Effects of traditional agroecosystems and grazing areas on amphibian diversity in a region of central Mexico.

Habitat loss or degradation due to land cover change is regarded as one of the main drivers of amphibian decline; therefore, it is imperative to assess the effects of land-cover change on this group of vertebrates. In this study, we analyze changes in alpha and beta diversity of amphibian communities found in five land-cover types: mountain cloud forest, tropical evergreen forest, shade coffee, milpa huasteca, and grazing areas; six samples sites were established for each land-cover type, separated at least one km away. The study was conducted in the northwest part of the state of Hidalgo, in a transition zone between the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Gulf of Mexico, which is a region rich in amphibian species.

Resurrection of Cope, 1864 from synonymy with Hallowell, 1856 (Squamata, Dactyloidae).

In this study, based on a morphological analysis, the resurrection of the name Cope 1864, is proposed for populations from the Yucatán Peninsula (Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, Mexico, and Belize), formerly referred as Hallowell, 1856. differs from by its mean snout-vent length and number of gorgetal scales in males, in tibia length and head width in females, and dorsal and ventral scales for both sexes. In addition, has a small dewlap of similar size between males and females, whereas in males have a dewlap much larger than that of the females.