THE REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OF MONROE COUNTY, 



MICHIGAN. 



CRYSTAL THOMPSON. 



An expedition was sent by the Michigan Biological Survey into 

 Monroe County during the summer of 1913 to determine the reptile- 

 amphibian fauna of the county and to gather additional data on these 

 groups in the southeastern part of the state. 



Monroe County lies in the extreme southeastern corner of Michigan 

 and is ])ordered entirely on the east by Lake Erie — which forms the 

 outlet for the drainage system. The county as a whole is a flat plain 

 sloping very gently to the southeast, the principal stream being the 

 River Raisin Avhich flows in a generally southeasterly direction and 

 empties into the lake about 4 miles east of the city of Monroe. 



Collecting was first carried on along the shores of Lake Erie, in the 

 vicinity of Monroe Piers, and later in the summer along the river about 

 four miles west of the city of Monroe. At Monroe Piers there is a 

 narrow strip of sand beach back of which are hundreds of acres of over- 

 flowed marsh land. This strip of beach is partly covered with vegeta- 

 tion, there are a few large trees and the whole is over-run with wild 

 grape vines. The water averages perhaps three or four feet in depth 

 in the marshes, which are gro^vn up with water plants. Occasionally 

 throughout the marshes are small areas of higher land, and the bed of 

 an electric line running out to the Piers forms a strip of dryer ground. 



The region worked above Monroe is a thickly settled farming country 

 with very little uncultivated land. About one-half mile north of the 

 river and running parallel with it for several miles is a stretch of wood- 

 land — portions of which are not pastured or otherwise disturl)ed. A 

 few small streams enter the river on the north and on the south, but 

 with the exception of a few ponds in an old limestone quarry at Grape 

 there are no ponds or lakes in the region worked. 



The reptile-amphibian fauna is limited now, both in species and in- 

 dividuals. Fourteen species were taken of which six were amphibians 

 and eight reptiles. Several features have com])ined to cause a scarcity 

 of these groups. Storms are very frequent along the lake shore and 

 during the winter and spring months the strip of sand beach is fre- 

 quently entirely submerged — destroying niudi ol' the animal lite. 

 Water birds are abundant and no doul)t consume great num])ers of 



