Animales mexicanos del desierto en peligro de extincin*

Alejandra Alvarado Zink**

Annelies Alvarado Zink

Zona desrtica de Mxico.

Jen Green, Un cacto saguaro, Correo del Maestro- La Vasija,
Mxico, 2005.

El 2006 ha sido llamado Ao Internacional de los Desiertos y la Desertificacin por la Asamblea

General de las Naciones Unidas. El objetivo de esta medida es dar a conocer la biodiversidad
que existe en esas zonas y ayudar a protegerlas de la explotacin humana, pues los desiertos
son regiones de baja productividad y poseen una compleja ecologa.
Como una forma de aportar a este esfuerzo de divulgacin y conservacin, en el presente
artculo daremos a conocer a los maestros y alumnos de educacin bsica una parte
representativa de la biodiversidad que habita en los desiertos mexicanos, ya que,
lamentablemente, muchas especies se pueden perder para siempre si no tomamos conciencia y
ayudamos desde nuestros hogares a protegerlas y conservarlas.

Figura 1. Zonas desrticas en la Repblica Mexicana.

Los desiertos mexicanos

En Mxico las zonas desrticas son las ms extensas. Llegan a ocupar ms de 52% del
territorio nacional y abarcan los estados de Baja California, Coahuila, Zacatecas,
Aguascalientes, la mayor parte de Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo Len, Tamaulipas,
algunas partes de los estados de Sinaloa, Nayarit, Colima, Jalisco, Michoacn, Guerreo,
Guanajuato, Quertaro, San Luis Potos, Hidalgo y Morelos (ver fig. 1).
A pesar de las condiciones climticas extremosas que presentan los desiertos, stos dan
albergue a diversas especies que han logrado adaptarse y sobrevivir en ese medio desde hace
miles de aos, y constituyen el lugar ms importante de evolucin de los cactos.1

La intervencin del hombre

La biodiversidad en las zonas desrticas, no slo de Mxico sino de todo el mundo, se ha visto
afectada y se encuentra en peligro por diversas actividades humanas. Entre las principales
amenazas podemos encontrar las actuales prcticas de agricultura y el creciente sobrepastoreo,
que modifican el ecosistema natural y que requieren de grandes cantidades de agua para su
mantenimiento.
Esto ha dado como resultado la degradacin de 20% de los ecosistemas de tierras ridas,
con consecuencias lamentables como la desertificacin y sequa, y, por consiguiente, la
disminucin de cerca de 2311 especies, y la prdida de millones de dlares en produccin
agrcola en todo el mundo, as como el incremento de algunos problemas sociales, econmicos
y polticos.

Prcticas sustentables
Para poder proteger, conservar y usar adecuadamente mediante prcticas sustentables a las
especies de fauna en nuestro pas, se han creado leyes como la Norma Oficial, mejor conocida
como NOM 059 SEMARNAT 2001. En esta Norma Oficial podemos encontrar la categora de riesgo
o estatus en la que se encuentran varias de las especies mexicanas.
A continuacin les ofrecemos informacin particular sobre algunas de las especies de
animales del desierto mexicano que se encuentran en alguna de las categoras de riesgo, de
acuerdo con la Norma Oficial.2
Algunas especies de animales del desierto que se encuentran
dentro de la Norma Oficial (NOM 059 SEMARNAT 2001)
ESPECIES DE AVES ESPECIES DE MAMFEROS ESPECIES DE REPTILES
Lagartijo mesquite
Tecolotito colicorto Berrendo
Micrathene whitneyi Sceloporus
Antilocapra americana
grammicus
Camalen cornudo
Research in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Eastern
Sonora, Mexico:
Montane Fauna
Photos by T.R. Van Devender unless otherwise credited
A number of animals are primarily found in the
woodlands and forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental
above the tropical lowlands. Some of them are
Mexican species while others also occur in the
Madrean sky island ranges in southeastern Arizona,
or are more widespread in the southwestern United
States. Pine-oak forest from east of Ycora, Sonora.
In the 1970's Steve Prchal, Assistant Curator
of Small Animals at the Desert Museum,
discovered an interesting tarantula on Mesa del
Campanero west of Ycora, Sonora. (Prchal
later founded Sonoran Arthropod Studies
Institute) He sent a preserved specimen to the
tarantula monographer Andrew M. Smith in
England, who described the new species
Aphonopelma moorei in 1994. Enigmatically he
dubbed it the Sonoran copper head even
though the thorax is metallic green and
copperhead more commonly refers to the pit
viper of the southeastern United States and
northeastern Mexico (Agkistrodon contortrix),
a relative of the tropical pichecuate (A.
bilineatus) which reaches its northern range
limit in southern Sonora. The Madrean green
tarantula is a better common name (not that
most invertebrates have common names).
Photo: R. L. Bellsey from near the type locality
on Mesa del Campanero, Sonora.

