Field notes : Mexico, 1949

[left page] 14

LOGS, USUALLY. THERE WAS NO ECOLOGICAL SEPARATION OF THESE SPECIES OR INDIVIDUALS THAT I COULD SEE.

2 MEXICANS ARRIVED IN CAMP SHORTLY AFTER I, AND THEY HAD A BOTTLE WHICH, BY THEIR COUNT, CONTAINED 126 LIZARDS! WAGNER & I COUNTED THEM, HOWEVER, AND THERE WERE 62 OF THEM, ALL OF THE SAME SPECIES. OF THESE WE DISCARDED 6 AS BEING TAILLESS, THEREFORE WE DON'T BUY THEM. I PRESERVED THE REMAINING 56.

MARCH 4, 1949 - COFRE DE PEROTE, 10,300 FT.

SPENT MOST OF THE MORNING WORKING ON THE SPECIMENS COLLECTED YESTERDAY. AS SOON AS I FINISHED I WENT UP THE COFRE, AS FAR AS THE VILLAGE OF LOS CONEJOS. ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THIS VILLAGE WAS ANOTHER PINE GROVE, WITH HEAVY NEEDLE COVER; AND SOME LOGS. I FOUND ONE SALAMANDER OF TYPE 2 UNDER A WOOD CHIP.

I FOUND A NEW TYPE OF SALAMANDER UNDER A LARGE LOG ALONGSIDE A VERY DRY, DUSTY ROAD. IT WAS NOT TOO DAMP UNDER THE LOG. IT WAS THE HIGHEST POINT AT WHICH I CAUGHT SALAMANDERS. IT IS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE VILLAGE OF LOS CONEJOS, WHICH I JUDGE IS ABOUT 10,500 FT.

TYPE 5: A JET BLACK SALAMANDER WITH A DORSOLATERAL ROW OF GOLDEN FLECKS. THESE FLECKS TERMINATE IN A YELLOWISHGOLDEN PATCH JUST BEHIND THE "EAR". THE LEGS ARE ALSO BLACK, MOTTLED WITH LICHEN-LIKE SILVER PATCHES. THE HEAD IS ENTIRELY BLACK, WITH THE LIPS FLECKED WITH SILVER. THE BELLY, CHIN, AND BOTTOM HALF OF THE TAIL ARE INKY BLACK, WITH JUST 2 OR 3 LIGHT SILVER SPECKS ON THE CHIN. THE SIDES ARE FLECKED WITH SILVER. THE DOSOLATERAL GOLDEN STRIPE CONTINUES ON THE TAIL TO THE TIP.

[right page] 15 MARCH 5, 1949.

SPENT THE A.M. TRYING TO GET SOME MORE OF THE SALAMANDERS FROM HIGHER UP. THIS PLACE IS A PINE SLOPE IN A FIR FOREST. THERE WERE PSEUDOEURYCEA LEPROSA IN BOTH THE PINES & FIRS, BUT MOST OF THE OTHER SALAMANDERS WERE PRACTICALLY RESTRICTED TO THE PINES.

THE STRIPED SCELOPS WERE PRETTY MUCH EXCLUSIVELY FOREST. THE HALF COLLARED SCELOPS WERE MUCH MORE ABUNDANT IN OPEN PLACES, BUT THEY WERE ALSO PRESENT IN THE WOODS.

I DIDN'T GET ANY MORE OF TYPE 5, BUT I DID PICK UP ANOTHER SLIGHTLY ODD KIND, - (IN THE NEXT PAGE). THIS ONE WAS UNDER AN ENORMOUS LOG, AND TWISTED HIS TAIL OFF IN MY HAND. AS USUAL THE LOGS WERE QUITE DAMP UNDERNEATH, ALTHO DUST AND SCELOPS LIE THICK ON TOP.

WE LEFT THE FIRS ABOUT 1:00 P.M., AND STARTED DOWN THE COFRE. THE FIRS RUN DOWN TO ABOUT 10,000 FT, THEN IT IS ENTIRELY [RING?] TO 8,500, WHERE THE OAKS BEGIN. ONLY SHOWING BELOW THIS ALTITUDE IS THE PLAINS, HOWEVER, AND THE ORIGINAL COVER CAN ONLY BE GUESSED. THE RINGS ARE PRESENT TO SOME DEGREE IN ALL THE PARTS I HAVE SEEN.

