Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of the United States

by Jr. Walter E. Meshaka, Suzanne L. Collins, R. Bruce Bury, Malcolm L. McCallum

Overview

The first complete field guide to the exotic amphibians and reptiles established in the continental United States and Hawaiʻi, this volume covers 74 species that are not native to the country and 29 species that are native but occur beyond their original geographic range. Dispersed from their former habitats by human activity, many of these species are invasive in their new environments, causing ecological or economic harm.

Ideal for naturalists of all levels, Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of the United States details each species’ taxonomy, distribution, history, and ecology and portrays each one with vibrant photographs. Drawing on county-level distribution maps from 2,908 published records, this guide provides an in-depth understanding of local factors that drive the success of exotic species. It connects species-specific information to conservation issues as it explores human causes of exotic and invasive establishment. The book also includes eight invited essays which provide regional perspectives on scientific, economic, and management-related aspects of this phenomenon.

As ecological pressures on native species and habitats increase, understanding the histories and roles of exotic species is becoming more and more important for conservation efforts. Providing practical identification skills and an awareness of the environmental impacts of these amphibians and reptiles, this indispensable guide equips readers to confront the unusual biodiversity crisis of exotic species.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813065991
Publisher:	University Press of Florida
Publication date:	02/15/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	76 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Walter E. Meshaka Jr. is senior curator of the Section of Zoology and Botany at the State Museum of Pennsylvania. He is coauthor of The Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. Suzanne L. Collins is a wildlife photographer and coauthor of Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles in Kansas. R. Bruce Bury is scientist emeritus at the U.S. Geological Survey. He is editor-in-chief of the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. Malcolm L. McCallum is a research scientist in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Langston University. He is managing editor of the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

Part 1 Salamanders 13

The Role of Aquaculture in the Problem of Exotic Species Malcolm L. McCallum 15

Salamanders (Caudata)

Mole Salamanders: Ambystomatidae

Western Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium 20

Lungless Salamanders: Plethodontidae

Seal Salamander, Desmognathus monticola 22

Southern Two-lined Salamander, Eurycea cirregerq 23

Part 2 Frogs and Toads 25

The Invasive Coqui: How Far Will It Go, and What Can We Do to Stop It? Karen H. Beard 27

Context Matters in the Fight to Save Frogs Brian Gratwicke 30

Frogs And Toads (Anura)

Toads: Bufonidae

Cane Toad, Rhinella marina 33

Poison Dart Frogs: Dendrobatidae

Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog, Dendrobates auratus 35

Rainfrogs: Eleutherodactylidae

Coqui, Eleuthewdactylus coqui 36

Rio Grande Chirping Frog, Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides 38

Cuban Flat-headed Frog, aka Greenhouse Frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris 39

Treefrogs: Hylidae

Green Treefrog, Hyla cinerea 41

Squirrel Treefrog, Hyla squirella 43

Cuban Treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis 45

Clawed Frogs: Pipidae

African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis 47

True Frogs: Ranidae

Japanese Wrinkled Frog, Glandirana rugosa 49

Rio Grande Leopard Frog, Lithobates berlandieri 50

North American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus 52

North American Green Frog, Lithobates clamitans 54

Northern Leopard Frog, Lithobates pipiens 56

Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus 57

Wood Frog, Lithobates sylvaticus 59

Northern Red-legged Frog, Rana aurora 60

California Red-legged Frog, Rana draytonii 61

Part 3 Turtles 63

Introduced and Extralimital Species of Freshwater Turtles in the Pacific Northwest R. Bruce Bury Brent M. Matsuda 65

Turtles (Testudines)

Snapping Turtles: Chelydridae

Common Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina 70

Box and Water Turtles: Emydidae

Southern Painted Turtle, Chrysemys dorsalis 71

Western Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta belli 73

False Map Turtle, Graptemys pseudogeographica 74

Florida Red-bellied Cooter, Pseudemys nelsoni 76

Northern Red-bellied Cooter, Pseudemys rubriventris 77

Red-eared Slider, Trachemys scripta elegans 79

Softshells: Trionychidae

Florida Softshell, Apalone ferox 81

Smooth Softshell, Apalone mutica 82

Spiny Softshell, Apalone spinifera 84

Wattle-necked Softshell, Palea steindachneri 85

Chinese Softshell, Pelodiscus sinensis 87

Part 4 Lizards 89

Observations from a Reptile Sanctuary in South-Central Pennsylvania Jesse Rothacker 91

The Story of the Argentine Giant Tegu, Salvator merianae, in South Florida: When a New Invader Meets Bureaucratic Reality, Who Will Win? Frank J. Mazzotti 94

Counting Herps Walter E. Meshaka Jr. 100

Lizards (Squamata)