In late summer butterflies are abundant and diverse
in all habitats from the tropical lowlands to the
montane forests in the Sierra. Butterflies are
especially common visiting the various red-flowered
plants in the oak woodlands and pine-oak forests.
Here, a sulphur butterfly (Pieridae) is visiting Texas
betony (Stachys coccinea). Photo: Z. Liu.
Field parties from the University of Arizona
lead by Charles H. Lowe discovered the first
population of a new lungless salamander
(Plethodontidae) about 21 km west-southwest
of Ycora on rainy nights in September of
1964. The salamanders were in wet logs in the
steep, mesic, shady canyons in pine-oak forest
east of Santa Ana on the old road from Nuri to
Ycora on the west side of Mesa del
Campanero. The specimens were described as
the pine-oak salamander (Pseudoeurycea bellii
sierraoccidentalis) in 1968. In 1987 Tom Van
Devender discovered a second population near
Ocampo, east of Ycora. These populations are
almost 900 km north of the nearest population
of the nominate subspecies (P. b. bellii) in the
Sierra de Nayarit. Photo: E. T. Nichols from
near Ocampo, Chihuahua.
Left: The pine toad (Bufo occidentalis) lives in
rocky habitats in pine-oak forest in the Sierra
Madre Occidental and was reported as far
north as Chihuahua. Observations from Mesa
del Campanero, Arroyo El Reparo, and west of
Ycora are the first records for Sonora. Photos:
(top) R. L. Bellsey from Mesa del Campanero,
Sonora; (bottom) G. M Ferguson from west of
Yecora.
The Mexican toad (Bufo microscaphus mexicanus) is
The mountain treefrog (Hyla wrightorum) is
common in the pine-oak forests in the Sierra Madre
closely related to and has often been
Occidental in Durango and Chihuahua. In Sonora, it is
considered a subspecies of the more southerly
found in the Ycora area, and probably other
H. eximia. On rainy nights in August and
mountains to the north along the Chihuahua border.
September these little green frogs forage in
It is geographically separated from the Arizona toad
the Ycora area. There are isolated northern
(B. m. microscaphus) found from southwestern New
populations in the Huachuca Mountains and on
Mexico northwest along the Mogollon Rim into
the Mogollon Rim near Flagstaff. Photo: R. D.
southern Nevada and southwestern Utah, and the
Bartlett from near Ycora.
California toad (B. m. californicus) in southwestern
California and northwestern Baja California. Photo: G.
M. Ferguson from the Cinega de Camilo, east of
Maycoba, Sonora.

The mesquite lizard (Sceloporus grammicus) is

widely distributed from Oaxaca in
southwestern Mexico north to extreme
southern Texas and Chihuahua. Specimens
observed in pine-oak forest on the Mesa del
Campanero above Ycora are the first records
for Sonora. Like the tree lizard (Urosaurus
ornatus) of lower elevations, the mesquite
lizard is a cryptic species that is perfectly
camouflaged on tree bark. Photo: G. M.
Ferguson.

The alligator lizard (Elgaria kingii) occurs in oak

woodland and pine forest from Durango and Sinaloa
northward to central Arizona and southwestern New
Mexico. In eastern Sonora, the Madrean alligator
lizard (E. k. kingii) is replaced by the Arizona alligator
lizard (E. k. nobilis) north of Ycora. One animal was
seen in tropical deciduous forest near Santa Ana
southwest of Ycora. There is an isolated population
on the Sierra de Alamos in southern Sonora. Primitive
alligator lizards (Anguidae) were common in early
tertiary tropical forests long before the formation of
the Sierra Madre Occidental in the late Oligocene-
early Miocene (30 to 15 million years ago). Photos:
(top) G. M. Ferguson from near Pinos Altos,
Chihuahua; (bottom) C. D. Bertelsen from the Sierra
de Alamos, Sonora .