THE TEMPERATURE WHEN I GOT UP THIS A.M. (SUNRISE) WAS 30 [degree] F. I HAD ICE IN MY FIXING PANS, WHEN WE LEFT AT 1.00 P.M., IT WAS 62 [degree] F IN THE SHADE AND 88 [degree] IN THE SUN.

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MARCH 5, 1949. COFRE DE PEROTE

TYPE 6: THIS SALAMANDER IS REMARKABLE FOR THE SLIMNESS OF ITS BODY, AND THE LONG, THIN LEGS. IT IS A UNICOLOR ANIMAL, BEING A GREYISH BROWN ALL OVER. THE LEGS ARE CONSIDERABLY LIGHRER THAN THE BODY.

MARCH 5, 1949, LAS VEGAS.

WE WENT FROM COFRE TO THE VILLAGE OF LAS VEGAS, AND THEN 2 MILES FURTHER DOWN THE HIGHWAY INTO A LARGE PEDREGAL - A LAVA FLOW, LONG SINCE SOLIDIFIED & COOLED.

BEFORE WE GOT LOCATED AND SETTLED IT WAS 5 O'CLOCK, SO I USED THE EVENING TO FIX THE SALAMANDERS GOTTEN THAT MORNING.

MARCH 6, 1949 - LAS VEGAS.

I STARTED OPERATIONS THIS MORNING ON A SMALL HILL WHICH HAD DIVIDED THE LAVA FLOW, AND HAD NO LAVA ON IT, BEING AS AN ISOLATED ISLAND. I TURNED HARDLY 3 LOGS BEFORE I FOUND A CONOPSIS, DEEP IN THE ROT OF THE LOG. IT WAS VERY PASSIVE, AND MADE NO ATTEMPT, TO BITE, BUT DID TRY TO BURROW. I FOUND ONE OF THE STRIPED SCORSPORUS UNDER ANOTHER LOG. THIS WAS ALL I FOUND IN THE AREA OUTSIDE THE LAVA FLOW. THE TREES IN THE LAVA WERE HEAVILY COVERED WITH BROMEGLADE, ALL FULL OF WATER, SO I SPENT 2 HOURS TEARING THEM APART, LEAF BY LEAF, I DIDN'T FIND A SINGLE THING, MY EXPERIENCE WITH PEDREGAL IS THAT IT IS AWFULLY SHORT ON REPTILE 7 AMPHIBIAN LIFE, AT LEAST AT THIS SEASON.

THE LAVA FLOW CAME DOWN A SMALL VALLEY, AND THE HOLES WERE NOT COVERED, AFTER MUCH WORK

[right page] 17 IN THE PEDREGAL, I WENT OVER TO THIS UNCOVERED HILL. I FOUND A TOLUCA AND 2 STRIPED SCELOPORUS UNDER LOGS THERE. THE TOLUCA WAS IN THE ROT OF THE LOG, THE SCELOPS MERELY UNDER THEM.

MARCH 7, 1949 WE WENT FROM HERE TO AFTER SPENDING NIGHT IN VACAPA. PLAN DEL RIO, THE LOWEST SPOT WE HAVE HIT YET. IT IS ABOUT 800 FT. IT IS IN FAIRLY FLAT COUNTRY, INTO WHICH THE RIVERS HAVE CUT QUITE DEEPLY. THESE DEEP CUTS HAVE WATER, USUALLY, AND QUITE OFTEN VERDANT VEGETATION. BANANAS ARE GREEN IN THE VALLEYS. THE HILLS ARE LIMESTONE, AND THE HIGHER AREAS ARE VERY DRY, WITH CACTI AND SO ON.

