The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, México

by William Edward Duellman

Bufo marinus (Linnaeus)

Rana marina Linnaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 10, 1:211, 1758.—America.

Bufo horribilis Wiegmann, Isis von Oken, 26:654, 1833.—Misantla and Veracruz, Veracruz, México. Taylor and Smith, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 95:551, January 30, 1945.

Bufo angustipes Taylor and Smith, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 95:553, January 30, 1945.—La Esperanza, Chiapas, México.

Aguililla; Apatzingán (3); Barranca de Bejuco; Capirio; Charapendo; Chichihuas; Coahuayana (2); Coalcomán (7); Cofradía (2); 25 km. S of Cuatro Caminos; El Sabino (10); Huahua, La Playa (13); Ojos de Agua de San Telmo; Ostula; Playa Azul (2); Pómaro (2).

This large toad is characteristically found in areas supporting tropical scrub forest to elevations of about 1000 meters. The species is much more abundant than the numbers listed above suggest. In the dry season individuals have been observed in patios, along streams, and by irrigation ditches. In the rainy season the loud, rattling call of the males is heard at night throughout the Tepalcatepec Valley and the coastal lowlands.

Taylor and Smith (1945:552) revived Wiegmann's Bufo horribilis for the large toads of México that are here referred to B. marinus. Their action was based upon the supposition that the "species marinus" is composite. Although probably true, this supposition has yet to be proved. Until the large, and apparently related, species of Bufo inhabiting tropical America have been studied systematically as a unit, the recognition of segments of the population as either species or subspecies is meaningless. Taylor and Smith (op. cit.:553) based the description of a new species, Bufo angustipes, on one rather emaciated, formalin-hardened female from La Esperanza, Chiapas. The type (USNM 116513), when compared with numerous specimens of Bufo marinus from throughout the range of the species in México and northern Central America, displays no combination of characters to set it off from the others. Therefore, I suggest that Bufo horribilis Wiegmann and Bufo angustipes Taylor and Smith be placed in the synonymy of Bufo marinus (Linnaeus) until future systematic study of the genus and this species in particular establishes the existence of recognizable taxa.

Bufo marmoreus Wiegmann

Bufo marmoreus Wiegmann, Isis von Oken, 26:66, 1833.—Veracruz, Veracruz, México.

Barranca de Bejuco; Coahuayana (11); El Diezmo (2); La Placita (9); La Orilla (12); Motín del Oro; Ostula (9); Playa Azul (5); Pómaro (15); Salitre de Estopilas; San Pedro Naranjestila.