List of amphibians and reptiles of Barbados explained

This is a list of amphibians and reptiles found on Barbados, a Caribbean island-nation in the Lesser Antilles. Barbados is largely flat and has been intensively cultivated for over 300 years. This has left little natural vegetation on the island, leaving most species found there restricted to narrow habitats such as wooded gullies.^[1]

Amphibians

There are two species of amphibians on Barbados, at least one of which was introduced.

Frogs (Anura)

Tropical frogs (Leptodactylidae)
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Eleutherodactylus johnstonei	Lesser Antillean whistling frog, coqui Antillano, Johnstone's whistling frog	Least Concern.^[2] Widespread throughout the Lesser Antilles. Whether it was a native or introduced is a matter of controversy.^[3]
True toads (Bufonidae)
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Bufo marinus	Cane toad, giant neotropical toad, marine toad	Least Concern. Introduced in the 1830s to control insect pests of sugarcane. Abundant and widespread, particularly in rural areas.

Reptiles

Including marine turtles and introduced species, there are 18 reptile species reported on Barbados, though two are possibly extinct. The Barbados leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus pulcher) and the Barbados threadsnake (Leptotyphlops carlae) are endemic, as were the probably extinct Barbados racer (Liophis perfuscus) and Barbados skink (Alinea lanceolata). A fifth species, the Barbados anole (Anolis extremus), was endemic to Barbados but has been introduced to other islands.

Turtles (Testudines)

Tortoises (Testudinidae)
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Geochelone carbonaria	Red-footed tortoise	Probably introduced. Only known in captive populations and individuals that escaped from such areas; unlikely that a viable wild population exists.
Scaly sea turtles (Cheloniidae)
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Caretta caretta	Loggerhead turtle	Endangered.
Chelonia mydas	Green turtle	Endangered. Seen feeding in waters near the shore. Recorded nesting on Barbados.
Eretmochelys imbricata	Hawksbill turtle	Critically Endangered. Recorded nesting on Barbados.
Leathery sea turtles (Dermochelyidae)
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Dermochelys coriacea	Leatherback turtle	Critically Endangered. Recorded nesting on Barbados.

Lizards and snakes (Squamata)

Geckos (Gekkonidae)
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Hemidactylus mabouia	House gecko	Introduced.
Phyllodactylus pulcher	Barbados leaf-toed gecko	Endemic. Reported from Ragged Point, St. Philip; its range has not yet been systematically studied.^[4]
Iguanas and Anolids (Iguanidae)
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Anolis extremus	Barbados anole	Originally endemic; introduced to other islands. Widespread and abundant.
Anolis sagrei	Brown anole	Introduced^[5]
Whiptails (Teiidae)
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Kentropyx borckiana	Guyana kentropyx, Guyana tegu	The only Kentropyx species found in the Eastern Caribbean. Only females are known to exist; the species as a whole is believed to consist only of unisexual clones.^[6] Primarily found in central parishes; reported as locally common in St. Thomas and St. George.
Ameiva ameiva	Giant ameiva	Recently introduced^[7]
Microteiids (Gymnophthalmidae)
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Gymnophthalmus underwoodi	Underwood's spectacled tegu	Native status uncertain^[8]
Skinks (Scincidae)
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Mabuya mabouya^[9]		Regional endemic. Possibly extirpated from Barbados.
Alinea lanceolata	Barbados skink	Endemic. Critically endangered, possibly extinct ^[10]
Worm snakes (Typhlopidae)
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Leptotyphlops carlae^[11]	Barbados threadsnake	Endemic. First described in 2008; specimens were previously described as L. bilineatus.^[12] The world's smallest known snake.
Indotyphlops braminus	Brahminy blind snake, flowerpot blind snake	Recently introduced; apparently widespread.^[13]
Colubrids (Colubridae)
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Liophis perfuscus	Barbados racer, tan ground snake	Endangered. Endemic. Possibly extinct, as a confirmed sighting has not been made since 1961.
Mastigodryas bruesi	Barbour's tropical racer	Recently introduced, possibly through banana shipments. Originally native to Saint Vincent and Grenada.^[14]

See also

• Fauna of Barbados

References

Note: All species listed above are supported by Malhotra & Thorpe 1999 and Government of Barbados 2002, unless otherwise cited.

• .
• .
• Fields, Angela and Julia A. Horrocks, "An Annotated Checklist of the Herpetofauna of Barbados". Journal of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, Vol 55 pp. 263–283 2009
  • .

Notes and References

1. .
2. [Conservation status]
3. See discussion of E. johnstonei in .
4. .
5. Fields, A. & Horrocks, J. A. 2009. An Annotated Checklist of the Herpetofauna of Barbados. Journal of Barbados Museum & Historical Society 55: 263-283
6. See . Also extant in northern South America; incorrectly described as endemic to Barbados in .
7. Fields, A. & Horrocks, J. A. 2011. The Herpetofauna Of Barbados: Anthropogenic Impacts And Conservation Status. pp. 89–104. In: Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas Volume 2: Regional Accounts of the West Indies. Editors: Adrian Hailey, Byron Wilson, and Julia Horrocks. Brill.
8. Powell, R., Henderson, R.W., Farmer, M.C., Breuil, M., Echternacht, A.C., van Buurt, G., Romagosa, C.M., & Perry, G. 2011. Introduced amphibians and reptiles in the greater Caribbean: patterns and conservation implications. Conservation of Caribbean Island Herpetofaunas 1: 63–144.
9. See . Incorrectly listed in as M. bistriata, a species often confused with M. mabouya.
10. Horrocks, J. & Daltry, J.C. 2016. Alinea lanceolata (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T44579133A115387376. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T44579133A44579169.en.
11. See for the first description of this species.
12. L. bilineatus is reported in ; states only that its "status is unknown. L. bilineatus is now described as endemic to Martinique.
13. .
14. . states that it was likely introduced by accident thirty years ago from Saint Vincent, and that an "incomplete specimen" was confused for L. perfuscus. Reported in only as "a new species of the genus Mastigodryas.".