I WENT DIRECTLY TO BANANA GROVE AT THE FOOT OF THE HILL BELOW OUR CAMP IN THE P. M. I SAW SEVERAL SCELOPORUS VARIABILIS ON TEH DUSTY LIMESTONE PATH DOWN WHICH I COULDN'T CATCH. THE GROVE WAS FULL OF FALLEN BANANA TREE BOLES, AND WITH GOOD SIZED LIMESTONE ROCKS. ONE OF THE FIRST ROCKS TURNED PRODUCED 3 BUFOS ^[illegible]^AND A FROG I THINK WAS AN ELEUTHERODACTYLUS. - QUITE SMALL. THE BUFOS FOLLOWED A HUGE TARANTULA DOWN A SHORT HOLE, BUT THEY CAME OUT FAIRLY RAPIDLY. NEXT I FOUND A LARGE FAT [illegible] UNDER A BANANA BOLE, IN A HOLLOWED OUT SPOT. HE GAVE QUITE A SCREAM AS I PICKED HIM UP.

I WORKED ACROSS THE GROVE TO A SMALL SPRING ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE VALLEY, ALSO LIMESTONE, AND QUITE DENSE WITH VEGETATION. ROCKS IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE SPRING PRODUCED 2 RHADINREA, 1 OEDIPUS (FOR LACK OF A BETTER NAME), AND A VERY LARGE CNEMIDOPHORUS. I DIDN'T GET THE LATTER ANOTHER OF THE SMALL ELENTHS WAS UNDER A ROCK HERE.

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[left page] MARCH 7, 1949. PLAN DEL RIO (CONTD)

I ALSO SAW A LEIOLOPISMA THAT ESCAPED ME.

THIS EVENING, AFTER SUPPER, I HEARD BUFO OF SOME SPECIES CALLING VERY LOUDLY DOWN THE HILL I TOOK THE FLASH AND WENT DOWN, BUT THEY WERE IN TERRAIN COMPLETELY UNKNOWN TO ME, SO I COULD NOT FIND THEM. I CAUGHT A STRING OF FISH FOR BAILEY, AND RETURNED TO CAMP MAC SAID HE KNEW HOW TO REACH THE POND I WANTED, SO WE WENT BACK AGAIN. HE TOOK ME TO THE DAM, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING THERE. I THEN FOLLOWED THE CALLS BACK AWAYS; THEN HAD TO WAIT A BIT I HEARD A NEW CALL WHILE WAITING - A SOUND EXACTLY LIKE THE QUACKING OF DUCKS. IT STARTS SLOWLY AND PICKS UP SPEED TOWARD THE END I FOLLOWED IT TO SEE WHAT IT WAS, AND FOUND A RATHER SLOW FLOWING SECTION OF THE STREAM. THIS SMALL POND HAD BOTH THE BUFOS AND THE QUACKERS IN IT. I FINALLY RAN DOWN THE QUACKS, AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE A HYLA - AND I AM CERTAIN IT IS BAUDINII. I GOT ONE CLASPING PAIR, AND I FOUND EGGS DEPOSITED, IN THE SACK THE NEXT DAY - TWO MASSES. THEREFORE, HYLA BAUDINII BREEDS IN THE EARLY PART OF MARCH - AT LEAST IN THIS LOCALITY. I GOT 5 OF THEM.

I ALSO FINALLY GOT SOME OF THE BUFO. THEY LOOK MUCH LIKE COMPACTILIS ^CRISTANTUS^ TO ME. THEIR CALL IS TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES EXACTLY THE SAME AS THAT OF B. AMERICANUS, I COULD DECTECT NO DIFFERENCE.

MACINTOSH SAW A SNAKE WHICH WAS NEAR THE WATER, BUT WE COULDN'T GET IT. IT MUST HAVE BEEN A GEOPHIS FROM THE DESCRIPTION, A GOOD SIZED RANA CARRIED ON A GUTTERAL CONVERSATION ALL EVENING, BUT WE COULDN'T GET ANY.

[right page] 19 MARCH 8, 1949, PLAN DEL RIO.

