Hypopachus variolosus (Cope, 1866)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Microhylidae > Subfamily: Gastrophryninae > Genus: Hypopachus > Species: Hypopachus variolosus

Engystoma variolosum Cope, 1866, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 18: 131. Holotype: USNM 6486 according to Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 184; Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 48. Type locality: "Arriba [upward = in this case roughly the Meseta Central], Costa Rica". Type locality commented on by Savage, 1974, Rev. Biol. Tropical, 22: 77.

Systoma variolosumCope, 1867, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 6: 194.

Hypopachus Seebachi Keferstein, 1867, Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Göttingen, 18: 352. Syntypes: ZFMK 28389–92, according to Böhme and Bischoff, 1984, Bonn. Zool. Monogr., 19: 182; and ZMB 5926, according to Bauer, Günther, and Robeck, 1996, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 72: 264. Type locality: Costa Rica. Synonymy by Cope, 1870 "1869", Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 11: 166; Cope, 1875 "1876", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 8: 101; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 159.

Hypopachus inguinalis Cope, 1870 "1869", Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 11: 166. Holotype: USNM according to original publication. Type locality: "Vera Paz, near the ruins of Coban", Guatemala. Synonymy by Cope, 1887, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 32: 18; Nelson, 1973, Herpetologica, 29: 15. See Osborn, 1929, Biograph. Mem. U.S. Natl. Acad. Sci., 3: 189, for publication date. 

Hypopachus variolosusCope, 1875 "1876", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 8: 101.

Engystoma inguinalisBrocchi, 1877, Bull. Soc. Philomath., Paris, Ser. 7, 1: 189.

Hypopachus oxyrrhinus Boulenger, 1883, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 5, 11: 344. Syntypes: BM 1882.12.5.8 (now reregistered 1947.2.11.45) and 1883.4.5.3 (now reregistered as 1947.2.11.46) according to Kellogg, 1932, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 160: 184, and museum records. Type locality: "Presidio", Sinaloa, Mexico; stated as "Presidio de Mazatlan, Sinaloa", Mexico, by Parker, 1934, Monogr. Frogs Fam. Microhylidae: 114. Synonymy by Günther, 1900, Biol. Centr. Amer., Rept. Batr., Vol. 7, Part 153: 211; Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus variolosus inguinalisCope, 1887, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 32: 18.

Hypopachus cuneus Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 388. Syntypes: including USNM 15676 according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 62. Type locality: "neighbrohood of San Diego in Nueces [= Duval] County, Texas", USA; given as "San Diego, Duval County, Texas", USA by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 77, and Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 62 (and this latter citation providing the fictitious citation for the original description as "Cope, 1889, Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus., 11: 395"). Synonymy with Hypopachus oxyrrhinus (as Hypopachus oxyrhynchus) by Boulenger, 1890, Zool. Rec., 26: 21. Synonymy by Günther, 1900, Biol. Centr. Amer., Rept. Batr., Vol. 7, Part 153: 211; Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus oxyrhynchusBoulenger, 1890, Zool. Rec., 26: 21. Misspelling. 54:

Hypopachus oxyrhinusParker, 1934, Monogr. Frogs Fam. Microhylidae: 113. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Hypopachus globulosus Schmidt, 1939, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 24: 2. Holotype: FMNH 4641, by original designation. Type locality: "Lake Ticamaya, east of San Pedro Sula, Honduras". Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus caprimimus Taylor, 1940 "1939", Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 26: 526. Holotype: EHT-HMS 18149, by original designation; now FMNH 100086 according to Marx, 1976, Fieldiana, Zool., 69: 56. Type locality: "Agua del Obispo, Guerrero, in pine forest", Mexico. Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus cuneus cuneusTaylor, 1940 "1939", Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 26: 516.

