Amphibians & Reptiles of the Sierra Tarahumara

This 448-page book is a summary of the current state of knowledge of the herpetofauna of the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua, Mexico. Its purpose is to focus attention on one of the Mexican regions less known herpetologically, raising awareness of the problems that need to be addressed on distribution, geographic variation, natural history and composition of the amphibian and reptilian fauna of the region. It provides a basis for future work, thereby stimulating contributions, of large or small scale, to be added to current knowledge. It makes clear the large number of new records that remain to be discovered. The current checklist of amphibians and reptiles, can be anticipated to be increased significantly through studies in areas poorly visited in this region and by taxonomic studies on species of wide distribution. Information about natural history is very limited and in some cases almost non-existent. This account is aimed at a broad audience, introducing it in Spanish and English versions. The large numbers of color photos of the taxa that inhabit the Sierra

Tarahumara of Chihuahua along with the identification keys facilitate recognition of them, and encourage the use of similar pictures as material documenting new distributional records. The introduction discusses the current status of knowledge of the composition of the herpetofauna of the region, reviews the history of its growth since the first studies of amphibians and reptiles developed in the region, and provides an overview of the physiographic, geologic, climatic and hydrological characteristics of the Sierra Tarahumara.

Most of the book, following the introduction, is composed of identification keys, 73 color photos, descriptions, and reviews of distribution, natural history, taxonomy, nomenclatural etymology, protection status and references for each species. Specific maps of distribution and a list of the localities where each species has been collected in the region make it easy to know where additional work is needed to augment present meager knowledge.