Evaluation of the knowledge gaps in the reptile records of northwestern Mexico

Resumen

Mexico hosts a great diversity of reptile species; however, many reptiles are either threatened or endangered. Complete and updated information is required to implement appropriate management and conservation actions; however, species inventories can include taxonomic, geographic, and temporal gaps. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the magnitude of these gaps in digitally accessible information on reptiles from the state of Nayarit, located in northwestern Mexico. A database was generated using information from the National Biodiversity Information System (SNIB) of the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO). The growth rate of new species descriptions was calculated, and the completeness of the inventory was evaluated in 10-km grid cells across various time periods, considering biogeographic and physiographic regions. The species description growth rate was low. In addition, approximately 40% of the surface of Nayarit exhibited information gaps among reptile records, particularly in mountainous and hard-to-reach areas. Notably, the least amount of information was recorded between 1981 and 2000. Our results lay the groundwork for future research and the development of effective strategies to conserve and manage the natural resources of Nayarit.