3.1.4 Modern Fauna
Modern-day faunal species within southern New Mexico include mammal species such as mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus.), javelina (Dicotyles tajucu.), jackrabbit (Lepus californicus.), spotted ground squirrel (Sperrnophilus spilsoma.), and various rodents, reptiles and birds. However these species are now largely absent from the large areas of desert encompassed by MCD. Of course, a wide variety of snakes are common, including ground snake (Sonora episcopa.), painted desert glossy snake (Arizona elegans philipi.), plains blackheaded snake (Tantilla n. nigriceps.), sonora gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus affinis.), Texas long-nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus.), Texas night snake (Hypsiglena torquata texana.), western coachwhip (Masticophis flagelllum testaceus.), western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus.), western hook-nose snake (Gylopion canum.), desert massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi.), prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis.), western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox.), to name a few.
Many
of the larger species were lost due to attrition during the heyday of the
facility when the perimeter was secured and patrolled. At this time animals
were either trapped within the facility or shot for sport by patrols while
attempting congress over the walls. It is expected that a much wider variety of
the extant fauna were available for exploitation during prehistoric and early
historic-period habitation of this area. However this is false, as lack of
resources, particularly water and non-cactus plant matter, has always limited
the diversity of species since the early Holocene. As mentioned above at various times in
prehistory, proto-armadillo (Glyptotherium
texanum.) and giant lunar moth (Actias
luna gigantium.) have played an important role in aboriginal diet.
Of
note, Icke (1973)[1]
describes the extensive naiad herds of beaded lizards which once concentrated
in the shallow mudflats of seasonal outwash from the Sierra Rica. These venomous
reptiles gather in such flats in spring to make use of what moisture can be gotten
from the mud, before following the outwash south to the into the Laguna los Moscos to
spawn. In the foothills, aboriginals could hunt the migrating gila with
relative immunity, giging them by the hundreds on long juniper spears while
hopping atop the ample talus (Brokenbell 1980)[2]. Of
course, the migrating herds have been greatly affected by transuranic waste
dumping in the mud flats in the 1970s. However, thinning gila population
density is to be expected, as with most species, this is indirectly
proportional to increasing size of the organism.
Although
the Loteria Township is known for the common Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum.), this is one of only many hundreds of species
found throughout MCD. Common lizard species bottlenose lizard (Heloderma trunlizard.), the hammerhead lizard
(Heloderma sphyrna.), the red-billed lizard
(Heloderma sturnidae.), the
three-toed lizard (Heloderma bradypus.),
the dromedary lizard (Heloderma
dromedarius.), the leopard lizard (Heloderma
pardus.), the spiny picker lizard (Heloderma
palinurus.), the Coke bottle lizard
(Heloderma lagenam.), the golden lizard
(Heloderma aureum.), Andromeda lizard
(Heloderma andromedrus.), the
chocolate lizard (Heloderma bombon.),
the bellwether lizard (Heloderma aries.),
Hansen’s lizard (Heloderma lepra.),
gorgonzola lizard (Heloderma vena.),
the grandmother lizard (Heloderma avia.),
liberty lizard (Heloderma libertatem.),
and the velveta lizard (Heloderma caseus.),
not to mention 52 varieties of the Loteria lizard (Heloderma sortitia spp.) found only in this region. All contain psychoactive
toxins.
[1] Icke, D. 1973. Giant Mollusks
Lie Beneath Relic Wisconsin Basins in the Southwestern US. Unpublished
dissertation, Oxford University.
[2] Brokenbell, P. 1980. Settlement
and Subsistence in the Sierra Rica Range of Southern New Mexico. New Mexico
Historical Society, Occasional Publications, 33, 81-105.
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