A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, México

University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History
Volume 13, No. 2, pp. 19-72, pls. 1-8, 3 figs. August 16, 1960
BY WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN University of Kansas Lawrence 1960

University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History
Volume 13, No. 2, pp. 19-72, pls. 1-8, 3 figs. August 16, 1960
BY WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN University of Kansas Lawrence 1960

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Robert W. Wilson Volume 13, No. 2, pp. 19-72, pls. 1-8, 3 figs. Published August 16, 1960 University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas PRINTED IN THE STATE PRINTING PLANT TOPEKA, KANSAS 1960 28-3859

BY WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN
Few regions in Middle America are so important zoogeographically as is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, that neck of land connecting North America with Central America, separating the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico by a distance of only about 220 kilometers (airline), and forming a low break between the highlands of México and those of Central America. Before World War II the isthmus could be reached readily only by railroad or by ocean vessel to Salina Cruz or Coatzacoalcos. With the advent of roads, principally the Trans-isthmian Highway, vast areas of the interior of the isthmus became accessible to biologists. Nevertheless, long before roads were built in the isthmian region collectors and biologists visited it, especially the town of Tehuantepec, from which collections date back to the 1870's. Therefore, it is rather surprising that no attempt has been made to present a faunal list of the amphibians or reptiles of the isthmus. Ruthven (1912) summarized his collections from the vicinity of Cuatotolapam, Veracruz, and Hartweg and Oliver (1940) presented an annotated list of the species collected by them in the vicinity of Tehuantepec. In recent years there have been only a few papers reporting species from the isthmus (Fugler and Webb, 1957; Langebartel and Smith, 1959). The zoogeographic significance of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is exemplified by the works of Burt (1931), Duellman (1958), Gloyd (1940), Oliver (1948), and Stuart (1941), who in their discussions of evolution and dispersal of various genera of reptiles, pointed out that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec was a region of zoogeographic importance.