Annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Zacatecas, Mexico

Zacatecas is in the north-central region of Mexico. Its territorial extension, as well as the unique combination of climatic and physiographic characteristics, favor high biological diversity. However, until now, it has been considered one of the states with lowest herpetofaunal diversity, mainly due to low sampling effort. We provide an updated checklist of the herpetofauna of Zacatecas, including the physiographic provinces and ecoregions where they occur, a summary of their conservation status, and a comparison with neighboring states. Zacatecas has 25 species of native amphibians and 119 native reptiles, with five introduced species (1 frog, 2 lizards, 1 snake and 1 turtle). Of 149 species, four have their type locality in Zacatecas, 16 represent new state records, and 232 records from 79 species are new municipal contributions. More than half of the native herpetofauna (53.5%) of Zacatecas is endemic to Mexico. However, it does not have state endemics, but harbors populations of regional endemics that only inhabit north-central Mexico. Of the native amphibian and reptile species in Zacatecas, 2.8% are listed by IUCN in threatened categories (i.e., Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered), 13.9% are placed in a protected category by SEMARNAT (i.e., Threatened and in Danger of Extinction), and 33.3% are categorized as high vulnerability by the EVS criteria. Among adjacent states with which it shares a border, Zacatecas is the fourth with the largest territorial extension, the fifth in herpetofauna diversity, and the third with the highest number of country endemic species. Large areas of the state remain underexplored, suggesting that the herpetofauna richness of Zacatecas may increase in the future.