6 ^ Alexander G. Rutitvkn 



from July first, on the west end of the range. During this time collecting 

 was done from the coast at Santa Marta to the bench at 8,300 feet (the 

 Cerro Ouemado) on San Lorenzo, the territory covered being a strip 

 through the villages and haciendas of Santa Marta, Bolivar (,I)\ La Tigrera 

 (II;, Minca (HI), Agua Dulce (IV), and Cincinnati (V), and on the 

 lowlands at La Gaira, Cienega, and Fundacion. Subsequent to this time 

 M. A. Carriker, Jr. made collections which supplemented the series obtained 

 at the west end of the range and provided information on the fauna of the 

 north side of the range from Don Diego to snow-line. In 1920 the writer 

 with Mr. Gaige again visited the range, and during June obtained ad- 

 ditional information on the fauna of the forested area on San Lorenzo, 

 exploring the great valleys on the east side of San Lorenzo and the head- 

 waters of the Rio Cordova. In July and August Mr. Carriker, Mr. Gaige, 

 and the writer went to Riohacha by boat, and, securing mules from the 

 Indians, worked entirely around the range by way of Arroya de Arenas, 

 Fonseca, San Juan de Cesar, Valle de Upar, Valencia, and Fundacion, 

 arriving at Santa Marta on August 13. The localities at which collecting 

 was done are given in Mr. Carriker's account which follows. 



In the field an attempt was made to obtain data on habits, ecological 

 distribution, and exact limits of ranges, in the belief that the most detailed 

 geographic and ecological data are needed in the interpretation of relation- 

 ships and distributions. Anyone acquainted with the secretive habits of 

 the amphibians and reptiles, and giving consideration to the size of the 

 region, the diversity of conditions, and the number of species comprising 

 the fauna, will understand the difficulties of the task. No one can appre- 

 ciate better than the writer the incompleteness of the results. The nature 

 of the field work in itself limited the areas and the forms that could be 

 studied in detail. However, it has seemed that the publication of the results 

 is justified in several ways: The reptile-amphibian fauna was practically 

 unknown ; there is a distinct possibility that the natural conditions will be 

 greatly changed in the near future ; and certain conclusions, bearing on 

 the general problems which were attacked, are possible from the data. 



Acknoivlcdgmcnts: It is with great pleasure, but with considerable 

 difficulty, that the writer attempts to acknowledge the assistance received 

 during the progress of this study. The expeditions were made possible by 

 Dr. Bryant Walker, who has so consistently supported several of the activi- 

 ties of the Museum. In the field the assistance and hospitality of Mr. and 

 Mrs. Orlando L. Flye, Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Carriker, Jr., Mr. Robert Sar- 

 gent, and Mr. William Flye contributed so largely to the success of the 

 work that it is not exaggerating to say that to them belongs in considerable 

 part the credit for the results obtained. The indebtedness of the members 

 of the University of Michigan expeditions to these persons cannot be satis- 

 factorily expressed, but it should be pointed out that such knowledge as 

 we have of the fauna of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is in no small 

 part due to the assistance and advice which Mr. Flye has so freely and 



1 These numbers are used on the map to indicate the location of the haciendas. 