SPENT THE MORNING COLLECTING LIZARDS WITH .22 DUST SHOT. COLLECTED A DOZEN OR SO. BOTH CNEMIDOPHORUS AND SCELOPORUS WERE ABUNDANT IN THE LIMESTONE HILLS, IN VERY DRY PLACES. THERE WERE MANY ON THE FLAT PLAIN OR PRAIRIE AREAS, BUT MORE WERE ON THE SLOPES, WHERE THE BOULDERS FORM LARGE CREVICES, AND THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE QUITE SO BRIGHTLY AND ISN'T SO HOT. I SAW A VERY LARGE LIZARD WHICH STAYED TOO FAR AHEAD OF ME TO GET A SHOT AT IT, THAT GOT UP ON ITS HIND LEGS AND RAN, BIPEDALLY. IT WAS MARKED LIKE AN AMEIVA (OR [illegible]), ALTHOUGH I'VE NEVER HEARD OF BIPEDAL [illegible] IN THESE GENER THE SCELOPORUS ARE ALWAYS QUICK MOVING AND MAKE SHORT DASHES, MOVING RAPIDLY AND STOPPING. (THEY ARE ALL S. VARIABILIS HERE, I BELIEVE). THE CNEMIDOPHORUS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE SLOWER, AND ARE ALMOST CONSTANTLY IN MOTION, CRAWLING DELIBERATELY, APPARENTLY ON THE HUNT. THEY DRAG THEIR TAILS BEHIND THEM, WAKE THE SCELOPS LIFT THE TAIL HIGH WHILE MOVING. CNEMIDOPHORUS IS VERY SNAKELIKE IN ITS MOVEMENTS.

WE RETURNED TO THE SPRING I FOUND SO PRODUCTIVE YESTERDAY TO BATHE, AND I TURNED THE ROCK AGAIN WHICH HAD SHELTERED THE LARGE CNEMIDOPHORUS (ALL REFERENCES TO THIS GENUS AT THIS COLLECTION POINT MAY BE REFERABLE TO [illegible]). HE WAS BACK THERE, AND THIS TIME HE SCUTTLED OFF UP THE LIMESTONE SCOPE. I SHOT HIM EASILY. IT WAS DEFINTELY THE SAME BEAST, AS I HAD PULLED HIS TAIL OFF THE DAY BEFORE IN A DEEP CREVICE.

WE DROVE FROM HERE TO A NEW ROAD TO HUATUSCO, WHICH WE TOOK TO GOBE CORDOBA. THE DISTANCE TO HUATUSCO WAS THRU A VERY DRY, PLAINLIKE, LOW AREA, WITH CACTI AND PEPPER TREES AGAIN. WE CLIMBED UP TO HUATUSCO AND

[left page] 20 MARCH 8, 1949, cont.

FOUND HEAVY FOREST AND BANANA, COFFEE AND TOBACCO PLANTATIONS. THIS DRIVE IS THROUGH BREATHTAKING COUNTRY, WITH DEEP CANYONS AND LUSH TROPICAL FORESTS. I COULD CALL IT HUMID TROPICAL FOREST, MYSELF.

WE DROVE TO POTRERO VIEJO TO THE FORBES HACIENDA NEXT. FORBES DAUGHTER (MARIANA) TOOK ME TO A SPOT WHERE HYLA VENULOSA ABOUNDED. THEY LIVE IN THE VERY MOIST BASES OF BANANA TREE BOLES. THE TREES GROW IN WRAPAROUND LAYERS, AND CATCH WATER AND HOLD MUCH MOISTURE. THE FIBER ARE DEEP WITHIN THESE LAYERS, AND ARE SOMETIMES, IN OLD TREES, WAY INTO THE PULPY CORE. WE TOOK NINE WITH NO TROUBLE. WALTER DAHLQUIST TOOK ME NEXT TO THE REAR OF THE HACIENDA TO A LARGE PLANT HE CALLED "ELEPHANT EAR". THE PLANT CONSISTS OF LONG PETALED, ENORMOUS LEAVES, ALL FROM A CENTRAL LOW BASE. HERE AGAIN THE PETIOLES FORM A CHUTE WHICH FUNNELS WATER TO THE BASE WHERE IT IS STORED, DAHLQUIST EXPECTED TO FIND SOME HYLA [MICRO???] HERE FOR ME, HAVING FOUND THEM THERE BEFORE. BUT WE FOUIND 3 HYLA ^STAUFFERI^ UNKNOWN TO HIM, AND ANOTHER H. VENULOSA.

WE LUNCHED WITH THE FORBES, AND DROVE TO A CAMPING SPOT 8KM. ENE OF POTRERO VIEJO ^[illegible]^ (DATA FROM DAHLQUIST) CALLED OJO DE AGUA. THIS WAS A SHARP HILLSIDE NEAR LARGE SUGAR CANE FIELDS, THE HILL WAS COVERED WITH DENSE JUNGLE GROWTH, MORE HUMID TROPICAL FOREST. WE COLLECTED 3 ANOLIS (SAGREI?) AND A LEIOLOPISMA BEFORE DARK. I SPENT THE EVENING FINISHING THE SPECIMENS FROM PLAN DEL RIO, AND COULDENS NIGHT COLLECTING.

THE ANOLES HAVE A BRILLIANT ORANGE DEWLAP WHICH THEY EXPAND AND CONTRACT AS THEY SIT ON BUSHES IN THE JUNGLE TANGLE. THEY HAVE A DEFINITE DORSAL PATTERN OF CHEVRONS, WHICH APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR EASILY, HOWEVER.

[right page] MARCH 8, 1949 POTRERO VIEJO, CONT.

THE LEIOLOPISMA WAS IN A HEAVY ROCK SLOPE, DEEP IN THE ROCKS. I SHOT HIM TO GET HIM.

MARCH 9, 1949 POTRERO VIEJO.

HEAVY RAIN THIS MORNING. I HAD TO STAY IN CAMP WHILE THE MAMMALOGISTS PACKED UP THEIR TRAPS, AND THEY DIDN'T SKIN WHEN THEY GOT BACK, SO I HAD LITTLE TIME FOR COLLECTING. I WENT AFTER SOME BROMELIADS I HAD SEEN ALONG THE TRAK THE NIGHT BEFORE, AND I HAD TIME TO TEAR 2 APART BEFORE I LEFT AT THE HONK OF THE TRUCK'S HORN. EACH OF THE BROMELIADS PRODUCED A SALAMANDER. MACINTOSH BROUGHT IN A HYLA HE FOUND IN A SMALL HOLE INSIDE THE CAVE WHICH IS THE SOURCE OF THE RIVER.

THE SALAMANDERS WERE QUITE DIFFERENT IN COLORATION WHEN COLLECTED. THE SMALL ONE WAS LIGHT GREY DORSALLY, WITH BROWNISH GRAY SIDES. THE LARGE ONE WAS DULL REDDISH ABOVE WITH DARK BROWN SIDES. I CARRIED THEM ALIVE IN A VIAL, HOWEVER, AND A FEW HOURS LATER THE SMALL ONE HAD CHANGED COLOR UNTIL HE CLOSELY RESEMBLED THE LARGER [symbol female ♀]. A FEW HOURS LATER THE LARGE ONE WAS CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL COLOR OF THE SMALLER. THIS RANGE OF COLOR VARIABILITY IS SURPRISING, TO SAY THE LEAST, AND I'M TRYING TO GET COLOR PICTURES OF IT.

MARCH 10-13 - MEXICO CITY.

MARCH 14, NEVADA DE TOLUCA.

WE DROVE UP TOLUCA IN THE AFTERNOON, LEAVING M. C. ABOUT 11 A.M. THE ROAD CLIMBS THE MOUNTAIN FROM

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THE WEST. THE ROAD IS QUITE GOOD, AND RUNS TO THE LAKE IN THE CRATER. TREE LINE IS AT 13,000 FT. , AND I COLLECTED A SCELOPORUS MICROLEPIDOTUS UNDER A LOG RIGHT AT TREE LINE. WE WENT BACK DOWN HILL TO 13200 FT. TO CAMP. THERE WERE SEVERAL SPRINGS IN AN ALPINE MEADOW AND A GOOD SIZED CREEK. A ROCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM COVERED THE AMBYSTOMA, WHICH I COLLECTED. FARTHER DOWN THE STREAM A ROAD BRIDGE HAD DROPPED IN AND CREATED A POND, TO WHICH I RETURNED IN THE EVENING TO FIND MANY AMBYSTOMA ACTIVE. IT APPEARED TO BE A BREEDING CONGRESS, AND I TOOK MANY NOTES ON THE GROUP. ALL SPECIMENS COLLECTED SEEMED TO BE MALES, HOWEVER, WITH GREATLY SWOLLEN ANAL LIPS. SEVERAL DEPOSITED SPERMATOPHYTES AFTER BEING PUT IN PRESERVATIVE. COMPLETE NOTES ON MY OBSERVATIONS ARE ELSEWHERE; UNDER THE SPECIES.

MARCH 15, TOLUCA

FOUND 3 S. MICROLEPIDOTUS UNDER A SINGLE PIECE OF BARK ON A FALLEN LOG ON A HILLSIDE, AT 12,200. THE REST OF THE DAY WAS SPENT IN OBSERVATION OF THE SALAMANDERS IN THE POND. THE EVENING WAS QUITE COLD, AND THE POND FROZE SOLIDLY DURING THE NIGHT. MY THERMOMETER REGISTERED 22[symbol degrees] AT 7:00 AM MARCH 16. THE SALAMANDERS ACTIVITY STOPPED AT ABOUT 11:00 PM., BECAUSE OF THE COLD.

MARCH 16, TOLUCA.

WE LEFT THE CAMPSITE VERY EARLY AND DROPPED DOWN TO 11,500 FT. I GOT A LARGE SERIES OF SCELOPORUS HERE, ON THE ABUNDANT FALLEN LOGS. IT WAS STILL IN THE PINES HERE. I GOT MICROLEPIDOTUS CHIEFLY, WITH SOME AENEUS.

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MARCH 17, A CERRO SAN ANDRES, MICHOACAN.

SPENT THE NIGHT OF 16TH IN CIUDAD HIDALGO, AND DROVE ON TO THIS SHORT CHAIN OF PEAKS. THE ROAD IS 4 MILES WEST OF HIDALGO, TURN LEFT AND FOLLOW ROAD TO SAN PEDRO (DE AGUARRO, OR SOMETHING SIMILAR), WHICH IS TWO MILES FURTHER, ON THE DIRT ROAD. OUR CAMP IS FURTHER ALONG THE SAME ROAD, 9 MILES ON THE SMALL VILLAGE CALLED RANCHO DE AXOLOTL IS JUST OVER THE HILL FROM OUR CAMP. WE DROVE ON A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE FURTHER TO A GOOD SIZED LAKE, CALLED LAGUNA LARGA, AT 9,200 FT. THE LAKE IS ARTIFICIAL, THE RESULT OF DAMMING A SMALL STREAM BETWEEN TWO MOUNTAINS. I COLLECTED RANA PIPIENS, SCELOPORUS MICROLEPIDOTUS AND AN AMBYSTOMA ON ITS SHORES. DROVE WITH MCVAUGH TO A LARGE SULPHER LAKE, FULL OF BOILING HOLES. IT LOOKED LIKE A MUDDY MESS, BUT THE WATER WAS NOT [illegible] AT ALL. A BLOWHOLE NEAR THE LAKE WAS RIGHT AT BOILING, AND HAD BEEN USED OFTEN TO SCALD FEATHERS OFF CHICKENS. I CAUGHT 2 PIPIENS ON A HILLSIDE IN A COLD SPRING.

A SHORT STOP WHILE MCVAUGH TOOK SOME SPECIMENS OF "CAPULIN" THE CHERRY HERE, NETTED ME A HYLA WHICH IS EITHER A [illegible] OR [illegible]. I THINK I HAVE SEVERAL OF THE 1ST FROM HERE. THERE WAS LITTLE WATER HERE, BUT AN ALMOST DRY SPRING DAMPENED THE AREA SLIGHTLY. I ALSO PICKED UP A SCELOPORUS HERE. HYLA DESCRIBED ON NEXT PAGE.

MARCH 18, 1949. CERRO SAN ANDRES.

FOLLOWED A STREAM WHICH EMPTIES INTO THE ALPINE MEADOWS IN WHICH WE ARE CAMPED UPSTREAM. FOUND AMBYSTOMA ORDINARIUM, RANA PIPIENS AND S. MICROLEPIDOTUS ALONG AND IN THE STREAM.