of tongue, etc.), with the exception of the pustular skin,
they approximate the description of macroglossa, while they deviate
from that of maculata, which was described as having an angular
canthus, obliquely arranged vomerine teeth, first and second fingers
of about equal length, and less extensive webbing on the feet.
In pattern they fit both descriptions fairly well, though Brocchi
makes a special point of the glandular light stripe on the side of the
head in macroglossa. The type localities are of no aid, maculata
originating from the plateau of Guatemala (Totonicapam) and
macroglossa being labeled merely "Guatemala." It is entirely pos-
sible that a comparison of the types with a large series from various
localities may indicate that the two are synonymous. At the pres-
ent, however, their status is uncertain, and it is only provisionally
that we refer these specimens to macroglossa.

This species was most commonly observed at night in temporary
pools in the potreros on the valley flats, though several specimens
were taken in pools in the beds of arroyos on the mountain slopes.

Rana pipiens Schreber

Salama, FMNH 20671-20672.

Although Rana macroglossa was taken from temporary pools on
the valley flats and from arroyo pools in the mountains, this form

242 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

was seen at San Geronimo only in very boggy spots along the small
valley streams south of the town, where it was impossible to secure
them. The above two specimens are from Salama. We employ
the name pipiens with reservation, since some geographic division
of this form may prove recognizable with further study.

Hypopachus champion! Stuart

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84079 (42), 84080 (23), 84081 (41), 84082
(36), 85533 (type series), FMNH 31636-31639 (type series).

This recently described form has been fully discussed in the
original description (Stuart, 1940, pp. 19-21). In early July it was
abundant in temporary pools on the desert flats west of San Gero-
nimo, but the almost complete absence of females indicates that it
had just emerged for breeding activities.

Basiliscus vittatus Wiegmann

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84071-84072.

This lizard, common throughout Central America, occurred only
sparingly at San Geronimo, where it was observed only along the
small streams in the valley flats.

Sceloporus lunaei Bocourt

Salama, FMNH 20674-75; San Geronimo, UMMZ 84064 (2),
84065, 84066 (3), 84067 (18), 84068 (3), 84069-84070.

The most common lizard in the region. At San Geronimo it was
very abundant in the valley, where it was found on the trees and
stone walls along roads. It was met with occasionally on the lower
mountain slopes, but in the oak-pine zone it is apparently replaced
by Sceloporus variabilis olloporus Smith.

Sceloporus variabilis olloporus Smith

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84061 (3), 84062 (4), 84063.

All the above are apparently typical and check well with the type
description (Smith, 1937, pp. 11-13). The form is strictly saxicolous
and never occurs on the valley floor. It seems to prefer large boul-
ders in the dry arroyos of the oak-pine zone on the mountain slopes
where it is met with only sparingly. Sceloporus lunaei replaces it on
the valley flats.

Ameiva undulata Wiegmann

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84048-84051.

In a recent paper Smith (1940, pp. 55-56) has initiated the
recognition of certain geographic variants of the undulata group of

1941 GUATEMALAN AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES— SCHMIDT 243

Ameiva, and somewhat earlier Hartweg and Oliver (1937, pp. 7-8)
commented on the confusion existing within the group. To date,
we have four subspecies of undulata named. These are typical
undulata, ranging from Tehuantepec northward along the Mexican
west coast, parva, which the junior author formerly misapplied to
the Yucatan-El Pete"n form (1934, p. 11), ranging along the Pacific
coast from Tehuantepec well into Guatemala, hartwegi, the form of
Yucatan and El Pete*n, and stuarti, the common Veracruz and
Tabasco race. Smith, though apparently misunderstanding the
comment of Hartweg and Oliver, restricts typical undulata to the
Tehuantepec form. It is unfortunate that Smith chose specimens
from eastern Chiapas for his types of the last two races, for data
available to us indicate that there is a broad region of intergradation
between stuarti and hartwegi in that region. He has nevertheless
selected specimens distinctly representative of the two races to
serve as types. Though these four races are difficult to define, any-
one familiar with undulata can hardly fail to recognize their validity.

Very recently Dunn (1940, pp. 114-115) notes that there is in
southern Central America another form of the undulata group,
leptophrys of Cope, and indicates that between Costa Rica and
Guatemala other races are to be expected. Undoubtedly the next
form above leptophrys will prove to be pulchra Hallowell from Nica-
ragua, specimens of which Barbour and Noble (1915, p. 475) have
referred to Ameiva undulata quadrilineata Hallowell. From Hon-
duras the junior author has also seen material, which if not the same,
is certainly very close to pulchra.

The specimens which we have before us come from San Geronimo
and appear to be very similar to Honduran specimens. It is not
improbable, therefore, that when all the material is assembled, the
Zacapa Desert and interior basins form may warrant a subspecific
name, but, lacking sufficient material, we hesitate to take this step.
The specimens are also close to parva of the west coast and differ
primarily in the greater number of vertical light bars on the sides.

This form occupies about the same habitat as Cnemidophorus
sackii Wiegmann, but is less abundant. It is most frequently met
^ with in the oak-pine zone on the lower mountain slopes and among
/ the scrubby second-growth on the valley floor.

Cnemidophorus deppii deppii Wiegmann
Salama, FMNH 20673.