Agamid Lizards: Agamidae

Peter's Rock Agama, Agama picticauda 104

Indo-Chinese Bloodsucker, Calotes mystaceus 105

Variable Bloodsucker, Calotes versicolor 107

Butterfly Lizard, Leiolepis belliana 108

Chameleons: Chamaeleonidae

Veiled Chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus 110

Oustalet's Chameleon, Furcifer oustaleti 111

Jackson's Chameleon, Trioceros jacksonii 113

Casque-headed Lizards: Corytophanidae

Brown Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus 115

Anoles: Dactyloidae

Allison's Anole, Anolis allisoni 116

North American Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis 118

Hispaniolan Green Anole, Anolis chlorocyanus 120

Puerto Rican Crested Anole, Anolis cristatellus 121

Hispaniolan Stout Anole, Anolis cybotes 123

Bark Anole, Anolis distichus 124

Knight Anole, Anolis equestris 126

Jamaican Giant Anole, Anolis garmani 128

Cuban Green Anole, Anolis porcatus 130

Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei 131

True Geckos: Gekkonidae

Bibron's Thick-toed Gecko, Chondrodactylus bibronii 134

Rough-tailed Gecko, Cyrtopodion scabrum 136

Mutilating Gecko, Gehyra mutilata 137

Golden Gecko, Gekko badenii 138

Tokay Gecko, Gekko gecko 140

Common House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus 141

Indo-Pacific House Gecko, Hemidactylus garnotii 143

Tropical House Gecko, aka Wood Slave, Hemidactylus mabouia 144

Sri Lankan Spotted House Gecko, Hemidactylus parvimaculatus 146

Asian Flat-tailed House Gecko, Hemidactylus platyurus 147

Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus 148

Indo-Pacific Tree Gecko, Hemiphyllodactylus typus 151

Mourning Gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris 152

Madagascan Giant Day Gecko, Phelsuma grandis 154

Orange-spotted Day Gecko, Phelsuma guimbeaui 155

Gold Dust Day Gecko, Phelsuma laticauda 157

Ringed Wall Gecko, Tarentola annularis 158

Moorish Gecko, Tarentola mauritanica 159

Sphaerodactyl Geckos: Sphaerodactylidae

Yellow-headed Gecko, Gonatodes albogularis 161

Ocellated Gecko, Sphaerodactylus argus 162

Ashy Gecko, Sphaerodactylus elegans 163

Iguanas: Iguanidae

Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura pectinata 165

Gray's American Spiny-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura similis 166

Green Iguana, Iguana iguana 168

Wall Lizards and Lacertas: Lacertidae

Western Green Lacerta, Lacerta bilineata 171

Common Wall Lizard, Podarcis muralis 172

Italian Wall Lizard, Podarcis siculus 174

Curly-tailed Lizards: Leiocephalidae

Northern Curly-tailed Lizard, Leiocephalus carinatus 176

Red-sided Curly-tailed Lizard, Leiocephalus schreibersii 178

Horned Lizards: Phrynosomatidae

Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum 179

Eugongylid Skinks: Eugongylidae

Pacific Snake-eyed Skink, Cryptoblepharus poecilopleurus 181

Copper-tailed Skink, Emoia cyanura 182

Azure-tailed Skink, Emoia impar 183

Plague Skink, Lampropholis delicata 185

Sun Skinks: Mabuyidae

Brown Mabuya, Eutropis multifasciata 186

African Five-lined Skink, Trachyleopis quinquetaeniata 187

Sphenomorphid Skinks: Sphenomorphidae

Moth Skink, Lipinia noctua 189

Ameivas, Whiptails, Racerunners, and Tegus: Teiidae

Giant Ameiva, Ameiva ameiva 190

Dusky Giant Ameiva, Ameiva praesignis 192

Giant Whiptail, Aspidoscelis motaguae 193

Rainbow Whiptail, Cnemidophorus lemniscatus 195

Argentine Giant Tegu, Salvator merianae 196

Gold Tegu, Tupinambis teguixin 199

Monitor Lizards: Varanidae

Nile Monitor, Varanus niloticus 200

Part 5 Snakes 203

Burmese Python Colonization and Eradication: A Stitch in Time Unnecessarily Missed in the Everglades Michael R. Rochford 205

Snakes(Squamata)

Boas: Boidae

Boa Constrictor, Boa constrictor 209

Harmless Live-bearing Snakes: Natricidae

Southern Watersnake, Nerodia fasciata 210

Common Watersnake, Nerodia sipedon 212

Short-headed Gartersnake, Thamnophis brachystoma 214

Pythons: Pythonidae

Burmese Python, Python bivittatus 215

Northern African Python, Python sebae 218

Blindsnakes: Typhlopidae

Brahminy Blindsnake, Indotyphlops braminus 219

Part 6 Crocodilians 223

Crocodilians (Crocodylia)

Alligators and Caimans: Alligatoridae

Spectacled Caiman, Caiman crocodilus 225

References 227

About the Authors 233

Index 235

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A comprehensive, one-of-a-kind guidebook detailing the exotic reptiles and amphibians established in the United States. A valuable resource for researchers, educators, land managers, and federal and state agencies and NGOs that care for wildlife and the environment.”—Richard Engeman, research statistician and research biologist, National Wildlife Research Center

“In a single volume, the authors have compiled identification, range, ecology, and introductory historical information for all known herpetofauna across the United States. An essential tool in the reference library of any herpetologist, citizen scientist, or natural resource manager.”—Daniel D. Fogell, author of A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Nebraska