Copyright 02 000 by James R. Dixon Manufact~redin the United States of America All rights reserved Second Edition The paper useidn this book meets the minimum requ~e~ents of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, 239.48-1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. @ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-~ublicationD ata Dixon, James Ray. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas :w ith keys, taxonomic synopses, bibliography, and distribution maps / James R. Dixon. -2n d ed. cm. -(M oody natural history series :n o, 25) p. Includes bibliographical references( p. ). ISBN 0-89096-919-1 (c). -ISBN 0-89096-920-5 (p) 1. Amp~lbians-Texas. 2, Reptiles-Texas, I. Title. 11. Series: W L. Moody, Jr., natural history series :n o. 25. QL653.T4D59 2000 597.9’09764-d~21 99-40452 CIP List of Illustrations I vi Ac~no~ledgmentI sv ii Introduction / 3 Keys to the ~mphi~iaannsd Reptiles of Texas / 9 Salamanders I 9 Frogs andToads I 11 Generic Key to theA mphi~ianL arvae of Texas / 17 Turtles / 18 Lizards / 23 Snakes / 31 Species Accounts / 50 Class Amphi~ia/ 51 Order Caudata / 51 ~rdeAr nura / 60 Class Reptilia / 80 Order Crocodilia / 80 Order Testudinata / 80 Order Squamata / 94 Maps I 167 Glossary I 261 i~liography/ 267 Index of C o ~ oNnam es / 411 Index of Scientific Names / 416 Some keyf eatures of salamanders I. 2. Some keyf eatures of frogs and toads 3. Cranial crestso n a bufonid toad Turtle carapace: snapping turtle; sea turtle head 4. 5- Turtle plastron; nasal septum ridge 6. Lizard head scales, dorsavl iew 7- Lizard head scales, lateral view 8. Lizard head scales, ventral view 9- Reptile scales, dorsal view; lizard femoral pores Snalce head scales, ventral view IO. Snake head scales, dorsavl iew If. Loreal pito n copperhead, lateral view 12. I3 Snake anal plate and tail, ventral view * Snake head scalelsa, teral view 14. ~~o~ograp~s ~e1g53~ ~~i~gpage Mole Salaman~er Texas Blind Salamander Black-spotted Newt Mexican Burrowing Toad Spotted ChirpinFg rog Mexican Tree Frog Houston Toad Pig Frog Big Bend MudT urtle Cagle’s MapT urtle ~eticulatedG ecko Mountain ~hort-hornedL izard M~s~uiLtieza rd Gray-checkered Whiptail Desert Grassland h ipt tail ~orthernSc arlet Snake ~estern ~Snoakrem lack-striped Snake Speckled Racer ird’s Rat Snake dland Water Snake mooth Green Snake Tra~s-~ec olasc k-heade~ Snake Plains Garter Snake Texas LyreS nake S This work would never have been poswsibitlheo ut the aid of colleagues, friends, and students. I am particularly pleased to acknowledge the aid of two formers tu- dents, Ken Kinga nd David Kizirianw, ho suffered the hardships of surveying north- west Texasc ounties that possessed fewert han IO recorded specieso f amphibians and reptiles; theyd id an admirable job. John Malone madet he amphibian identi~cationk ey more user-friendlya nd added the larval key to amphibian genera; for this I am profoundly grateful. My thanks to thosec urators who respondedt o my plea form useum records: P. Alberch, W. Auffenberg, R. L. Bezy, B. C. Brown, S. D. Busak, J. Campbell, C. C. Carpenter, A. H. Chaney, C. J. Cole, W. W. Dalquest, W. G. Degenhardt, W. E. Duellman, N. Ford, J. Fouquette, T. Fritts, D. A. Gallagher, J. Green, H. W, Greene, S. Hammack, L, M. Hardy, W. R. Heyer, R. F. Inger, J. Karges, S. Kerr, A. G. Kluge, J. M. Legler, D. Lentz, A.E . Leviton, C. S. Lieb, E. A. Liner, the late C. J. McCoy, R. W McDiarmid, E. V. Malnate, the late R. E. Martin, H. Marx, T, Maxwell,J . S. Mecham, W. Montgomery, E. Morgan, R. H. Mount, C. W. Myers, M. A.N ickerson, R. A. Nussbaum, W. J. Pyburn, F. Rainwater, J. Rosado, W, Seifert, N. J. Scott, J. F. Scudday, C. B. Smith, H. M. Smith, the late P. W. Smith, F. B. Stangl, T. Uzzell,J . V. Vindum, W. J. Voss, D, B. Wake, R. G. Webb, J. W. Wright, G. Zug, and R. G. Zweifel. Special thanks go to those colleagueasn d students who furnished specimen records, literature, and other courtesies: R. W. Axtell, the late R. J. Baldauf, D. Barker, P. M. Burchfield, C. T. Goody, R. H. Dean, C. H. Ernst, the late E, Farmer, G. W. Ferguson, T. Gallucci, M. Haiduk, C. Harrison, F. S. Hendricks, T. Hibbitts, J. B. Iverson, J. D. Johnson, J. Karges, B. Keeley, W. W, Lamar, W. L. McClure, H. D. McCrystal,J . H. Malone, E. J. Michaud, E. 0. Moll, W. S. Parker, the late F. E. Potter, A. H. Price, H. Quinn, F. L. Rose, M. E. Seidel,J . W. Sites, F. B. Stangl, D. Stine, S. Stone, R. A. Thomas, T. Vance, T. VermerschJ,. Ward, and J. E. Werler. I am especially appreciativoef Elinor Auffenberg, whod onated her time to com- pile a listo f Texas snake records fromth e Florida State Museum. Speciatlh anks also to Carl Lieb and William Lamar, who have nevefra iled to respond to requests for in- formation and other amenities. I am forever in debt to Jerry Raun and Fred Gehlbach, who compilethde litera- ture prior to 1967. They madem y job much easier. I owe much to David Kizirian who scanned 95 percent of the 1967-82 literature and provided subject categories. R. W. Axtell, R. Conant, R. W. McDiarmid, E.V . Malnate, and the late F. E.P otter aided this project by solving problemso f distribution and ident~cationfo r various amphibian and reptile species. Photographs and/or slides wered onat~dby D, Barker, R. Bezy, J. T. Collins, the late I. H. Conant, W. G. Degenhardt, W. ~, Lamar, C. M, J. P. Scudday, J. W, Sites, R. A, Thomas, L.J . Vitt, J. E.W erler, inal manuscript was typedb y Sally Kiml, ong before our office pur- d processing equipment. She devotedm uch of her time to correcting my errors, and I appreciate her patience and understanding. During the period betweenth e first and second edition, several colleagu~sc on- trib~tedn ew distribution^ records for the amphibians and reptiles of Texas. I am pleased to ac~owledgteh eir help: C. M. Eckerman, D. H, Poley,M . J. and Jenna .G reene, D. Hibbitts, T, T. LaDuc, W*W . Lamar, J. V, R. E. Nelson, A. H. Price, J R. K. Vau~hana,n d M. J. Whiting. I am forever thankful to my wife MaryS. he spent many lonely evenings whiIle worked on thef irst and second e~itionsW. ithout her ~ndnesasn d understanding, this project wouldh ave never reached completion, Sheis ac~owledgedg ratefully for someo f the line ~awingust ilized in the keys, I sincerely thank Alan Chaney,w ho gave me permissiotno use and modify as necess~yh,i s keys found in ~ eto ~ the~s e~ te~~of u~tee~s( u21s4 .900).