Our single adult specimen is extremely pale beneath and is quite
similar to Tehuantepec material which has been discussed by Hart-

244 FIELD MUSEUM OP NATURAL HISTORY— ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

weg and Oliver (op. cit., pp. 1-3). It is lineate laterally, with no
trace of bars or mottlings.

Cnemidophorus sackii Wiegmann

Salama, FMNH 20677 (8); San Geronimo, UMMZ 84052 (4),
84053, 84054 (2), 84055 (7), 84056 (3).

In assigning the above specimens to sackii, we concur with Taylor
(1938, pp. 520-523), though we are by no means in accord with Burt
(1931, pp. 97-121) that sackii (=gularis) can not be broken down into
geographic races. While it is granted that many of the variable
characters studied by Burt show no geographical correlation, an
examination of material in the University of Michigan Museum of
Zoology clearly indicates that certain features dismissed by Burt as
"trivial" (op. cit., p. 102) require more critical consideration.

Taylor (loc. cit.) and more recently Smith (1938, p. 4) have
suggested that populations from Sinaloa and Yucatan respectively
show a tendency towards subspecific variation. Our data, while
not conclusive, indicate that a number of races of sackii exist, and
certainly, in the face of a complete absence of experimental data,
we do not take seriously Burt's statement (op. cit., p. 101)
that certain variations are purely a response to environmental
conditions.

The above specimens are wholly unlike anything we have seen.
Dorsally, the specimens are olive to olive-brown, somewhat lighter
in the mid-dorsal region. Adults show no evidence of a striped pat-
tern, but are irregularly punctated above and laterally with small,
rounded yellow spots over the posterior two-thirds of the body,
leaving the neck and shoulders without pattern. Laterally there is
some slight evidence of the presence of the typical, ventral-most
light stripe owing to a slight elongation of the light spots. The upper
surfaces of the legs are likewise punctated with light spots. In a few
specimens there is a tendency for some of the spots in the ventro-
lateral region to elongate vertically to produce broken, vertical bars.
In general, however, the specimens show a predominant pattern of
sparsely scattered light spots on a darker background. The ventrum
is dark blue over the posterior two-thirds of the body, leaving the
chest, throat, and chin immaculate or nearly so. The postante-
brachials are very small and only slightly larger than the surround-
ing granules, and the femoral pores vary from 17 to 22 with a mean
of about 20.

In half-grown specimens the typical striped pattern is present,
but this gives way to the spotted condition in specimens over 85

1941 GUATEMALAN AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES— SCHMIDT 245

mm. in body length (our largest measures over 140 mm.). On the
basis of the striped juvenile pattern, Burt (loc. cit.) emphasizes over
and over again the conspecificity of all populations of sackii. This
seems to us utterly ridiculous, as it is well known that the young of
many species of animals of diverse groups exhibit very similar pat-
terns, whereas the adults are quite different.

The closest approach to the above specimens is to be found in a
population from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. But in these latter the
postantebrachials are enlarged, and they possess a very dark chest
and a light belly. Specimens from Colima, Mexico, are also spotted
and, like those from Baja Verapaz, have an immaculate chest, but
they are easily distinguished from our material by their enlarged
postantebrachials and by the fact that the dorsal spots are larger
and more numerous, and tend to arrange themselves in longitudinal
series. The character of the postantebrachials presents a variation
of rather interesting geographic variation. In our material from the
southern part of the range, Honduras, Guatemala, Campeche, and
Yucatan, the postantebrachials are very small and often granular,
while in northern specimens they are greatly enlarged.

With regard to the application of a proper name to the specimens
before us, any name other than sackii would lead to still greater con-
fusion in this complex group. It seems best, for the present, to
await a reassembling of all available material and a more critical
examination of the various combinations of characters than that
presented by Burt. The Salama Basin population, which is prob-
ably typical of all the arid basins of central Guatemala, will probably
prove to be distinct from any of the described races.

At San Geronimo the junior author found this species in con-
siderable numbers in the oak-pine zone on the lower mountain
slopes and in the dryer parts of the valley among the scrubby
vegetation.

Gymnophthalmus birdi Stuart

San Geronimo, UMMZ 84057 (type), 84058-84060 (paratypes).

As noted in the original description (Stuart, 1939, p. 3) this little
seine-like teiid was found on the valley flats in the loose earth in
holes left by stumps which had been pulled by an Indian.

Stenorhina degenhardtii Berthold

Salama, FMNH 20666; San Geronimo, UMMZ 84047.

Both specimens are males of the banded variety, with one mid-
dorsal and a pair of lateral bands on each side. In the Field Museum

246 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

specimen these dark lines are visible only anteriorly. The specimen
i%& in the Museum of Zoology has postnasals and loreals fused, while
these scutes are distinct in the Field Museum specimen; the ventrals
and caudals are 162 and 34 and 164 and 41 respectively. The speci-
men in the Museum of Zoology was found near a small temporary
pond in a potrero.

Leptodeira rhombifera Giinther
Salama, FMNH 20664-5.

These two specimens from Salama, not far east of the type
locality, Cubulco, agree well with the original description except
that each has about ten more dorsal rhombs on the body. The male
specimen, No. 20664, has ventrals 162 and caudals 84. The female,
No. 20665, has ventrals 163, tail broken. The dorsal scale formula
in both is 21-23-21-19-17.

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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBAN*