. An ecogeographic analysis of the herpetofauna of the Yucatan Peninsula. Amphibians; Amphibians; Reptiles; Reptiles. 32 MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY sula is certainly no surprise; indeed, it is the absence of some such species ( Coniophanes picevittis) that is note- worthy. The origin of this portion of the peninsular herpetofauna thus involves the larger question of the origins of the Middle American herpetofauna, a sub- ject treated at length by Savage (1966). Primarily on the basis of modem distri- bution patterns. Savage (1966) charac- terized the genera of Midd
. An ecogeographic analysis of the herpetofauna of the Yucatan Peninsula. Amphibians; Amphibians; Reptiles; Reptiles. 32 MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY sula is certainly no surprise; indeed, it is the absence of some such species ( Coniophanes picevittis) that is note- worthy. The origin of this portion of the peninsular herpetofauna thus involves the larger question of the origins of the Middle American herpetofauna, a sub- ject treated at length by Savage (1966). Primarily on the basis of modem distri- bution patterns. Savage (1966) charac- terized the genera of Middle American amphibians and reptiles as belonging to four historical assemblages: Old North- ern, Middle American, South American, and Young Northern. He concluded that the herpetofauna of Middle America is not transitional between that of the Neo- tropics and the Nearctic, but rather is sufficiently distinct to stand alone as a separate major herpetofauna. If we ac- cept Savage's interpretation, of the peninsular genera belong to the Old Northern assemblage, to the Mid- dle American assemblage, to the South American assemblage and to the Young Northern assemblage. The re- maining genera cannot be easily referred to a particular assemblage. At the spe- cific level, of the peninsular species show Old Northern affinities, show Middle American affinities, show South American affinities, and show Young Northern affinities. Thus, at the generic and specific levels, the peninsular herpetofauna as a whole shows its great- est affinities with the Middle American assemblage, a conclusion wholly ex- pected on the basis of geography alone. Few genera and species appear to be Nearctic or Neotropical Fig. 19.—South peninsular disjuncts. A. Sceloporus chrysostictus. B. Cnemidophorus angusticeps. C. Conophis lineatus. D. Masticophis mentovarius. E. Stenorrhina Please note that these images are extracted from scanned p
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