UPDATED LIST OF THE AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF ZAACHILA AND SANTIAGO CLAVELLINAS, OAXACA

Abstract

Oaxaca is Mexico’s richest state in terms of herpetozoan species, but it is also one of the top ten states with the highest rates of deforestation in the country. Therefore, having update checklists of the herpetofauna that inhabit a region and the threats they face are the ground for establishing good conservation policies for these species. The herpetofauna of Santiago Clavellinas and Zaachila, Oaxaca, has been partially surveyed and there is no updated inventory of the species that are distributed in this region. This region is located between the physiographic subprovinces of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and the Mountains and Valleys of Western Oaxaca. We integrated the herpetofauna checklist with records obtained during 15 years of field work, complemented with information retrieved from digital web pages. In total we recorded 70 species of herpetozoos, 14 amphibians and 56 reptiles. Sixteen species represent new distributional records for the Central Valleys and six are new distributional records for the Mountains and Valleys of Western Oaxaca. The percentage of endemic species to Mexico was 61.7% and species endemic to Oaxaca was 11.7%. The percentage of species classified under some risk category according to NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 and the IUCN Red List was 39.7%. The pine-oak forest with 46 species, the oak forest with 42 and the lowland grassland with 36, were the habitats with the highest specific richness. The main threats to herpetofauna are increased urbanization in the Central Valleys, and deforestation in the Western Mountains and Valleys of Oaxaca, due to the lack of sustainable forest management programs.