n.

~Pseudemys scripta ornata~ (Gray)

_Emys ornata_ Gray, Synopsis reptilium, p. 30,
1831.--Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

_Pseudemys scripta ornata_, Carr, Herpetologica, 1:135,
December 30, 1938.

The systematics and distribution of _Pseudemys scripta_ in Mexico and
Central America are poorly understood. Smith and Taylor (1950b:32)
recorded this turtle from the Pacific lowlands of Sinaloa, Jalisco,
Oaxaca, and Chiapas. This species is represented by vicarious
populations throughout the Atlantic lowlands of Mexico, northwestern
Mexico, over much of the United States, and also in Baja California.
Along the Pacific coast of Mexico the species seems to be extremely
rare, or, at least, only locally abundant. Since the species has such a
wide distribution, and since it occurs on the Pacific lowlands both to
the north and to the south of Michoacan, it is reasonable to expect its
presence on the coast of Michoacan. Inquiries among the natives living
in the Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin produced only negative evidence about
the occurrence of _Pseudemys_ in the Rio Tepalcatepec and Rio Balsas. I
suspect that the best place to search for these turtles on the coast of
Michoacan is in the numerous fresh-water lagoons on the coastal plain.

~Caiman crocodilus fuscus~ (Cope)

_Perosuchus fuscus_ Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia, 20:203, November 9, 1868.--Rio Magdalena,
Columbia.

_Caiman crocodilus fuscus_, Mertens, Senckenbergiana,
26:275, December 22, 1943.

Gadow (1930:50) reported that _Caiman sclerops_ (= _Caiman crocodilus
fuscus_) inhabited the "tierra caliente" in Michoacan. Smith and Taylor
(1950b:212) accepted Gadow's record for the State, although otherwise
the species is unknown north of Oaxaca. Peters (1954:10) refuted Gadow's
record on the basis that Gadow's collections contained no specimens of
_Caiman_. The local name "caiman" refers to both _Crocodylus_ and to
_Caiman_, for, in general, the natives do not distinguish between the
two. "Caimanes" are reported from along the coast of Michoacan, where
the name presumably refers to _Crocodylus acutus acutus_, and in the
Balsas-Tepalcatepec Basin (Gadow, 1930:50; Webber, 1946:267). I have
seen no specimens of either _Crocodylus_ or _Caiman_ from the Balsas
Basin. If crocodilians do occur in the basin, they probably are
_Crocodylus acutus acutus_. There is no basis, whatsoever, for including
Michoacan in the ra