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IRCFReptIles&AmphIbIAns•20(2):92–94•Jun2013
On16April2013,duringannualturtlepopulationsam-plingatComalsprings(landalake)innewbraunfels,
texas (29.714917°n, -98.135292°W, Datum WGs84),theauthorscollectedandidentifiedanadultmale(Cl166mm)Yellow-belliedslider(Trachemys scripta scripta;Fig.1).
thisturtlewascaughtbyhandwhilesnorkelingthenorth-ernescarpmentsideoflandalake,theheadwatersoftheComalRiver.photographsofthespecimenweresenttotheAmphibianandReptileDiversityResearchCenterat theuniversityoftexasatArlington (utADC#s8054–8056),
i n t r o d u c e d s p e c i e s
IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S
Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190
The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198
R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S
The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida
.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212
C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T
World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225
H U S B A N D R Y
Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226
P R O F I L E
Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234
C O M M E N T A R Y
The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238
B O O K R E V I E W
Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243
CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252
Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.
Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo
estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus
aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque
moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as
IRC
F
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y
WWW.IRCF.ORG/ReptIlesAnDAmphIbIAnsJOuRnAl
First Account of the Yellow-bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) in texas
ericC.munscher1,stephenG.Ross1,Chrishavel2,l.K.WolfeIII1,ChrisCollins1,andRoxanneA.losey3
1sWCAenvironmentalConsultants,10245WestlittleYorkRoadsuite600houstontexas77040,usA([email protected],[email protected],[email protected],[email protected])
2seaworldsanAntonio,10500seaWorldDrive,sanAntonio,texas,78251,usA([email protected])3Disney’sAnimalKingdom,551nRainforestRd,lakebuenaVista,Florida32830.usA([email protected])
photographsbyl.K.WolfeIII
92Copyright©2013.ericC.munscher.Allrightsreserved.
Fig. 1.AnadultmaleYellow-belliedslider(Trachemys scripta scripta;uF168594)capturedduringthe2013springsamplingsessionofalong-termmoni-toringprogramatComalsprings(landapark),newbraunfels,texas.notetheyellowcheekpatchcharacteristicofthistaxon.
93
IntRODuCeDspeCIes IRCFReptIles&AmphIbIAns•20(2):92–94•Jun2013
whereDr.Carl J.Franklin,basedonkeymorphologicalcharacteristicsthatdiffersubstantiallyfromthoseoftheRed-earedslider(T. s. elegans)(e.g.,ConantandCollins1991,buhlmannetal.2008), identifiedthisturtleasaYellow-belliedslider. thissubspecieshasneverbeenreportedfromtexas.OurphotographicvouchersrepresentnotonlyaComalCountyrecord(Dixon2000,2012)butanewrecordforthestateoftexas(Dixon2000,2012).severalotherturtlescapturedduringthefirstyearofsamplingatComalspringsalsohadcharacteristicsofYellow-belliedslidersthatincludedlargeyellowcheekpatchesandblackplastralmottling(Fig.2).WebelievethattheseindividualsmightbeintergradesbetweenYellow-belliedandRed-earedsliders. manyturtlespecies,includingRed-earedsliders,Yellow-belliedsliders,andmississippimapturtles(Graptemys pseu-dogeographica kohnii),havebeenwidelysoldthroughoutthecountrybythepetindustry(Kryskoetal.2011).AlthoughYellow-belliedsliderscurrentlyarenotabundantinthetexaspettrade,webelievethatthevoucherspecimenismostlikelya“petturtle”dropoff,whereinayoungturtlewaspurchased
andtheownersubsequentlyreleaseditintoalocalwaterway.thisindividual’srelativelysmallsize(presumablyreflectingayoungageclass)suggeststhatthisturtlehadrecentlybeenreleasedatthepark.Roseetal.(1998)reportedasimilarsitu-ationinanearbylocalitybydocumentingtheintroductionofFloridaRed-belliedCooters(Pseudemys nelsoni)inhaysCounty,texas. InvasivespecieshavebeenamajorissueinFloridaformanyyears(Kryskoetal.2011).AlthoughtexashasfewerinvasivespeciesthanFlorida,speciesliketheYellow-belliedslidercanposeseriousecologicalissues.Introducedsliderscouldcompetewithnativespeciesor,assuggestedbythepresenceofputativehybrids,compromisethegeneticinteg-rityofnativeRed-earedslidersthroughinterbreeding.
AcknowledgementsWethankthesWCAenvironmentalconsultantsforsupport-ingtheresearchcrewduringthesamplingatComalspringsaswellascurrentandpastnorthAmericanFreshwaterturtleResearchGroup(nAFtRG)volunteers,whohavefacilitatedthislong-termstudyoverthepast14years.
Fig. 2. possiblehybridbetweennativeRed-earedandintroducedYellow-belliedsliders(Trachemys scripta elegans xT. s. scripta)showingcharacteristicsofbothsubspecies.thisturtlewascapturedduringthe2013springsamplingsessionofalong-termmonitoringprogramatComalsprings(landapark),newbraunfels,texas.
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IRCFReptIles&AmphIbIAns•20(2):92–94•Jun2013IntRODuCeDspeCIes
Literature Citedbuhlmann,K,t.tuberville,andW.Gibbons.2008.Turtles of the Southeast.
universityofGeorgiapress.Athens.
Conant,R.andJ.t.Collins.1991.A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern and Central North America. 3rded.houghtonmifflinCompany,boston,massachusetts.
Dixon,J.R.2000.Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas.2nded.texasA&muniversitypress,Collegestation.
Dixon,J.R.2013.Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas with Keys, Taxonomic Synopses, Bibliography, and Distribution Maps.3rded.texasA&muniversitypress,Collegestation.
Krysko,K.l.,K.m.enge,andp.e.moler.2011.Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Florida.FinalReport,projectAgreement08013.FloridaFishandWildlifeConservationCommission,tallahassee.
Rose,F.l.,R.W.manning,t.R.simpson,ands.Jenkins.1998.Asustainingpopula-tionoftheFloridaRed-belliedturtle,Pseudemys nelsoni(Reptilia:emydidae)inspringlake,haysCounty,texas.Texas Journal Science50:89–92.