Sociedad Herpetólogica Mexicana, A.C.


History of the Sociedad Herpetológica Mexicana, A.C. In 1986 the restlessness of a small group of herpetologists and students interested in the study of reptiles and amphibians founded the "National Herpetological Committee", whose objective was to distribute information about the herpetofauna of our country, and to further the interest of students in these organisms. That same year, the committee organized a meeting in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos, which presented the first opportunity to present then current projects in herpetology and for the interested individuals to get to know each other better. Later, in 1987, a second meeting was organized in conjunction with the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) and the Herpetologist's League in the port city of Veracruz, Veracruz. In 1988 the Sociedad Herpetológica Mexicana, A.C. was founded. The first Board of Directors was composed of the following members: President: Zeferino Uribe Peña Vicepresident: Oscar Flores Villela Secretary: Miriam Benabib Nisenbaum Treasurer: Lucía Saldaña de la Riva Representatives: North - Arturo Contreras Aquieta South - Carlos Guichard Romero Central - Rubén Castro Franco Central - Enrique Godínez Cano Once formed, with the enthusiasm of various investigators, the society started to work towards publishing it's own periodical. A year later, the first issue of the Bulletin of the Sociedad Herpetológica Mexicana appeared. Since it's formation, the SHM has organized a biannual meeting for Herpetologists and Biologists to come together and share information about Mexican herpetology and herpetofauna. Previous meetings and the locations they took place are listed below: 1990, First National Reunion in Villahermosa, Tabasco. 1992, Second First National Reunion in El Paso, Texas, which took place in conjunction with the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) meeting. 1994, Third National Reunion in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. 1996, Fourth National Reunion in Cuernavaca, Morelos. 1998, Fifth National Reunion in Xalapa, Veracruz. 2000, Sixth National Reunion in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas. 2002, Seventh National Reunion in Guanajuato, Guanajuato. 2004, Eighth National Reunion in Villahermosa, Tabasco. 2004, Nineth National Reunion in Monterrey Nuevo León. The SHM has also organized several herpetological expos, including it's First Herpetological Congress, which took place last year. With it's title Modernization of Herpetology, the objective was to familiarize herpetologists with new methods and procedures in herpetology, and it included presentations by specialists from various fields within the study, including ecology, systematics, natural history, animal behavior, biogeography, and conservation. Historical presidents of the SHM: Zeferino Uribe-Peña (1988 - 1990) Oscar Flores-Villela (1990 - 1992) María del Carmen Uribe-Aranzábal (1992 - 1994) Fausto R. Méndez de la Cruz (1994 - 1996) Gustavo Aguirre-León (1996 - 1998) Antonio Muñoz-Alonso (1998 - 2000) Aurelio Ramirez-Bautista (2000 - 2002) Roberto Luna Reyes (2002 - 2004) María Guadalupe Gutierrez Mayén (2004 - 2006) Carlos J. Balderas Valdivia (2006 - 2008)