Hypopachus cuneus nigroreticulatus Taylor, 1940 "1939", Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 26: 518. Holotype: EHT-HMS, by original designation; now FMNH 100064 according to Marx, 1976, Fieldiana, Zool., 69: 56. Type locality: "Encarnación, Campeche, Mexico". Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus ovis Taylor, 1940 "1939", Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 26: 520. Holotype: EHT-HMS 1050, by original designation; now FMNH 100078 according to Marx, 1976, Fieldiana, Zool., 69: 56. Type locality: "Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico". Synonymy (with Hypopachus oxyrrhinus) by Shannon and Humphrey, 1958, Herpetologica, 14: 85–95; Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus alboventer Taylor, 1940 "1939", Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 26: 522. Holotype: EHT-HMS 18615, by original designation; now FMNH 100085 according to Marx, 1976, Fieldiana, Zool., 69: 56. Type locality: "eight miles east of Cuernavaca, Mor[elos]. ", Mexico. Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus maculatus Taylor, 1940 "1939", Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 26: 524. Holotype: EHT-HMS 1023, by original designation; now FMNH 100087, according to Marx, 1976, Fieldiana, Zool., 69: 56. Type locality: "near San Ricardo, Chiapas, Mexico". Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus championi Stuart, 1940, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 53: 19. Holotype: UMMZ 85533, by original designation. Type locality: "temporary pool on the desert flats about one kilometer south of San Gerónomo, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala". Synonymy with Hypopachus inguinalis by Nelson, 1973, Herpetologica, 29: 12. Synonymy with Hypopachus variolosus by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus alboventer alboventerDavis, 1955, Herpetologica, 11: 71.

Hypopachus alboventer reticulatus Davis, 1955, Herpetologica, 11: 71. Holotype: TCWC 10855, by original designation. Type locality: "2 miles south of Almolonga, 5600 feet, Guerrero", Mexico. Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus oxyrrhinus taylori Shannon and Humphrey, 1958, Herpetologica, 14: 89. Holotype: FAS 11309, by original designation; now UIMNH. Type locality: "3 mi. E. San Blas, Nayarit", Mexico. Synonymy by Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 261.

Hypopachus alboventer alboventerShannon and Humphrey, 1958, Herpetologica, 14: 94.

Hypopachus alboventer reticulatusShannon and Humphrey, 1958, Herpetologica, 14: 94.

Hypopachus oxyrrhinus oxyrrhinusShannon and Humphrey, 1958, Herpetologica, 14: 94.

Hypopachus oxyrrhinus ovisShannon and Humphrey, 1958, Herpetologica, 14: 94.

Hypopachus reticulatusLynch, 1965, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 68: 369–400.

English Names

Mexican Narrow-mouthed Toad (Hypopachus variolosus: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 78).

Sheep Frog (Hypopachus variolosus: Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 176; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 11; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 25; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 90; Lee, 1996, Amph. Rept. Yucatan Peninsula: 119; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 12; Campbell, 1998, Amph. Rept. N. Guatemala Yucatan Belize: 92; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 11; Lee, 2000, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Maya World: 123; Frost, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 6; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 15; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 8; Frost, McDiarmid, Mendelson, and Green, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 16; Frost, Lemmon, McDiarmid, and Mendelson, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 12).

Taylor's Toad (Hypopachus cuneus [no longer recognized]: Strecker, 1915, Baylor Univ. Bull., 18: 47; Wright and Wright, 1933, Handb. Frogs Toads U.S. Canada: xi).

Brownsville Narrow-mouthed Toad (Hypopachus cuneus cuneus [no longer recognized]: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 78).

Distribution

Southern Texas (USA) and southern Sonora and adjacent southwestern Chihuahua to Queretaro (Mexico) south in lowlands and foothills (including the Balsas Depression of southern Mexico) to northern Costa Rica at elevations mostly below 1600 m; Isla Maria Madre in the Tres Marias Archipelago of Nayarit, Mexico.    

