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Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 16th, 2017, 3:24 pm
by TravisK
Heading to Todos Santos which is North of Cabo and South of La Paz in a couple weeks and wondering if anyone has or knows of a good Species List for the Southern half of Baja. This was a spur of the moment trip and I am trying to gather as much info as I can before I head down on the 29th.

Thanks in advance.

PS, if you know of anybody down that direction that would be up for showing me around I would be very grateful. I am not a FHF noob either, I am former VP of the NW Chapter ;-)

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 16th, 2017, 4:50 pm
by yoloherper
Hi Travis,
Not sure of any checklists, but this website is a good place to start http://herpatlas.sdnhm.org/ It's got range maps and some info on all the species down there. If you're looking for a book, Grismer's book on Baja herps is as good as any guide to anywhere gets. It is pretty big though, and a little expensive for a spur of the moment trip, but there is a smaller guide by McPeak.
Hope this info helps,
-Elliot

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 16th, 2017, 7:28 pm
by FrogO_Oeyes
Peterson Western edition field guide. Off the top of my head, I doubt it's been updated for several taxonomic splits [Phyllodactylus, Crotalus, Elgaria, Anniella, Gopherus, Hyliola], but I don't think more than one of these is found in any given area anyway.

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 17th, 2017, 3:56 pm
by TravisK
Thanks guys. I hope this will be a fun and productive trip.

I wish http://herpatlas.sdnhm.org/ had their data in list form so I could print it out easily.

I found this one too.
http://www.californiaherps.com/baja.html

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 17th, 2017, 6:34 pm
by P. Bee
The most complete & informative book on Baja herps is the "Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés" by Grismer. Pricey, but you may be able to get a good deal on a used copy. Try Amazon for starters.


https://www.amazon.com/Amphibians-Calif ... es+of+baja

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 17th, 2017, 9:43 pm
by Zach_Lim
Lampropeltis zonata herrarae. That's all ya need!

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 18th, 2017, 9:55 am
by chrish
except L. herrerae isn't found in BCS or anywhere in Baja proper, is it?

You could start here - https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists ... =taxonomic

Go down to the bottom of the page, export the taxonomic CSV and delete the non-herps.
Should take about 2 minutes.
You will have to go through the list and add a few species that are missing (use the SDNHM site for reference) but you could have a CSV checklist done in about 10 minutes.

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 18th, 2017, 10:52 am
by Zach_Lim
chrish wrote:except L. herrerae isn't found in BCS or anywhere in Baja proper, is it?

You could start here - https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists ... =taxonomic

Go down to the bottom of the page, export the taxonomic CSV and delete the non-herps.
Should take about 2 minutes.
You will have to go through the list and add a few species that are missing (use the SDNHM site for reference) but you could have a CSV checklist done in about 10 minutes.
I thought someone mentioned Todos Santos?

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 20th, 2017, 7:44 pm
by ramblon
2 different Todos Zach. The isla of Todos in northern Baja has the mountain king. The other is a town deep down on the west coast which is what Travis is referring to.

Travis, tough sledding this time of year, but turn all the natural and not so natural cover you can would be my advice. You're bound to turn something up. There's slightly less diversity on the Pacific side, but that won't make it any less of an adventure. Bipes would be high on my list around Todos. Find a buddy with Grismer's book and pick his brain!

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 23rd, 2017, 9:41 am
by TravisK
Thanks guys. I will post a Baja Thread when I return. We are head to La Paz for a day or two as well.

Cheers,
Travis

Re: Request for accurate Southern Baja Herp List

Posted: January 23rd, 2017, 1:24 pm
by Jimi
Have fun down there Travis. I agree with all about Grismer's book being the most detailed BY FAR, but also about it being way too heavy for use as a field guide. It could be fine sitting in your luggage and hotel room though, and on your back seat!

FWIW I found the town of Todos Santos to be a little weird. Or rather, perfectly typical of a place that just has too many expats, and is understandably a bit tired of them. I've been there just once, but spent a couple weeks there. The townies I met (at the little grocery stores, the restaurants, the gas stations, whatever) were a bit more brief with, and cool to, Norteamericanos than "your average" small-town Mexicans - who in my pretty long & broad experience are some of the warmest, most engaging people you'd ever care to meet. Anywhere.

Interestingly, I thought, there's a lot of Mexicans there from other parts of the country, who came for the opportunities the expats have brought, and the locals don't seem to like them much either. These internal migrants were IMO much more like "your average Mexicans" - friendly, eager to get to know you and share what they know, etc. Anyway, I'm just pointing this out in the event you haven't spent much time in MX & come away thinking "huh...I really didn't love that". It isn't the country, it's just the town. Blame it on 20 years of too many outsiders coming in and driving up land prices, construction labor, demand for illegal drugs, etc.

Have fun, drive defensively (and obey speed limits etc), and come back with good stories and pics.

cheers