We compiled a check list of the herpetofauna of Nuevo León. We documented 132 species (23 amphibians, 109 reptiles), representing 30 families (11 amphibians, 19 reptiles) and 73 genera (17 amphibians, 56 reptiles). Only two species are endemic to Nuevo León. Nuevo León contains a relatively high richness of lizards in the genus Sceloporus. Overlap in the herpetofauna of Nuevo León and states it borders is fairly extensive. Of 130 native species, 102 are considered species of Least Concern in the IUCN red list, four are listed as Vulnerable, five are listed as Near Threatened, and four are listed as Endangered. According to SEMARNAT, 78 species are not of conservation concern, 25 are subject to Special Protection, 27 are Threatened, and none are listed as in Danger of Extinction. Given current threats to the herpetofauna, additional efforts to understand the ecology and status of populations in Nuevo León are needed.

Checklist, Conservation status, Herpetofauna, IUCN Red List

The flora and fauna of Nuevo León is very species rich. Broadly speaking, it consists mainly of a group of species characteristic of the great deserts of North America, as well as species from the temperate forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental and subtropical species that extend their distribution northward, in some cases even from Central or South America, through the lowlands of the Atlantic slope. Despite these characteristics, there have been few studies on the diversity and distribution of the species of amphibians and reptiles in the state and those that have been conducted have focused almost entirely on the forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental and satellite mountains to the north and northeast of the city of Monterrey (Valdez-Tamez et al. 2003, Lazcano et al. 2004, 2007, 2009a, Contreras-Lozano et al. 2007, 2010, 2011a, 2012, Lemos-Espinal and Cruz 2015). The vast plains to the east of the Sierra Madre Oriental as well as the portion of the Mexican Plateau in the southwestern corner of the state remain relatively unstudied. Currently there is no systematic program to study the state’s herpetofauna across different regions. Consequently, one of the main threats to the conservation of the diversity of amphibians and reptiles of the state is a lack of knowledge. Coupling this lack of knowledge of the herpetofauna of the state with problems associated with the high demand for water, energy, and food to meet the increasing needs of one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Mexico (Monterrey) does not suggest an encouraging outlook for the future of the herpetofauna of Nuevo León. To help increase the awareness of the herpetofaunal richness of Nuevo Léon, we gathered information on the presence of amphibian and reptile species. In addition, given the potential for increased impacts of humans on the environment, we also gathered information on the conservation status of these species. Our goal is to provide a readily accessible compilation of the herpetofaunal species and their conservation status, and to expand upon previous statewide checklists (e.g., Lemos-Espinal and Cruz 2015).

Thomas H. Webb made the earliest herpetological collections in Nuevo León in 1852, as part of the Boundary Commission Survey (see Kellogg 1932). Since then herpetological surveys of Nuevo León have been conducted with varying coverage and intensity. The work of Edward Taylor and Hobart Smith contributed greatly to increasing the knowledge of the herpetofauna of the state (e.g., Smith 1934, 1942, 1944, 1951, Taylor 1939, 1940, 1941, Taylor and Smith 1945, Smith and Hall 1974). More recently, several papers, distributional records, and natural history notes have been published documenting range extensions (e.g., Salmon et al. 2001, 2004, Price et al. 2010, Price and Lazcano-Villareal 2010, Banda-Leal et al. 2002, 2014a), behavior (Contreras-Lozano et al. 2011b), body size (Banda et al. 2005, Lazcano and Bryson 2010), parasites (García-de la Peña et al. 2004, 2005, León-Regagnon et al. 2005), morphological anomalies (Chávez-Cisneros and Lazcano 2012), diet (Castañeda et al. 2005, Lazcano et al. 2006a, 2011a, Banda-Leal et al. 2014b), sexual dimorphism (García-Bastida et al. 2013), captive husbandry (Lazcano et al. 2011b), and mortality (Lazcano et al. 2006b, 2008, 2009b, Castañeda et al. 2006, Chávez Cisneros et al. 2010).

The herpetofauna of Nuevo León includes a total of 132 species: 23 amphibians (three salamanders, 20 anurans) and 109 reptiles (six turtles, 42 lizards, 61 snakes) (Table 1; see also Lemos-Espinal and Cruz 2015). These represent 30 families: 11 of amphibians (two of salamanders and nine of frogs), and 19 of reptiles (four of turtles, eight of lizards and seven of snakes), and 73 genera: 17 of amphibians (three of salamanders and 14 of frogs), and 56 of reptiles (five of turtles, 14 of lizards and 37 of snakes) (Table 1).

Of the 132 species we documented, two are not native to Nuevo León: the Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus; see Rödder and Lötters 2009), and the Brahminy Blindsnake (Indotyphlops braminus; see Servoss et al. 2013).Thirty-four of these 132 species are endemic to Mexico, only two, the Pygmy Alligator Lizard (Gerrhonotus parvus) and the Nuevo León Graceful Brown Snake (Rhadinaea montana), are endemic to Nuevo León, where they are found in the montane forest.

Seventeen of the 34 endemics to Mexico are limited to the highlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental (Chiropterotriton priscus, Pseudoeurycea galeanae, Eleutherodactylus longipes, Ecnomiohyla miotympanum, Sceloporus chaneyi, S. minor, S. oberon, S. parvus, Plestiodon dice, Scincella silvicola, Lepidophyma sylvaticum, Pituophis deppei, Storeria hidalgoensis, Rena myopica, Thamnophis exsul, Agkistrodon taylori, and Crotalus totonacus). Five of these species have a narrow distribution in southeastern – eastern Coahuila and adjacent Nuevo León (C. priscus, P. galeanae, S. oberon, T. exsul), and even Tamaulipas (P. dicei). One more is limited to Nuevo León and adjacent Tamaulipas (S. chaneyi), and another 10 range from Nuevo León and Tamaulipas southward to southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca, mainly on the Atlantic slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental (E. longipes, E. miotympanum, S. minor, S. parvus, S. silvicola, L. sylvaticum, S. hidalgoensis, R. myopica, A. taylori, and C. totonacus). One other, P. deppei, occurs in the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Mexican Plateau, the Transvolcanic Belt, and the Sierra Madre Occidental.

Two of the remaining 15 Mexican endemic species are limited to Coahuila and extreme western Nuevo León (Sceloporus cyanosticus and Sceloporus ornatus). Two more species are limited to scattered regions of northern Mexico: Sceloporus couchii to the northern Sierras of Coahuila and central western Nuevo León; and Sceloporus goldmani to a small area in southeastern Coahuila, adjacent Nuevo León and northeastern San Luis Potosí. Three more species endemic to Mexico are limited to the Mexican Plateau (Sceloporus cautus, S. samcolemani, and Lampropeltis mexicana). Four additional species (Kinosternon integrum, Sceloporus spinosus, S. torquatus, and Trimorphodon tau) are widely distributed from central Mexico through the Mexican Plateau, and in some cases (T. tau) on both coasts. One species has disjunct populations in the highlands of Mexico (Thamnophis pulchrilatus), and another is limited to the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico (Holbrookia approximans). The other two species endemic to Mexico (Barisia imbricata and Phrynosoma orbiculare), occur on the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental; one of them, P. orbiculare, ranges even into the mountains of the Transvolcanic Belt of the central part of the country.

Of the 130 native species of amphibians and reptiles in Nuevo León, 102 are considered species of Least Concern in the IUCN red list (18 amphibians, 84 reptiles), four species (1 amphibian, 3 reptiles) are listed as Vulnerable, five species (2 amphibians, 3 reptiles) are listed as Near Threatened, and four species (0 amphibians, 4 reptiles) are listed as Endangered (IUCN 2015). Also, according to SEMARNAT listing (SEMARNAT 2010), 78 species are not listed (i.e., not of conservation concern; 17 amphibians, 61 reptiles), 25 species are Subject to Special Protection (5 amphibians, 20 reptiles), 27 species are Threatened (1 amphibian, 26 reptiles), and no species are listed as in Danger of Extinction. Several taxa are also at risk according to the EVS values. In particular, plethodontid salamanders, turtles in the families Emydidae and Testudinae, and anguid lizards have high EVS values, suggesting they may be of particular concern.

Nuevo León does not have a particularly large number of amphibian and reptile species, at least compared to some other states in Mexico (Ranges: amphibians 5 – 140, mean ± 1 S.E. = 36.0 ± 5.1; reptiles 31 – 263, mean ± 1 S.E. = 105.4 ± 8.9; Total 47 – 403, mean ± 1 S.E. = 141.5 ± 13.7; see Flores-Villela and García-Vázquez 2014, Parra-Olea et al. 2014). There are relatively few species endemic to Nuevo León (only two). However, Nuevo Léon has a relatively high richness of lizards in the genus Sceloporus (N = 20, 15.3% of all species of amphibians and reptiles found in Nuevo León).

The amount of overlap in the herpetofauna of Nuevo León and the states it borders is fairly extensive. The greatest overlap is with Tamaulipas, with the two states sharing 82.3% of Nuevo León’s herpetofauna, and especially its amphibians (95.7%) and to a lesser extent, its reptiles (79.4%). Nuevo León shares 79.2% of its herpetofauna with Coahuila (78.2% amphibians, 79.4% reptiles). Of Nuevo León’s herpetofauna, 71.5% is shared with San Luis Potosí (78.2% amphibians, 70.1% reptiles). The state with the least overlap is Texas (overall 65.4%, amphibians 82.6%, reptiles 61.7%), which might be expected since the extent of the border is relatively small and they are separated by the Río Grande. In an analysis of the herpetofauna of the Mexican and United States Border States, including Nuevo León, Smith and Lemos-Espinal (2015) found significant similarities or clustering among Texas, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila for the entire herpetofauna, with subsets of the herpetofauna (e.g., amphibians, reptiles, anurans, and lizards) showing slightly different clustering patterns; although Nuevo León frequently clustered with Tamaulipas and Coahuila. The particular similarity among Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Coahuila likely reflects similarities in the biotic provinces found in those states (Smith and Lemos-Espinal 2015).

The conservation status of the herpetofauna of Nuevo León has relatively fewer species listed in the IUCN red list and SEMARNAT compared to other states, at least as far as listings based on IUCN red list and SEMARNAT, as well as the EVS values provided in Wilson et al. (2013a, b). This is not to say that the herpetofauna of Nuevo León should be considered safe. Given the expanding population of Monterrey, and the potential consequences of such expansion on natural resources in the state, we must be vigilant to the threats to the herpetofauna of Nuevo León. In addition, the relative paucity of ecological studies on the amphibians and reptiles in Nuevo León mean much of our understanding of these species’ status in Nuevo León is based upon information obtained in other states. We hope our summary of the species of amphibians and reptiles from Nuevo León, and their putative conservation status, will prompt further research on the ecology and status of these species in Nuevo León. Such baseline information is critical to evaluating and monitoring any changes in populations in Nuevo León that can arise due to urbanization around Monterrey and potential climate change and other threats in this area (see Biggs et al. 2010, Lavín-Murcio and Lazcano 2010, Seager and Vecchi 2010).