A NEW SUBSPECIES OF CROTALUS LEPIDUS FROM WESTERN MEXICO Wilmer W. Tanner,i James R. Dixon^ and Herbert S. Harris, Jr.^ Abstr.\ct.— An examination of additional specimens of Crotalus lepidus from western Durango and the adjacent parts of Smaloa and Nayarit have demonstrated the validity of Klauber's (1956) suggestion that a new subspecies may occur. The new subspecies (C. /. maculosus) is described and compared to other subsf>ecies. Klauber (1956:37) recognized the uniqueness of three specimens of Crotalus lepidus from areas near the junction of the Mexican States of Durango, Sinaloa, and Nayarit. Although lepidus from that area were considered to belong to the subspecies klauberi, or were at least in the designated range for that subspecies, Klauber keyed such specimens to the subspecies lepidus or morulus and sug-gested that an adequate series from this rough and inaccessible area might justify the recognition of a new subspecies. The area northwest, west, and southwest of El Salto, Durango, is some of the most rugged terrain in Mexico. In this area with its deep canyons, high ranges, plateaus, and its diverse climate ranging from wet to dry, there has been produced a variable and challenging environment which has seemingly been responsible for the develop-ment through adaptation of a number of subspecies. Perhaps of equal importance in this study is the fact that within this general area at the higher elevations are found some of the more primitive members of the genus Crotalus. It is not, therefore, surprising to find a popu-lation of C. lepidus which has, in its adaptation to this area, devel-oped a series of unique characteristics. We now have available a series of 19 specimens from these states and consider them to be sufficiently distinct to warrant a description of a new subspecies. Because of the distinctive char-acter of the series of small dorsal spots we choose to name it Crotalus lepidus r?iaculosus, subsp. nov. Typk.— BYII No. 33328. 15 miles (24 km) west of La Ciudad, near Highway 40, Durango, Mexico. An adult male collected on 31 July 1970 by Richard T. Basey. Pak.mypes.— BYU 40188, 1 km W Los Bancos, HSH 71-24 and HSH 71-133, near La Ciudad. MVZ 59310, 16 miles (22 km) SW La Ciudad ajid UCM 46011, 11 miles W La Ciudad, Durango; TCWC 13 358, 2 (lavs bv nude E from 1 luajicori, Navarit; BYU 40189, Puerto El Ala/aiu BYU 40190-91, 3 miles E Puerto El Ala-zaii, HSH 71-23, 10 miles W Durango-Sinaloa line (Hwy 40), KU 78973, 19.2 km NE Santa Lucia. KU 79232, 5 km SW Palmito, 'Department of ZooloRy, RriRham YoiuiK University, Provo, Utah 84601. 'Department of Wildlife Science, Texas A & M University, College Station. Texas 77843. TTie Natural History Society of Maryland, Baltimore, Md. 21218. 16
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