AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST AND KEY 

 TO THE SNAKES OF MEXICO 



By HoBAKT M. Smith and Edward H. Taylor 



INTRODUCTION 



The beginning of our active interest in the herpetology of Mexico 

 dates from the summer of 1932, when a joint collecting trip intro- 

 duced us to a region and fauna that have never ceased to stimulate us 

 to further investigation. We have had the good fortune since then 

 to spend a fair proportion of our time in the field or in the laboratory, 

 pursuing our prime interest, although other circumstances have in- 

 termittently interrupted and delayed our progress. 



Entering a rich field for exploration and study — one of the most 

 productive in the world — we soon were not alone, and recent years 

 have witnessed a growth in knowledge of Mexican herpetology prob- 

 ably paralleled by no other 12 years in the history of any other part of 

 this continent. Tens of thousands of specimens are now available in 

 museums where, 12 years ago, all the mainland Mexican specimens 

 probably totaled less than 2,000. The task of keeping abreast of such 

 rapidly expanding collections has been tremendous, and we cannot 

 claim to have accomplished it completely. In fact, the present project 

 has been completed only through the unusual opportunity for con- 

 tinuous work in the field and in the laboratory afforded by the Walter 

 Rathbone Bacon Traveling Scholarship, granted by the Smithsonian 

 Institution to the senior author for 3 years, from 1938 to 1941. 



We have been able to study in detail the United States National 

 Museum and the Taylor-Smith collections, but others have, for the 

 most part, been less thoroughly examined. Regardless of the thor- 

 oughness with which all collections from Mexico now available in the 

 United States might be studied— a task that would require more time 

 than we can now devote — subsequent years would reveal much to 

 augment and to modify our tentative list. Accordingly we submit the 

 following with a full understanding of its temporary status and feel 

 that even with its shortcomings the time is ripe for such a summary 

 and that its availability will stimulate contributions that otherwise 

 might not be forthcoming for many years. 



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