Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 47(2):21-26, 2012 Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 6: Amphibians and Reptiles of Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco, Mexico Edgar Flores-Cobarrubias , Daniel Cruz-Sáenz and David Lazcano 1 2, 3 3 Abstract Sampling of amphibians and reptiles was conducted in the municipality of Hostotipaquillo in the northern part of the state of Jalisco. After six months of fieldwork 60 species were registered. This field work was conducted to determine the previously undocumented species richness of the municipality. Resumen Se realizó el muestreo de herpetofauna en el municipio de Hostotipaquillo en el estado de Jalisco con la finalidad de incrementar el conocimiento en cuanto a la riqueza de estos grupos. Después de seis meses de muestreo se registraron 60 especies. Este trabajo se realizó con la finalidad de dar a conocer la diversidad de anfibios y reptiles de este municipio poco conocido. Introduction and Background Mexico is recognized for its richness in amphibian and reptile species, and Jalisco contributes an important number of species to this diversity. It is seventh out of 32 states in terms of herpetofaunal richness, with circa 200 species of amphibians and reptiles (Cruz-Sáenz et al., 2009a). Tropical deciduous forest is the biome with the highest richness in reptiles in Jalisco (Cruz-Sáenz, 2009b). The state is politically divided into 125 municipalities. A number of important papers have been pub- lished on Jalisco’s herpetofauna: Casas-Andreu (1982) and García and Ceballos (1994) surveyed the herpetofauna of the coastal area of the state, and Ramírez-Bautista (1994) worked in the area of Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve. Documenting Mexico’s herpetological richness has received increasing attention in recent years with the publication of numerous scientific articles and books, including: amphibians and reptiles of Aguascalientes (Vázquez-Díaz and Quintero-Díaz, 2005); amphibians and reptiles of Coahuila (Lemos-Espinal and Smith, 2007a); amphibians and reptiles of Chihuahua (Lemos- Espinal and Smith, 2007b); herpetofauna of Valle de México (Ramírez-Bautista et al., 2009); the Bufonidae of Mexico (Oliver- López et al., 2009); snakes of Nuevo León (Lazcano et al., 2010); biodiversity of Sonora (Molina-Freaner and Van Devender, 2010); amphibians and reptiles of Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán (Canseco-Márquez and Gutiérrez-Mayén, 2010); amphibians and reptiles of Querétaro (Dixon and Lemos-Espinal, 2010). Many of the herpetological activities conducted in the country are documented in the abstracts of the Mexican Herpetological Society meetings that have occurred since the early ’80s, includ- ing 2006 (Monterrey), 2008 (Pachuca), 2010 (Toluca). The Santiago River which crosses the southern part of the municipality of Hostotipaquillo has been impacted by a series of hydroelectric plants: Aguamilpa (1994); El Cajón (2007) in Nayarit and Santa Rosa (1964); La Yesca (2012) in Jalisco, interrupting its flow to the Pacific Ocean. In this article we contribute to our better understanding of Jalisco herpetofauna, extending our knowledge on herpetologi- cal patterns of distributions throughout the state. We include a checklist of our study site in the municipality of Hostotipaquillo. Understanding the vertebrate diversity at the site is important for management and conservation actions, issues and programs. It may extend our number of areas dedicated the preservation and conservation of species that could fall in any category within the Mexican Wildlife Laws. Study Area The municipality of Hostotipaquillo is located in the north- ern region of Jalisco, with a surface area of 697.94 km², which represents 0.969% of Jalisco’s territorial surface. It’s about 100 km from Guadalajara, traveling on the Federal Highway #15; the study area is bordered by the municipalities of Tequila to east 1. Centro Universitario de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad de Guadalajara. 2. Centro de Estudios en Zoología de la Universidad de Guadalajara. dcruzsaenz@hotmail.com 3. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Herpetología, Apartado Postal - 513, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, C. P. 66450, México. Location of the municipality of Hostotipaquillo. 21