Slevins bunchgrass lizard (Sceloporus slevini) is

found from northern Durango through the Sierra
The striped plateau lizard (Sceloporus virgatus)
Madre Occidental to southeastern Arizona and
occurs from western Chihuahua and eastern
southwestern New Mexico. This heavy-bodied little
Sonora in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental
lizard lives in high-elevation woodland and forest up
north to southeastern Arizona and
11,000 feet and in plains grasslands as low as 4300
southwestern New Mexico. Formerly, it was
feet. It is surprisingly agile and hard to see or catch
considered a subspecies of the fence or prairie
in bunch grasses in open meadows. Bunch grass
lizard (S. undulatus) which occurs from coast
lizards have two very different color forms. In one
to coast with various subspecies. It especially
there are rows of crescentic dark blotches and bright
resembles the southern plateau lizard (S. u.
white lateral dorsal stripes. The specimen pictured
consobrinus) but has a stronger striped
here from Mesa del Campanero, Sonora, has
pattern. The common name is a misnomer
relatively little dorsal color pattern.
because it does not live on the Colorado
Plateaus to the north in Arizona. It is a species
of the oak woodland and lower pine-oak forest.

In a recent taxonomic revision the mountain skink
(Eumeces callicephalus) was redefined as a
subspecies of the four-lined skink (Eumeces
tetragrammus). Now the species has an overall range
from central Texas to southeastern Arizona and south
to Veracruz and Guanajuato. with the mountain skink
(E. t. callicephalus) in the western portion. Like many
tropical animals, the mountain skink is found
primarily in rocky stream canyons in oak woodland in
the Madrean sky island ranges in Arizona but is much
more widespread in various habitats from the tropical
lowlands to montane forests in Sonora. This smooth
lizard easily escapes predators by diving into leaf
The Sonoran mountain kingsnake
(Lampropeltis pyromelana) is a brightly-
colored diurnal snake that lives in rocky
canyons in woodlands and forests from Utah
south through Arizona and southwestern New
Mexico into northeastern Sonora and
northwestern Chihuahua. Although it is similar
in color pattern to the California mountain
kingsnake (L. zonata), the Sonoran mountain
kingsnake is likely a northwestern relative of
the Mexican kingsnake (L. mexicana) complex
which has a series of colorful geographic
subspecies from Texas south to central Mexico
litter or leaving behind its writhing blue tail as a
distraction. Photo: R. W. Van Devender from Arizona.
The Madrean mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis
pyromelana knoblochi) in the Sierra Madre Occidental
in Sonora and Chihuahua with high numbers of triads
scalloped white lateral lines below the triads is the
most distinct subspecies of mountain kingsnake. The
Ycora area in eastern Sonora may be the only area
where mountain kingsnakes (supposed mimic) and
the west Mexican coral snake (venomous model)
could actually be found close to each other. Photo by
R. W. Van Devender of individual from near Ycora,
Sonora.
The black-necked gartersnake (Thamnophis
and back northwest to Durango. During the
1970s and 1980s various Mexican kingsnakes
were heavily collected and extensively bred in
captivity. The nominate subspecies of the
mountain kingsnake (L. p. pyromelana)
pictured here is typical of southern Arizona
animals although the width of the red bands
and number of triads are variable within
populations and among different sky island
populations. Another subspecies characterized
by fewer triads and thus more red was named
L. p. woodini in honor of Bill Woodins (the
Museums second Director) research on
mountain kingsnake taxonomy and ecology.
Photo: J. S. Applegarth from Santa Rita
Mountains, Arizona.
The Mexican gartersnake (Thamnophis eques)
is found Oaxaca north to southeastern Arizona
and adjacent New Mexico. The northern
subspecies (T. e. megalops) is widespread in
Chihuahua and Sonora. In 1950 Bill Woodin,
future director of the Desert Museum, reported
that the Mexican gartersnake was common in
irrigation canals along Rillito wash north of
Tucson. Later its range in Arizona contracted to
just a few populations in three southeastern
counties and it is a species of conservation
concern for Arizona and Pima County. Another
subspecies with a thin middorsal stripe and
dark ground color (T. e. virgatenuis) is found in
the Sierra Madre Occidental in eastern Sonora
and west-central and southern Chihuahua.
Photo: R. W. Van Devender from the Canelo
Hills, Arizona.
Sierra Madre horned lizard (Phrynosoma
 orbiculare) is found from Puebla in south-
cyrtopsis) is a common, widespread snake found
central Mexico north to the Laguna Babcora,
near streams in rocky canyons throughout the Chihuahua. Observations of the northern
southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. subspecies (P. o. bradti) from east of Ycora
are the first records for Sonora. It lives in pine-
Photographed near Ycora by G. M. Ferguson. oak forest in our region. This species, the
closely-related short-horned lizard (P.
hernandesi) and the more distantly-related
rock horned lizard (P. ditmarsi) are unusual for
the genus Phrynosoma because they are
ovoviviparous (the eggs are retained inside the
body until hatching and the young are born
alive). Photo: G. M. Ferguson from east of
Ycora, Sonora.

