Africa and Amazonia have very different herpetofaunas, and yet face similar problems. Both struggle to document and conserve biodiversity in the face of burgeoning human populations, massive habitat loss and changing attitudes. Political and social agendas have created a "climate of expectation and a culture of entitlement", and demands for development increasingly conflict with conservation. In response, conservation authorities and organizations have embraced economic arguments based on ecotourism and substantial utilization to ensure the protection of dwindling wildlife. However, such pragmatic stances place increasing pressure on the smaller, less glamorous or non-useful components of biodiversity. How does one convince politicians and the public that non-edible, non-visible frogs, lizards, snakes or invertebrates, need conservation when this will use government funds for no obvious economic (or political) return? Only economic arguments will appeal to politicians in cash-strapped developing countries. End-users of wildlife, i.e. visitors to game parks, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and herpetoculturists, etc., need to accept that their actions have to visibly enrich the lives of poor people in these countries. Otherwise there will be no pragmatic reason for starving people to protect habitats, or for the politicians to enact legislation or distribute the funds necessary for conservation.

    The Reserva Cuzco Amazonico lies on the Rio Madre de Dies in Amazonian Peru. It consists of lowland tropical rainforest and is one of the sites studied during the BIOTROP investigation. During a 5-week trip to the site numerous reptiles and amphibians were encountered. The beauty and biology of this herpetofauna, as well as the joy, pain, excitement and discomfort of a desert herpetologist working in a swamp are discussed..

    The San Diego Zoo Reptile Department began in 1921 with a single boa constrictor and a handful of local snakes. In 1922, Lawrence Klauber became the first curator of reptiles at the Zoo. Klauber began to build a collection of endemic southwestern US herpetofauna, including some exotic species. By 1925, the collection had grown to 976 specimens, an impressive number even by today's standards. The Zoo's first Galapagos tortoises were acquired in 1928 by Dr Townsend of the New York Aquarium. In 1936, due to an ever-growing collection and the need for special facilities to accommodate it, the Zoo began construction of the Klauber - Shaw Reptile House. This building stands today and while the exterior appears much the same, the interior facilities and collection composition have changed considerably. Currently the collection has 847 specimens, comprised of 174 species and subspecies. While not specializing in Latin American species we do have some: 8 amphibian, 8 chelonian, 13 snake and 6 lizard species. The Zoo is working with a number of rare or endangered species such as Komodo dragons, Brothers Island tuatara, bushmasters, Angolan python, Fiji Island iguanas, giant narrow headed soft-shelled turtles, as well as many other interesting forms. A slide program will provide a brief tour of the facilities; an overview of current program highlights and plans for the future will be discussed.

    Five of the world's seven recognized species of marine turtles nest in Costa Rica. This country holds a privileged position in the world as host to two of the four most important mass-nesting beaches for the olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), these being Ostional (Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Ostional) and Nancite (Parque Nacional Santa Rosa). Also important are Parque Nacional Tortuguero for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and Playa Grande, Playa Langosta, and Matina-Tortuguero for the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea). Turtles have been protected under Costa Rican law since 1948, and thecountry is signatory to CITES, ratified in 1973. Most of the nesting beaches mentioned are under some form of protection; nonetheless, there are many threats to this resource of international interest, including:
1) Destruction of nesting habitat - beach development, water contamination, construction and illumination.
2) Illegal egg harvest at all nesting beaches including those in protected areas.
3) Lack of protection in protected areas - most of the national parks and refuges designed to protect these nesting areas are lacking in personnel and resources to adequately apply vigilance to the total expanse of the nesting area. This results in egg poaching and, in the case of Tortuguero, turtle hunting.
4) Lack of control in the turtle egg collection project in Ostional.
5) Lack of control and regulation in the capture and marketing of the green turtle in Limon.
6) High levels of incidental capture of turtles in shrimp nets and on long lines.
7) Lack of control in the issuance of permits for investigation where such investigation requires invasive procedures endangering the turtle. Inability to retrieve data collected by investigators resulting in the "flight" of research data.
8) Lack of support for national or international investigators. Aid and support for responsible and dedicated investigation which helps improve the well being of the resource and communities is non-existent.

    The neotropics are home to a diverse variety of anurans; among these are microhabitat specialists. The microhabitat being defined as any specific hideout used for frequent to permanent housing or for reproductive purposes or for both. A review of the natural histories of a number of amphibians exploiting microhabitats will show them to not only utilize adaptive behavior, allowing them to exploit resources largely untapped by other amphibians, but evolutionary adaptations in their physiology actually compensate for difficulties, or aid in exploitation of their specific hideout. In some cases, these frogs have specialized to a degree of dependence on the often specific nook they exploit. Enacting the majority of their biological functions within hideouts, like tree holes or epiphytic bromeliads, these specialists can require specific setups in captivity, differing from the "average" anuran. Various methods for cage design and maintenance of some of the specialists will be discussed as have been developed by the Amphibia Research Group. Display tactics are proposed for Zoos and Aquariums. Modification to cage design, allowing for visual capabilities in monitoring reproductive activity, are also described.

    Parenteral administration of horse-derived antivenoms constitutes the mainstay in the treatment of snakebite envenomations. These products are immunoglobulin-enriched solutions that neutralize toxins present in venoms. Due to prominent inter- and intraspecific variations in venom composition, horses should be immunized with the most relevant venoms from the region where the antivenom is going to be used, in order to assure efficacy and specificity. Current trends in technological research aimed at improving the quality and coverage of antivenoms include: (1) The introduction of quality control assays to evaluate the neutralizing capacity of antivenoms against venoms of the most important venomous snakes in Latin America. (2) The improvement of antibody purification technologies, in order to obtain products of higher neutralizing potency while inducing less adverse reactions upon administration. (3) The organization of multinational collaborative efforts directed to the standardization of protocols for antivenom production and quality control. If all these efforts succeed, it is likely that in the near future all Latin American countries will have enough supply of efficient and safe antivenoms.

    Costa Rica has a high diversity of dangerously venomous snakes with 14 pitvipers (Agkistrodon bilineatus; Atropoides nummifer and picadoi; Bothriechis lateralis, nigroviridis, and schlegelii; Bothrops asper; Cerrophidion godmani; Crotalus durissus; Lachesis melanocephala and stenophrys; Porthidium nasutum, ophryomegas and volcanicum), 4 coral snakes (Micrurus alleni, clarki, multifasciatus and nigrocinctus), and a sea snake (Pelamis platurus). In addition, some colubrids have caused human envenoming, e.g., Conophis lineatus. Feeding behavior and prey of pitvipers and coral snakes were recorded from 1984-1991 at La Selva Biological Station (LSBS) in northeastern Costa Rica as part of a study by Harry W. Greene (MVZ, UC Berkeley). The four pitvipers found at LSBS will be discussed as follows: Bocaraca (Bothriechis schlegelii), terciopelo (Bothrops asper), mata buey (Lachesis [muta] stenophrys), and tamaga, (Porthidium nasutum). Also included will be the coral (Micrurus nigrocinctus). Interesting ontogenetic changes in the venoms of B. asper, Lachesis and the cascabel Centroamericana (Crotalus durissus ) will be reviewed. Case histories of envenoming by the big three (B. asper, Crotalus and Lachesis) will summarized and illustrated using slides by Dr. Juan Silva Haad of Leticia, Colombia. Finally, a comparison will be made between the terciopelo (high venom output and toxicity; high many bites, but low fatality rate <1%) and the mata buey (low venom output and toxicity; few bites with high mortality of 75%).

