As well as colour phtographs, Amphibians and Reptiles of San Luis Potosí contains five identification keys with 101 black-and-white figures and 3 appendices (gazetteer, Distribution maps, and collecting localities). Included are sections on previous herpetological studies in San Luis Potosí, and on the state's physiography, physiographic provinces, geology, hydrology, climate, and vegetation. The species accounts contain information on identification, morphology, coloration, distribution, habitat, behavior, diet, taxonomy, etymology, and the protection status of each species in Mexico.
Julio A. Lemos-Espinal was born in San Luis Potosí (SLP), Mexico. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from FES Iztacala UNAM in 1984, and three years later a Master’s degree, also in Biology, from the Facultad de Ciencias UNAM. In 1992 he was awarded a Doctorate degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, under the guidance of Dr. Royce E. Ballinger. The topic of his dissertation was the comparative demography of the lizard Sceloporus grammicus from Volcán Iztaccíhuatl, Puebla, Mexico. Over the years Lemos- Espinal has authored or co-authored numerous publications, including several books, of which most have focused on the ecology and distribution of the herpetofauna of northern Mexico. Along with the late Hobart M. Smith, he authored Amphibians and Reptiles of the State of Chihuahua, Mexico and Amphibians and Reptiles of the State of Coahuila, Mexico, and with James R. Dixon wrote Amphibians and Reptiles of the State of Querétaro, Mexico. Currently Lemos-Espinal is a Research Professor in the Laboratorio de Ecología of the Unidad de Biología, Tecnología y Prototipos, FES-Iztacala UNAM. During Julio’s career three taxa of amphibians and reptiles have been named in his honor, the ranid frog Lithobates lemosespinali, the spiny lizard Sceloporus lemosespinali, and the pitviper Agkistrodon bilineatus lemosespinali.
James R. Dixon was born in Houston, Texas, in 1928. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Howard Payne College in 1950, but soon left to serve in the Korean War. Upon his return, he became the Curator of Reptiles at Ross Allen’s Reptile Institute, in Silver Springs, Florida, but then continued with his studies and in 1957 received a Master’s degree from Texas A & M University. At this institution he became an Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine, and in 1961 was awarded a Doctor’s degree in Zoology. Soon after, Dixon became an Associate Professor of Wildlife Management at New Mexico State University, and from 1965 to 1967 was the Curator of Herpetology at the Los Angeles County Museum. In 1971 Dixon returned to Texas A & M University, as a Professor, and today is Professor Emeritus and Curator Emeritus of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection at this institution. During his storied career, Dixon has authored numerous scientific publications, of which most have dealt with snake and lizard systematics. He also has authored or co-authored several books, including Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas. Two lizards have been named in his honor, the teiid Aspidoscelis dixoni and the phyllodactylid Phyllodactylus dixoni.