Class Amphibia
Class Reptilia
Order Crocodylia (Alligators and Crocodiles)
Order Squamata
*All scientific and standard names follow Crother (2008) with the exception of Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Acris blanchardi (Gamble et al. 2008), Cajun Chorus Frog, Pseudacris fouquettei (Lemmon et al. 2008) and Gulf Coast Toad, Incilius nebulifer (Frost et al. 2009). These three papers were published after the SSAR circular and are supported. Also, the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is spelled with only one 'p' in the specific epithet in Crother (2008) due to the name being misspelled by Daudin in his initial description in 1803. However, it was later corrected to 'mississippiensis' by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature on the principal argument that it refers to the Mississippi River, and I concur.
As Crother (2008) states, it is difficult to discern what subspecies to place our introduced Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei, as there is evidence of multiple introductions from Cuba and perhaps the Bahamas. I have chosen to not assign a subspecies until there is further clarification.
Although some sources may include the Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum, in the native fauna of Louisiana, I have chosen not to do so here. Due to the popularity of the species in the pet trade, it is frequently released well outside its native range, especially in large urban areas, and is likely the explanation behind the Louisiana records (Dundee and Rossman 1989). If an established population is found within the state, I will then include the species in this checklist like I have other introduced species.
Dundee and Rossman (1989) included the Alabama Map Turtle (Graptemys pulchra) as native to Louisiana in the eastern Florida Parishes. However, recent research has shown that the formerly reported range reflects a complex of several species largely confined to distinct river catchments (Moulis 2009). The Alabama Map Turtle is thus no longer recognized as native to Louisiana, and is confined to Alabama and extreme northwestern Georgia.
Literature Cited
Crother, B. I. (ed.). 2008. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles
of North America North of Mexico, pp. 1-84. SSAR Herpetological Circular 37.
Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana.
Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge.
Frost, D. R., J. R. Mendelson, III, and J. Pramuk. 2009. Further notes on the nomenclature of
Middle American toads (Bufonidae). Copeia 2009:418.
Gamble, T., P. B. Berendzen, H. B. Shaffer, D. E. Starkey, A. M. Simons. 2008. Species limits
and phylogeography of North American Cricket Frogs (Acris: Hylidae). Molecular
Phylogenetics and Evolution. 48:112-125.
Lemmon, E. M., A. R. Lemmon, J. T. Collins, and D. C. Cannatella. 2008. A new North
American chorus frog species (Amphibia: Hylidae: Pseudacris) from the south-central
United States. Zootaxa 1675:1-30.
Moulis, R. A. 2008. Alabama Map Turtle, Graptemys pulchra. Pp. 483-484. In: Jensen, J. B., C.
D. Camp, W. Gibbons, and M. J. Elliott (eds.). Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia.
University of Georgia Press, Athens.