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Bishops Cap Mountain, a few miles to the north of the northernmostFranklinMountains.Itoccursinthesouthwestern
part of the Sacramento Mountains in canyons leading into ' ' Tularosa Basin. Pilsbry (1946:115) reported the species from AlamoCanyon,andwehavetakenitinDogCanyon.Pilsbry ( 1 9 4 6 : 1 1 5 ) a l s o r e p o r t e d it f r o m t h e G u a d a l u p e M o u n t a i n s , New Mexico;however,thislocalityseemstobejustsouthofthe TexasStateLine(Hoff,1961;Metcalf,1970:35).We have, nevertheless,takenM. roemeriintheGuadalupeMountainsin New Mexico,whereitoccursnorthwardatleasttotheCarlsbad Cavern area.
Habitat--All the above records are from mountains of
calcareous bedrock, especially where there are massive limestone outcrops. The species is an obligate calciphile, not found in areas of igneous rock. It tolerates the uppermost L o w e r Sonoran Life Zone, but probably is m o r e a denizen of the U p p e r Sonoran. Generally, itisfound in lower, arid mountains or in the foothills of higher ranges, as in the case of the Sacramento and G u a d a l u p e M o u n t a i n s . I n b o t h r a n g e s , it s e e m s t o b e f o u n d m o s t commonly alongbrushycanyonwalls--occurringunderstones, deadyuccastems,deadcaudicesofsotol,andalsoin accumulations of limestone talus.
The remaining urocoptids of New Mexico are narrowly endemic, being confined to a single mountain range or adjacent ranges.
Genus Holospira Subgenus Bostrichocentrum
Holospira montivaga H. A. Pilsbry, 1946. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia Monograph, 3(II) 1:123 Fig. 61. T.L.: given as southeast of Orange, Otero Co., New Mexico,butthetypelocalityactuallyseemstobejust south of the state line in Culberson Co., Texas. (vagabond holospira)
General and New Mexico Distribution--This species is restricted to the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas and New Mexico. Pilsbry and Ferriss collected the type while exploring thewesternflankoftherangealongtheNew Mexico-Texas border in 1922, but the type locality is apparently on the Texas side of the state line (Hoff, 1961:54, Metcalf, 1970:35, Wahl
andMetcalf,1982:43).We havetakenthespeciesinBlackand Devil'sDen CanyonsintheGuadalupeMountains,New Mexico. Habitat--The type locality is on the fairly exposed, arid, western slope of the Guadalupe Mountains. The species occurs
in such habitats and also in the more mesic, higher parts of the range, especially in wooded canyons. Living specimens were found along ledges on the walls of Devil's D e n Canyon at ca. 6,950ftamongponderosaandpinyonpinesandGambeland live oaks.
Remarks--Several other species of Holospira and a subspecies "form" of H. montivaga (H. m. brevoria Pilsbry, 1946) have been described from the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas. Fullington (1979.98) suggested that these taxa "probably should be synonymized under the earliest named H. m. montivaga." W e follow his recommendation here in regard to variantsinthiscomplexfoundinNew Mexico.
Holospira cockerelli W. H. Dall 1897. The Nautilus, 11:61.T.L.:driftdebrisofRioGrandeatMesilla,Doña
Ana Co., N e w Mexico. (Cockerell holospira)
Consideredassynonymoftheabove:Holospiraregis P i l s b r y a n d C o c k e r e l l , 1 9 0 5 . P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e A c a d e m y o f NaturalSciencesofPhiladelphia,57:218,Pl.26,Fig.7.T.L.: nearKingston,SierraCo.,NewMexico.
ThetypeofH.cockerelliwastakenfromRioGrandedriftat Mesilla, Doña Ana Co. Pilsbry (1946:126) supposed that "Probably the type specimen, found in flood-débris of the Rio Grande, was washed down from the region around Kingston or northward,wherethespeciesisabundant." Thisisareasonable assumption, because there is no other known source for a Holospira upstream from Mesilla. However, the riverine journey is long--some 8 0 miles along the approximate course of the
streams from Kingston to Mesilla.
With H. cockerelli, then, the type locality is known, but itis
outside the range of the species as subsequently understood. WithH.regis,ontheotherhand,thetypelocalityisvague,being givenas"nearKingston."OurownsearchingalongthePercha Creek Valley in which Kingston is situated has not revealed any Holospiras, but a few specimens were found along Carbonate Creek, about 3 miles north of Kingston.
Pilsbry (1946:125-126) recorded H. regis only from the type lot, but reported H. cockerelli from several localities along the easternsideoftheBlackRange from "nearKingston" northward to the Cuchillo Mountains. Apparently, he detected little difference between the two species, noting only that "H. cockerelli differs from the related H. regis chiefly by the smoothness of the intermediate whorls." W e find this character
to be variable within populations. Given the minor differences between the two taxa, reports of both species as occurring "near Kingston,"andthefactthatthename H. cockerellihaspriority, it seems that the case for recognizing H. regis as a separate species is weak, and we treat it here as a synonym of H. cockerelli.
Distribution and Habitat--As an obligate calciphile, H. cockerelli is found only in the eastern foothills complex of the Black Range, where limestone and other calcareous rocks occur. ItsnorthernmostknownrecordisintheCuchilloMountains,a small arid range east of the Black Range. There are limestone cliffs in the southern part of the Cuchillo range, where J. H. Ferriss collected H. cockerelli in 1915. Pilsbry and Ferriss also collected H. cockerelli farther south near Hermosa in the Palomas Creek Valley. W e found itfairly common there at several sites along canyon walls, well timbered with pine and oak, Probably H. cockerelli occurs in other areas of calcareous bedrockintheBlackRangefoothillsbetween recordedlocalities in the Palomas and Carbonate Creek Valleys.
Holospira crossei W . H. Dall, 1895. Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, 184. T.L.: top of Hacheta Grande, Big Hatchet Mountains, Hidalgo Co., N e w Mexico. (Cross holospira).
Considered as a synonym of the above: H. bilamellata Dall, 1895. Proceedings oftheU.S. National Museum,