HERPETOLOGY OF ZUNI MOXJNTAINS — GEHLBACH 315 



County, Colorado (Masliii, 1959, p. 30), and Los Lunas, Valencia 

 County (Smith, 1949, p. 156); its apparent absence in the Zunis 

 is enigmatical. 



A nmuber of species present in Chihuahuan desert-grassland in 

 extreme eastern Valencia County might be found as far west as Laguna 

 but cannot be expected on the Colorado Plateau. Of these, Phryno- 

 soma modestum (UNMCV 1170) and Cnemidophorus tessellatus 

 (UNAICV 1169) have been taken near Correo. Semiaquatic forms 

 such as Thamnophis sirtalis and Chrysemys picta seem more closely 

 restricted to the Rio Grande. T. sirtalis was reported from Los 

 Lunas, Valencia County, by Fitch and Maslin (1961, p. 299), and a 

 relict colony of C. p>icta (UMMZ 64916-17) also exists there. That 

 turtles were formerly present in the Zunis is suggested by paintings of 

 them on Zuni Indian pottery (Whipple, 1856, p. 66).^ 



Hyla eximia {=H. wrightoruml) listed from Nutria (AIcKinley 

 County?) New Mexico, by Yarrow (1875, p. 524) has not been col- 

 lected during the present study. One of the two original specimens 

 (USNM 8508; the other apparently is lost) was examined, but identity 

 could not be verified owing to its poor state of preservation. Also, 

 P. modestum and Bufo cognatus, recorded from Cottonwood Gulch by 

 Chenoweth (1950), have not been rediscovered despite intensive field 

 work in and around that locality. Since these records are based on 

 one specimen each and the locality is the site of a boys' summer 

 camp, the records are thought to represent introduced individuals. 



Zoogeography 



The Zuni region is situated on the southeastern edge of the Colorado 

 Plateau adjacent to the northeastern limits of the Basin and Range 

 physiographic province. Its zoogeographic miportance is demon- 

 strated by the fact that eight amphibians and reptiles exhibit limited 

 gene flow between intergrading subspecies that are associated better 

 with the Colorado Plateau and other northern areas or the Basin and 

 Range. It is similarly important that six species reach their northern 

 limits of range in the area. To facilitate discussion of these regional 

 patterns, the Zuni herpetofauna may be arranged according to present 

 centers of distribution (table 11); nevertheless, interpretation of past 

 events and causal factors in distribution rests entirely on paleoeco- 

 logical inference in the absence of local fossil records. 



7 Some shells of Chrysemys picta (AMNH 19888, 20580) from the pueblo ruins 

 of Hawikuh, 12 miles southwest of Zuni, Valencia County, recently came to my 

 attention. They have not been dated with precision, but it is known that 

 Hawikuh was abandoned around 1670 A. D. 



