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Abstract-The streams in the mountains surrounding the Valley of Mexico often contain salamanders and anurans. Knowledge of these species is relatively poor, however. We report observations on predation and reproduction in two species from these streams, Ambystoma altamirani and Dryophytes plicatus.
Resumen-Los arroyos de las montañas que rodean al Valle de Mexico frecuentemente albergan salamandras y anuros. Sin embargo, el conocimiento de estas especies es relativamente pobre. Reportamos observaciones sobre depredación y reproducción en dos especies de estos arroyos, Ambystoma altamirani y Dryophytes plicatus.
In recent years interest in Mexican ambystomatids and hylids has grown, especially for stream-dwelling species that inhabit the mountains chains surrounding the Valley of Mexico (Ambystoma altamirani: Lemos-Espinal et al., 2015a, 2016b; Heredia-Bobadilla et al., 2017; WoolrichPina et al., 2017; Estrella Zamora et al., 2018; Ambystoma rivulare: Bille, 2009; Legorreta-Balbuena et al., 2014; Barriga-Vallejo et al., 2015; Lemos-Espinal et al., 2015b; Heredia-Bobadilla et al., 2016; Woolrich-Pma et al., 2017; Ambystoma leorae. Sunny et al., 2014a, 2014b; MonroyVilchis et al., 2015; Lemos-Espinal et al., 2017; WoolrichPma et al., 2017; Dryophytes plicatus'. Lemos-Espinal et al., 2016a; Estrella Zamora et al., 2018). However, knowledge of some aspects of the natural history of these species, such as natural predators and reproduction, is still poor. In this note, we report observations on the predation and reproduction of the mountain stream siredon (A. altamirani) and the ridged treefrog (D. plicatus) from Sierra de Las Cruces, State of Mexico.
The Sierra de Las Cruces is in the eastern part of the Neovolcanic Axis of Mexico. It is 110 km long and is 47 km wide at its northern part and 27 km wide at its southern part. Our study site is in the northwestern portion of the Sierra de Las Cruces, in an extensive grassland called Llano Las Navajas, through which runs a permanent stream called Arroyo Los Axolotes, in the municipality of Isidro Fabela, state of Mexico (19°32T2.2"N, 99°29'52.7"W; 3,479 m). This stream hosts populations of A. altamirani and D. plicatus. Annual rainfall in the study area is approximately 1,500 mm. The stream is part of the southern watershed from the Cerro las Navajas, the highest mountain in the Sierra de las Cruces (3,710 m). The area immediately around and upstream from the study area is...