Annotated Checklist and Bibliography 

 of the Reptiles of Arkansas 



Introduction 



This report is concerned with all available literature regarding the 

 reptilian fauna of Arkansas. Methods for obtaining these sources were 

 scattered and varied, but appear to be relatively complete through the 

 summer of 1983. Each citation is numbered and cross-indexed according to 

 each appropriate taxon of the checklist. 



Actual physiological research is scarce; however, most reports, which 

 are not of a generalized nature, deal primarily with locality data and 

 distribution. This is of a major concern for two reasons. First, Arkansas 

 appears to be a geographic melting pot containing an assemblage of taxa 

 which converge from the northern, southern, eastern and western versants 

 of the United States. Some of the resulting areas of subspecific inter- 

 gradation pose serious taxonomic problems. Second, many of the early 

 publications resulting from the early railroad surveys report collecting 

 data from the "Arkansas Territory." Today, this territory is inclusive 

 of portions of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Hence, many records are 

 of an extralimital nature. 



In order to be of assistance to future researchers, the checklist 

 is broken down into three primary sections: native taxa, extralimital 

 and problematical reports, and the fossil record. The native taxa are 

 those which are currently understood to range into Arkansas. It is 

 divided into several subsections (when applicable) to enhance the access- 

 ability of an appropriate article. The general subsection includes only 

 reports which map or provide general information in reference to the state. 



