FIRST RECORD OF THE PYGMY RATTLESNAKE Sistrurus miliarius FOR MEXICO AND EXPANSION OF DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Abstract

We formally recorded the presence of the pygmy rattlesnake Sistrurus miliarius for Mexico. The record was made based on the discovery of a specimen photographed alive in August 2014 in an agricultural field surrounded by native vegetation in the Ejido El Tecolote, municipality of Heróica Matamoros, Tamaulipas. S. miliarius represents the second species of the genus Sistrurus for Mexico. In addition, we report the finding of an unpublished formal collection deposited in the Cornell University Vertebrate Collection in the United States of America. Both records extend the distribution of the species to approximately 270 and 226 kilometers respectively southwest of the nearest locality in Refugio County, Texas, U.S.A