    Despite their small land area, islands in the Lesser Antilles harbor a considerable diversity in frogs, mostly members of the genus Eleutherodactylus. Of the seven extant Eleutherodactylus species, two are widespread generalists (E. johnstonei, E. martinicensis), three are single-island endemics living in the high-altitude forests of Dominica (E. amplinympha), Grenada (E. euphronides), and St. Vincent (E. shrevei), and of the two single-island endemics of Guadeloupe, one is a riverine species with webbed toes (E. barlagnei), and the other is a miniaturized form (E. pinchoni). The recently discovered dendrobatid Colostethus chalcopis from Martinique, the large edible crapaud from Montserrat and Dominica (Leptodactylus fallax), its congener L. validus on Grenada and St. Vincent, and the nearly ubiquitous Bufo marinus comprise the remaining species. Two probably introduced species, Osteopilus septentrionalis on St. Maarten and Scinax rubra on St. Lucia, have very restricted distributions in botanical gardens and have not impacted the local fauna. Encroaching touristic development and especially expansion of plantations pose the greatest threat to the frog fauna. Tourism affects species primarily through habitat loss during the development of new facilities, and the numbers of L. fallax consumed on Dominica and Montserrat. The poorly diversified island economies are struggling to increase their agricultural output, and this has resulted in a steady expansion of agricultural lands, even into the higher reaches of the volcanic hills. Although only L. fallax may be considered vulnerable, long-term monitoring of all species, particularly of single-island endemics, is necessary to protect this unique fauna.

    A sizeable, semiaquatic, macroteiid, the monotypic Crocodilurus lacertinus is poorly known, having been mentioned in fewer than a dozen substantive publications during the past century. Recentand historically overlooked data clarify its occurrence in Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru, and expand its known range within Brazil. Apparently rare in parts of western Amazonia, specimens examined recently from that region conform closely with published descriptions. An occupant of riverine swamp forest, flooded forest, and possibly streams, C. lacertinus swims or retreats into shoreline burrows to escape its enemies. Swimming is accomplished via lateral movements of the tail with the limbs adpressed. When restrained, specimens twist and occasionally bite, but show no threat displays. Dentition is pleurodont, with recurved, conical, isodont, sharply pointed teeth anteriorly and some enlarged maxillaries, modifications best suited to grasping, holding, and tearing large prey items. Feeding habits are unknown largely, captives having taken frogs, fishes, crickets, and neonate mice. Stomach contents have consisted of anurans and some arthropods; there is some evidence that anurans are preferred. This lizard is known to vocalize; aside from suggestions that this may be related to either mating or defense, this phenomenon remains uninvestigated. Nothing is known about reproduction.

    Chelonian life history traits have been statistically analyzed for samples that cover from genera to several families, but mostly without comparing the tropical species with those that occur in temperate areas. A common problem to all studies is the use of mathematical transformations that are of doubtful, if any, biological value. In this poster we present the results of a different approach: life history characteristics are analyzed with modern, distribution-free statistical techniques without transforming them to logarithmic or similar values. The emphasis is on comparing tropical and temperate species.

    A sudden crash of amphibian populations in 1987 led to the disappearance of the endemic Golden Toad (Bufo periglenes), the Harlequin Frog (Atelopus varius), and many other species from seemingly undisturbed habitats in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica's Cordillera de Tilaran. This and similar cases in highland areas of other continents have caused alarm and controversy because of the suggestion that agents more subtle than habitat loss and fragmentation may be threatening biological communities on a global scale. Debate has focused on whether the observed patterns differ from those expected from natural population dynamics. The number of disappearances among the anurans of Monteverde, analyzed in the context of known demographic variability, suggests that the phenomenon goes beyond natural fluctuations. Furthermore, although discussion of the declines has focused on frogs, toads, and salamanders, lizards and snakes have also been affected. Climate change may be a key underlying factor. There is 24-year trend toward increasingly severe dry seasons and concordant biological responses to this trend by breeding birds and anoline lizards. The catastrophic nature of the amphibian declines has led to the hypothesis that unusually warm, dry weather in 1987 interacted with other sources of mortality such as pathogenic microparasites.

    A nine-month herpetological survey carried out between August '96 and April '97 at the site of the Corumba hydroelectric power plant in Goias, Brazil, resulted in 31 species of amphibians (2 orders) and 64 species of reptiles with 41 species of snakes (6 families), 18 species of lizards (6 families) and 4 species of amphisbaenians, with 14,000 specimens collected. The study site is a mosaic of gallery forests and Cerrado with an intense human occupation owing to tourism to Caldas Novas county's hot springs. It represents a fauna of the Corumba River, a tributary of the Paranaiba River (Parana River basin), not yet known and described. This is one of a series of efforts carried out by the Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas Biologicas to characterize the herpetofauna of Central Brazil and will be used in comparative studies of the diversity of these taxa in this part of the country related to other biomes (Amazon rainforest, Pantanal, Atlantic rainforest, and Caatinga)

