Selected Records of Reptiles and Amphibians from Kansas — John Shaqi
Selected Records of Reptiles and Amphibians from KansasSmith, Hobart M. (Hobart Muir)
Science
Selected Records of Reptiles and Amphibians from Kansas
Smith, Hobart M. (Hobart Muir)
Amphibians -- Kansas; Reptiles -- Kansas
In the vicinity of Kansas, specimens of this species are known from
Missouri (St. Louis and Stone Counties only) and northwestern Arkansas
(Washington County: Winslow and Prairie Grove, Mus. Nat. Hist., Univ.
Kans., Nos. 16526, 18820, 18823). Reexamination of these specimens
confirms their identity as _Rana sylvatica sylvatica_ to which the
Missouri specimens from Stone County undoubtedly also belong.
Accordingly this race is still to be anticipated in extreme southeastern
Kansas.
Reference of the specimen from Lyon County to _Rana s. cantabrigensis_
presents a problem in distribution, for the race is not known from
nearer Kansas than North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and southern
Illinois, except for a record given by Cope (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No.
34:437, 1889) from "western Missouri." Hurter (Trans. St. Louis Acad.
Sci., 20:123, 1911) restricts this record to Cooper County, and
presumably verifies Cope's identification. Hurter, too, recognized the
other form, _R. sylvatica_, in Missouri (Marble Cave, Stone County).
Cope distinguished between the two races (as they are now recognized)
and recorded typical _R. sylvatica_ from St. Louis. Accordingly the
specimen from Cooper County may be considered properly identified
racially. It apparently is from the locality nearest to Kansas at which
the race has been taken.
It seems highly probable that the Kansas occurrence, and possibly those
in Arkansas and Missouri also, is a relict one. It is highly improbable
that the species has a continuous distribution in either state. A wider
or more southern distribution in the past seems evident. The group to
which it belongs certainly has had a more southern range, as indicated
by Taylor's discovery in Meade County, Kansas (Univ. Kans. Sci. Bull.,
28:217, 1942), of a fossil species of _Rana_ (_parvissima_), from the
Upper Pliocene, presumably related to _sylvatica_. It may or may not
have been a direct ancestor of the living species.
#Microhyla olivacea# (Hallowell), Northern Narrow-mouthed Toad.--_Lyon
Co._: 6 miles southwest of Emporia. _Wilson Co._: 7 miles northeast of
Fall River.
#Crotaphytus collaris collaris# (Say), Collared Lizard.--_Geary Co._: 4
miles south of Fort Riley. _Wabaunsee Co._: 2 miles northeast of Alma.
#Holbrookia maculata maculata# (Girard), Earless Lizard.--_Chase Co._: 7
miles south of Saffordville (No. 350)*; 6 miles southwest of
Saffordville; 1 mile south of Saffordville (No. 338)*; 10 miles
southwest of Olpe. _Hodgeman Co._: Jetmore. _Lyon Co._: 5 miles south of
Plymouth; 6 miles southeast of Emporia; 9 miles southwest of Emporia.
_Ness Co._: 4 miles west and 1.5 miles north of Ness City (Nos. 480,
481, 484-497, 609-611)*, 6 miles west and 0.5 miles south of Ness City
(Nos. 482, 483, 498).*
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account