The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, México

by William Edward Duellman

Contia michoacanensis Dugès, in Cope, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., 22:178, 1885.—Michoacán. Type locality restricted to Apatzingán, Michoacán, México, by Smith and Taylor (1950a:335).

Sonora michoacanensis michoacanensis, Stickel, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 56:116, October 19, 1943.

Apatzingán (3); Coalcomán (3); 12 km. S of Tzitzio.

These specimens, together with all known specimens from the Sierra del Sur in Guerrero (KU 23790-1, MVZ 45123) and the upper Balsas Basin in Puebla (UIMNH 41688), are referable to S. m. michoacanensis. The dorsal pattern consists of a highly variable number of cross-bands of red, white, and black. In the specimens from Michoacán there are as many as 17 red cross-bands on the body. One specimen from Apatzingán (CNHM 37141) has just behind the head a white band, bordered on either side by a narrow black band; posteriorly the body is uniform red. Two specimens from Coalcomán (UMMZ 109905-6) have respectively 11 and 13 red cross-bands and 20 and 17 white cross-bands, and the posterior part of the body is devoid of red color. Other specimens from these localities have red, black, and white cross-bands throughout the length of the body.

Sonora michoacanensis michoacanensis is distinguished from S. michoacanensis mutabilis by the presence of cross-bands on the tail in the latter (Stickel, 1943:116). One specimen from Coalcomán (UMMZ 109904) has one narrow band on the tail; all others from Michoacán have uniformly red tails.

Apparently Sonora michoacanensis michoacanensis ranges in semi-arid and arid habitats from the upper Balsas Basin in Puebla westward to the lower slopes of the Sierra de Coalcomán, whereas S. m. mutabilis lives in foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental from southern Jalisco to Nayarit. Zweifel (1959b:6) presented evidence to show that specimens of S. m. mutabilis supposedly from "Distrito Federal" probably bear erroneous locality data.

Tantilla bocourti (Günther)

Homalocranium bocourti Günther, Biologia Centrali-Americana, Reptilia, p. 149, 1895.—Guanajuato, Guanajuato, México.

Tantilla bocourti, Cope, Amer. Nat., 30:1021, December, 1896.

Carapan; Pátzcuaro (2); between Zitácuaro and Río Tuxpan (11).