Population Biology Commons^™

The Value Of Inspection Stations For Detecting Nonindigenous Species Lacking Agricultural Significance: The Mexican Treefrog, Smilisca Baudinii Complex (Duméril And Bibron 1841) (Hylidae), Interdicted In Florida, Usa, From A Shipment Of Peppers, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

A Mexican Treefrog, Smilisca baudinii, a nonindigenous species, was interdicted for the first time from an imported shipment of peppers. The value of agriculture inspection stations used to make these interdictions is discussed. This is a single cargo interception (Stage 1: Colautti and MacIsaac 2004) and the first record for S. baudinii intercepted in Florida. Currently no evidence suggests that S. baudinii has been successfully introduced into and established in Florida, although this species could survive climatic conditions in the southern part of the state and at the scheduled destination of this shipment.

Cargo transport of alien species is a …

Geographic Distribution: Acrantophis Dumerili (Duméril’S Madagascan Ground Boa). Usa. Florida., Louis A. Somma, Kenneth L. Krysko, Laurence L. Conner

Papers in Herpetology

The geographic distribution of Acrantophis dumerili, a nonindigenous introduced species in Florida, with new records, is presented.

Acrantophis dumerili is indigenous to southern and southwestern Madagascar. We provide the first vouchers for Miami-Dade and Bay counties, which were likely escaped or released pets. Florida already has three established species of booid snakes (one boa, two pythons), all introduced through the pet trade pathway. Although there is no clear evidence for an established population of A. dumerili in Florida at this time, the Bay County individuals in a rural area in the Florida panhandle are a particular concern given that two …

Cuban Treefrogs, Osteopilus Septentrionalis (Duméril & Bibron 1841) (Anura: Hylidae), And Other Nonindigenous Herpetofauna Interdicted In Grenada, Lesser Antilles., Louis A. Somma, Paul R. Graham

Papers in Herpetology

The number of introduced nonindigenous species of amphibians and reptiles within the greater Caribbean, including Grenada, is escalating and has become an ever-increasing critical conservation concern (Daudin and de Silva 2011; Powell et al. 2011; Powell and Henderson 2012). The amount of development, tourism, and consequent import commerce is increasing, requiring careful regulation of the pet trade and fauna introduced for biological control as well as diligence in cargo inspection. Herein we document the first records of nonindigenous Cuban Treefrogs, Osteopilus septentrionalis (Duméril and Bibron 1841), interdicted from cargo, along with recent interceptions of two species of nonindigenous lizards already …

Do Worm Lizards Occur In Nebraska?, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Amphisbaenids, or worm lizards, are a small enigmatic suborder of reptiles (containing 4 families; ca. 140 species) within the order Squamata, which include~ the more speciose lizards and snakes (Gans 1986). The name amphisbaenia is derived from the mythical Amphisbaena (Topsell 1608; Aldrovandi 1640), a two-headed beast (one head at each end), whose fantastical description may have been based, in part, upon actual observations of living worm lizards (Druce 1910). While most are limbless and worm-like in appearance, members of the family Bipedidae (containing the single genus Bipes) have two forelimbs located close to the head. This trait, and …