Introduction:

Communication is part of economic and social development around the globe. The development of roads causes the fragmentation of natural ecosystems, increasing the mortality risk of wild animals due to vehicle collisions.

Objective:

To analyze the mortality rate of wild vertebrates run over according to the climatic season and the urbanization degree in the coastal area of the Guerrero state, in Southern Mexico.

Methods:

12 trips with three observers using a vehicle at a speed of 30 km/h were conducted during one year (June 2021 to May 2022). The organisms were geo-referenced and identified. The roadkill rate (roadkill/day/km) was calculated for the wild vertebrates.

Results:

In total, 37 species of ran over wild vertebrates were registered, of which nine are considered endangered and seven are endemic of Mexico. Mammals had the highest mortality rate (0.126 roadkill/day/km). No differences were found in the mortality rate among rainy and dry seasons; 11 roadkill hotspots were detected. More incidences of roadkill were identified in low urbanization zones than medium and high urbanization areas.

Conclusions:

Our results showed that mammals are the most vulnerable wild vertebrates to vehicle collisions. The roadkill risk of wild animals is related to the urbanization level. This study can be a tool in the development of sustainable roads for wildlife.