César L. Barrio-Amorós CRWild
Jan 24, 20181 min
The knowledge of the herpetofauna of Costa Rica continues to grow since the publication of the
comprehensive coverage in Savage (2002) through discovery of new species, establishment of new country
records and recognition of taxa resurrected from synonymy. In addition, major advances in understanding of
the phylogeny and status of many supraspecific groups have led to numerous name changes for previously
known species. The purpose of the following checklist is to update the known composition of the Costa Rica
herpetofauna and provide revisions in nomenclature that reflect the well supported conclusions of recent
studies on relationships.
In addition to the individual papers cited as the basis for inclusion of new taxa and records or
nomenclatural changes, we have depended heavily on Faivovich et al. (2005), Frost et al. (2006), Grant et al.
(2006) and Hedges et al. (2008) for revisions to amphibian nomenclature, Solórzano (2004) for names of
snakes and those for turtles by Fritz and Havas (2006). In the few cases where we differ from these authors on
taxonomy the basis is briefly explained.
In this list, the number of families and genera are indicated by F and G, respectively. Asterisks (*) denote
introduced taxa. The number within parenthesis following most valid species names indicates the page
location for the appropriate account in Savage (2002). In all but one case, the original descriptions were based
wholly or in part on Costa Rican specimens. When specimens are cited Leviton et al. (1985) is followed.
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