    The Dallas Zoo has enjoyed success maintaining several species of Latin American pitvipers in captivity. To date, approximately 50 species of pitvipers from this region have been maintained at this institution. Of those species, nearly half have bred and produced offspring. Numerous original research projects have been performed at the Dallas Zoo with these viperids. Such research includes the combat ritual of the rock rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus), strike-induced chemosensory searching in the bushmaster (Lachesis muta), and loreal pit impaction in a black-speckled palm-pitviper (Bothriechis nigroviridis). Published works reporting significant reproductions include the reproductive biology of the Uracoan rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus vegrandis), breeding of the bushmaster (Lachesis muta), and the captive reproduction of the speckled forest-pitviper (Bothriopsis taeniata).

    Intraspecific variation in pitvipers has been documented by looking at external characters such as scutellation, color pattern and venom variation. Molecular markers are also importanttools for the analysis of intrapopulational variation, particularly since high levels of variation can be observed at the genetic level. A good knowledge of the extent of this variation is fundamental to elucidate the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of species and populations. A case study is presented in where the morphological diversity of the pitviper Bothrops asper from Middle America was studied. Despite its abundance and clinical importance, the taxonomic status of B. asper remains controversial. The effects of gender, ontogeny and geography were examined for morphological characters of taxonomic importance. Sex differences were observed in several traits: females are larger and have more ventrals and dorsal rows, and can be distinguished by landmark measures. Males have a higher number of subcaudals and are usually more heavily pigmented in the supralabial region. Age does not affect scutellation, although it does influence pigmentation patterns. Geographic differences in several morphological characters were evident from the analysis. The seven populations included in this study can be clustered in two major groups: those in Mexico and Nuclear Central America, and those from Isthmian Central America. Distinction between these groups is possible in terms of univariate and multivariate statistics, and also employing optimization criteria for a hypothesis of relationships among populations. The geographical differences in B. asper are explained in terms of population fragmentation due to formation of xeric barriers separating mesic regions inhabited by the species or by isolation by distance between populations within each region.

    Despite their extension and relative accessibility, dry areas of Middle America have received little attention in terms of herpetological studies. Tropical dry forest, tropical very dry forest and subtropical dry forest, dominates these areas, with annual precipitations between 500 mm and 1500 mm. A continuous corridor of xeric conditions runs along the Pacific coast, from southern Guatemala to the Peninsula de Nicoya, Costa Rica. There is also a disjunctive series of subhumid valleys from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec along eastern Guatemala and northern Honduras. Herpetological communities are highly diverse in these habitats: from 76 to 81 species are reported to occur there. Amphibians and reptiles distributed in these areas are adapted to the drastic conditions that affects them. Reproduction is extremely seasonal in the majority of the species, with hatchlings emerging at the beginning of the rainy season (May-June) Great similarity is found in the herpetological composition between these arid localities in Central America, even among the isolated dry-valleys of Nuclear Central America. A proposed study to account for the biogeography and origin of these isolated herpetological communities is presented.

    There are very few descriptive papers on the herpetofauna of Central Brazil and most of them deal with a specific category (amphibians, lizards or snakes) rather than a more complete faunal characterization. With the results of the collecting work carried out by the Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas Biologicas since 1987, we begin to have a first picture of the amphibians and reptiles of the state of Goias. With the recent help of a faunal survey for the Serra da Mesa hydroelectric power plant at the upper Tocantins River (Cerrado vegetation) we produced a checklist that possibly represents up to 80% of the herpetofauna of the region. So far we have recognized 37 species of amphibians in 2 orders (Anura and Gymnophiona) and 6 families, and 95 species of reptiles with 6 Species of amphisbaenians, 23 species of lizards (9 families), 60 species of snakes (8 families), 4 species of turtles (3 families), and 2 species of crocodilians. Among the taxa collected, we have at least 5 new species of reptiles. Comparative studies with the known herpetofauna of the lower Tocantins River (Amazon rainforest) are underway, and a new one-year collecting project in the middle Tocantins River (possible ecotone) is to begin in a few months.