The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, MéxicoDuellman, William Edward
Science
The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, México
Duellman, William Edward
Amphibians -- Mexico -- Michoacán de Ocampo; Reptiles -- Mexico -- Michoacán de Ocampo
_Ambystoma_ (_Bathysiredon_) _dumerili_, Tihen, Bull.
Florida State Mus., 3:3, June 20, 1958.
Lago de Pátzcuaro (22);? Morelia.
For many years this unusual salamander was known from only a few
specimens mostly collected in the last century; Smith and Taylor
(1948:7) stated: "It is presumed that this species is extinct owing to
the introduction of exotic game and food fishes." In 1951 and in 1955 I
had been told that _axolotls_ were sold in the market at Pátzcuaro;
nevertheless, none was found on my visits there. In 1956 Charles M.
Bogert obtained several large specimens at the market in Pátzcuaro.
These establish the continued existence of the salamander in Lago de
Pátzcuaro. On January 27, 1955, R. W. Dickerman procured a specimen (KU
41573) in the market at Morelia. Since fish are brought to Morelia from
Lago de Pátzcuaro, the specimen probably was from that lake.
Nevertheless, the species may occur in other permanent bodies of water
in Michoacán. Maldonado-Koerdell (1948) described _Bathysiredon dumerili
queretarensis_ from San Juan del Río, Queretaro. This locality is about
200 airline kilometers northeast of Lago de Pátzcuaro and is in the Río
Moctezuma drainage.
~Ambystoma ordinarium~ Taylor
_Ambystoma ordinaria_ Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull.,
26:422, November 27, 1940.--Four miles west of El Mirador,
near Puerto Hondo, Michoacán, México.
Axolotl (56); Cerro San Andrés; 22 km. W of Mil Cumbres; 46
km. E of Morelia (34); 8 km. SE of Opopeo (5); Puerto de
Garnica (8); Puerto Hondo (41); San Gregorio (16); San José
de la Cumbre (20).
Of 16 specimens (KU 51520-35) collected on June 18, 1955, near San
Gregorio, 15 are adult females with swollen cloacae and minute ovarian
eggs. Possibly these specimens had just recently deposited their mature
eggs. In preservative the specimens are black above and dull creamy gray
below. Measurements for the 15 females are: snout-vent length,
80.0-102.0 (92.5); tail length, 69.0-93.0 (84.2); head width, 15.8-20.5
(17.7); head length, 22.8-26.6 (24.4). A larval specimen with small
gills has a snout-vent length of 72 mm. and a tail length of 62 mm.
Three specimens have 12 costal grooves; the other have 11.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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