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INTRODUCTION In 1964, the John K. Strecker Herpetological
Society began its brief existence (disbanded in 1966).
During its short life, this society published The
Reptiles and Amphibians of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, Texas (Dial
& Smith, 1964). It was
hoped that future editions would be produced to give more complete and
accurate information. This
book is intended to fulfill that goal and also to include information on
the surrounding counties of Collin, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman,
Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, and Wise (see Figure 3).
Descriptions of the various habitats found in these Metroplex
counties are located in the first portion of the text.
Maps are included to show the boundaries of each habitat. These boundaries continue to be modified due to the
alteration by agriculture and urbanization.
Also, small isolated patches of habitat are not always indicated.
In some cases transition between habitats is so gradual that it is
difficult to determine which is the representative area.
The remainder of this book consists of species accounts. The accounts are arranged taxonomically with accounts for
class, order, family, and species. The
names used follow the third edition of Standard
Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians and
Reptiles (Collins, 1990).
The first section under the name of the species is status.
Status indicates the relative abundance of the species being
observed or collected. This
does not reflect the actual numbers of a species present as some species
may be more difficult to collect or observe due to secretive habits or
cryptic colorations. For
example, the lesser siren's true numbers are concealed by difficultities
in collecting this entirely aquatic species.
Relative abundance are indicated as follows:
Abundant:
Applied to any species that can be observed or found daily with
search in the appropriate habitat and under proper conditions.
Common: Applied
to species that can be observed or found ten or more times a year when
searched for in appropriate habitat and under proper conditions.
Uncommon:
Applied to species that can be observed or found less than ten
times a year when searched for in appropriate habitat and under proper
conditions.
Rare: Applied
to species that are found two or less times in a two year period when
searched for in appropriate habitat and under proper conditions.
Very rare:
Applied to species that have only one or two records ever
documented or observed in area when searched for in appropriate habitat.
The heart of this book comes from members of various herpetological
organizations and persons interested in studying amphibians and reptiles
of the Metroplex. Without
their observations and collection data, specific and general localities
would not be possible.
Specific and general localities are given for each account in each
Metroplex county. These
localities have been compiled over several years, therefore many areas
have been drastically altered due to urbanization.
The format used for abbreviations for locations are from geographic
distribution records published in the Herpetological
Review (SSAR). Since the
1964 edition, many additional records have been added.
The biogeographic picture is by no means complete.
There are many areas still in need of investigation, especially in
Ellis and Johnson Counties. Specific
localities give an indication of where certain species are found and
provide a starting point for finding them.
Counties with documented voucher specimens have been listed. The Collection of Vertebrates from the University of Texas at
Arlington and Amphibians and
Reptiles in Texas (Dixon, 1987) were used to confirm the county
records.
The normal habitat for each of the amphibians and reptiles in the
counties is indicated under the various species headings.
Some species are almost completely confined to a particular
habitat, while others are more generally distributed.
Occasionally animals are introduced into another habitat by humans.
These introductions are indicated where known.
Many of the habitats in the Metroplex counties have been altered so
drastically that some reptiles and amphibians have become extirpated or
have become rare.
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