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, United States of America, United States of America - Texas

Comment

See Nelson, 1973, Herpetologica, 29: 6–17, and Nelson, 1974, Herpetologica, 30: 250–274, for discussion of geographic variation, rejection of subspecies, and synonymy. Lips and Savage, 1996, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 109: 17–26, included this species in a key to the tadpoles found in Costa Rica. See accounts by Lee, 1996, Amph. Rept. Yucatan Peninsula: 119–121; Campbell, 1998, Amph. Rept. N. Guatemala Yucatan Belize: 92–93; Lee, 2000, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Maya World: 123–125; Savage, 2002, Amph. Rept. Costa Rica: 394–397, and McCranie and Wilson, 2002, Amph. Honduras: 469–473. Smith, Lemos-Espinal, and Chiszar, 2005, Herpetol. Rev., 36: 75, provided the record for southwestern Chihuahua. Lemos-Espinal, 2007, Anf. Rept. Chihuahua Mexico: 54–55, provided an account for Chihuahua, Mexico. Köhler, Veselý, and Greenbaum, 2005 "2006", Amph. Rept. El Salvador: 65–66, provided an account (for El Salvador) and a color photograph. McCranie, 2007, Herpetol. Rev., 38: 38, summarized the departmental distribution in Honduras. Frost and Aird, 1978, Herpetol. Rev., 9: 61, provided a record for Aguascalientes, Mexico. Farr, Lazcano, and Lavín-Murcio, 2009, Herpetol. Rev., 40: 459–467, provided new records for Tamaulipas, Mexico, and commented on the range. Ahumada-Carrillo, Vázquez-Huizar, Vázquez-Diaz, and García-Vázquez, 2011, Herpetol. Rev., 42: 397, provided a record for southern Zacatecas, Mexico, and discussed the range. Travers, Townsend, Sunyer, Obando, Wilson, and Nickerson, 2011, Herpetol. Rev., 42: 399, noted a new locality in Nicaragua (Jinotega). Greenbaum, Smith, and de Sá, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 61: 265–277, reported on molecular phylogeographic data that suggested an East Coast/West Coast dichotomy that might correspond to a species distinction as well as several distinctive populations within each of these major divisions. Lemos-Espinal and Dixon, 2013, Amphibians and Reptiles of San Luis Potosí: 66–67, provided an account for San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Judd and Irwin, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 506–508, and Dodd, 2013, Frogs U.S. and Canada, 1: 455–457, provided accounts that summarized the relevant literature, particularly for the USA population. Köhler, 2011, Amph. Cent. Am.: 287–288, provided a brief summary of natural history and provided a range map, and photograph of this species. Sunyer, Martínez-Fonseca, Salazar-Saavedra, Galindo-Uribe, and Obando, 2014, Mesoam. Herpetol., 1: 174, provided a record for the department of Rivas, Nicaragua. Elliot, Gerhardt, and Davidson, 2009, Frogs and Toads of N. Am.: 282–283, provided an account, photos, and advertisement call for the USA population. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 219, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Ruballo-Marroquín and Morán-Hidalgo, 2013, Rev. Biodivers. Neotrop., 3: 65–68, provided a record for the department of La Libertad, El Salvador. Rorabaugh and Lemos-Espinal, 2016, Field Guide Amph. Rept. Sonora: 175–177, provided a detailed account of natural history, morphology, distribution, and conservation status in Sonora, Mexico. Lemos-Espinal and Dixon, 2016, Amph. Rept. Hidalgo: 388–389, provided a brief account and map for Hidalgo, Mexico. Quezada-Hipólito, Smith, Suazo-Ortuño, Alvarado-Díaz, González, Thammachoti, and Smart, 2019, Rev. Mexicana Biodiversidad, 90(e902448): 1–15, commented on the impact of vulcanism in the Trans-Volcanic belt of Mexico on biogeography. Ahumada-Carrillo, Grünwald, López Cuellar, and Jones, 2020, Herpetol. Rev., 51: 277–278, reported the species from the municipality of Villa de Guerrero, northern Jalisco, Mexico. Isla Maria Madre in the Tres Marias Archipelago of Nayarit, Mexico, according to Nolasco Luna, Barraza-Soltero, López-Montes, Moreno-López, and Escobedo Galván, 2022, Check List, 18: 244. Tepos-Ramírez, Garduño-Fonseca, Peralta-Robles, García-Rubio, and Cervantes Jiménez, 2023, Check List, 19: 269–292, discussed the distribution and conservation status of the species in Queretaro, Mexico. Bassett, 2023, Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(e18486): 1–18, provided an updated county distribution map for Texas, USA.  

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