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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 15, No. 5, pp. 205-249, pls. 7-10, 6 figs.

-------------- October 4, 1963 --------------

Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala

BY WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE 1963

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Theodore H. Eaton, Jr.

Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 205-249, pls. 7-10, 6 figs. Published October 4, 1963

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED BY JEAN M. NEIBARGER, STATE PRINTER TOPEKA, KANSAS 1963

29-5935

Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala

WILLIAM E. DUELLMAN

CONTENTS

PAGE INTRODUCTION 207 Acknowledgments 208

DESCRIPTION OF AREA 208 Physiography 209 Climate 209 Vegetation 209

GAZETTEER 210

THE HERPETOFAUNA OF THE RAINFOREST 211 Composition of the Fauna 212 Ecology of the Herpetofauna 212 Relationships of the Fauna 217

ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES 218

HYPOTHETICAL LIST OF SPECIES 246

SUMMARY 247

LITERATURE CITED 247

INTRODUCTION

Early in 1960 an unusual opportunity arose to carry on biological field work in the midst of virgin rainforest in southern El Peten, Guatemala. At that time the Ohio Oil Company of Guatemala had an air strip and camp at Chinaja, from which place the company was constructing a road northward through the forest. In mid-February, 1960, J. Knox Jones, Jr. and I flew into El Peten to collect and study mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. While enjoying the comforts of the fine field camp at Chinaja, we worked in the surrounding forest and availed ourselves of the opportunity to be on hand when the road crews were cutting the tall trees in the forest, thereby bringing to the ground many interesting specimens of the arboreal fauna. We stayed at Chinaja until late March, with the exception of a week spent at Toocog, another camp of the Ohio Oil Company located 15 kilometers southeast of La Libertad and on the edge of the savanna. Thus, at Toocog we were able to work both in the forest and on the savanna. In the summer of 1960, John Wellman accompanied me to El Peten for two weeks in June and July. Most of our time was spent at Chinaja, but a few days were spent at Toocog and other localities in south-central El Peten.

Many areas in Guatemala have been studied intensively by L. C. Stuart, who has published on the herpetofauna of the forested area of northeastern El Peten (1958), the savannas of central El Peten (1935), and the humid mountainous region to the south of El Peten in Alta Verapaz (1948 and 1950). The area studied by me and my companions is covered with rainforest and lies to the north of the highlands of Alta Verapaz and to the south of the savannas of central El Peten. A few specimens of amphibians and reptiles were obtained in this area in 1935 by C. L. Hubbs and Henry van der Schalie; this collection, reported on by Stuart (1937), contained only one species, Cochranella fleischmanni, not present in our collection of 77 species and 617 specimens.