Above two images: Pituophis melanoleucus is widespread across the continent with many geographical
subspecies, mostly recognized by different color patterns, that are variously called pine snake (eastern
United States), bull snake (central United States), gopher snake (western United States), and vbora
sorda (Mexico). The vbora sorda in the Sierra Madre Occidental with contrasting black and white
blotches on the anterior body grading to rich yellowish brown posteriorly, and a peach colored head is
especially handsome. The populations between Madera, Chihuahua, and Ycora probably warrant
recognition as a new subspecies.

Left: The color patterns of black-tailed

rattlesnakes (Crotalus molossus) are well
known for matching rocks in different
geographic areas and in general a docile
disposition. Animals are gray in limestones in
the Chihuahuan Desert in western Texas,
greenish in the Chiricahua Mountains, yellow in
the Huachuca Mountains, and brownish in
desert ranges in Arizona. In the Sierra Madre
Occidental in eastern Sonora and western
Chihuahua, the Madrean black-tailed
rattlesnake (C. molossus nigrescens) has a rich
dark brown color and a more irritable
disposition. The tail can be black or charcoal
gray with black rings. Photo: R. W. Van
Devender from Yepmera, Chihuahua.
Above: In the Ycora area the small montane species
of rattlesnakes (Crotalus lepidus, C. pricei, and C.
willardi) are called chichmoras. This is likely a
Mountain Pima variant of cacmuri or tcatcmuli, as
they are called by the Tarahumara in Chihuahua.
Rock rattlesnakes (C. lepidus) are well-known for
population color variations including whitish, tan,
reddish, etc. that match the local bedrock. In the
banded rock rattlesnake (C. l. klauberi) males in
many populations have reduced mottling, strong
cross bands, and a greenish ground color. On Mesa
del Campanero above Ycora, banded rock
rattlesnakes match the bluish-black of the basalt
rocks. Photos: (top) G.M. Ferguson; (bottom) Z. Liu.
Above: Except for the pygmy rattlesnakes
(Sistrurus miliarius) in the southeastern United
States, the twin-spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus
pricei) is the smallest North American
rattlesnake, and the one that lives in the
highest (up to 3180 meters), coldest habitats.
Its tiny rattle sound more like an insect
buzzing than a rattlesnake. It usually is a gray
snake with two rows of small spots down the
back. The western twin-spotted rattlesnake (C.
p. pricei) occurs in the Sierra Madre Occidental
from Durango north to southeastern Arizona.
Another subspecies (C. p. miquihanus) is only
found on Cerro Potos in Nuevo Len in the
Sierra Madre Oriental in north eastern Mexico.
The northernmost population in Arizona is in
the Graham Mountains. Here it lives with the
southernmost population of the wandering
gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans).
Their color patterns are so similar that at least
one unwary botanist was bitten by a twin-spot
thinking it was a gartersnake. Photos: (top) T.
R. Van Devender from the Santa Rita
Mountains, Arizona; (bottom) G.M. Ferguson
from the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona