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List of amphibians and reptiles of Saint Lucia

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Location of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean

This is a list of amphibians and reptiles found on the island-nation of Saint Lucia, located in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles.

Amphibians

There are three species of amphibian on Saint Lucia, two of which were introduced.

Frogs (Anura)

Tree frogs (Hylidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Scinax ruber Red-snouted tree frog Least Concern.[1]
Tropical frogs (Leptodactylidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Eleutherodactylus johnstonei Lesser Antillean whistling frog, coqui Antillano, Johnstone's whistling frog Least Concern.
True toads (Bufonidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Bufo marinus Cane toad, giant neotropical toad, marine toad Least Concern. Introduced.

Reptiles

Including marine turtles and introduced species, there are 20 reptile species reported on Saint Lucia, five of which are endemic.

Turtles (Testudines)

Tortoises (Testudinidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Geochelone carbonaria Red-footed tortoise Likely recent introduction, though possibly as long ago as Amerindian settlement of Saint Lucia.[2] Rarely seen in the wild.
Scaly sea turtles (Cheloniidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Caretta caretta Loggerhead turtle, channel turtle (local name) Endangered.
Chelonia mydas Green turtle Endangered. Regularly seen in coastal waters; nests on both coasts (though mainly on northern beaches), primarily from June to October.
Eretmochelys imbricata Hawksbill turtle Critically Endangered. Regularly seen in coastal waters; nests on both coasts (though mainly on northern beaches), primarily from May to October.
Leathery sea turtles (Dermochelyidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Dermochelys coriacea Leatherback turtle Critically Endangered. Fairly rare. Nesting recorded from April to June, primarily on south and east (Atlantic) coast beaches.

Lizards and snakes (Squamata)

Geckos (Gekkonidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Hemidactylus mabouia House gecko Introduced.
Hemidactylus palaichthus Antilles leaf-toed gecko Restricted to offshore islands of Maria Major and Dennery Island.
Sphaerodactylus microlepis Little-scaled least gecko
Sphaerodactylus vincenti Vincent's least gecko Regional endemic.
Thecadactylus rapicauda Turnip-tailed gecko
Iguanas and Anolids (Iguanidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Anolis extremus Barbados anole Regional endemic. Introduced from Barbados. Restricted to the area around the capital, Castries.
Anolis luciae St. Lucia anole, Saint Lucian anole Endemic. Widespread.
Anolis wattsi Watts' anole Regional endemic. Introduced. Restricted to the area around the capital, Castries.
Iguana iguana Green iguana, common iguana
Whiptails (Teiidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Cnemidophorus vanzoi St Lucia whiptail, Vanzo's whiptail Vulnerable. Endemic. The only Cnemidophorus species found in the Caribbean. Extirpated from the main island and now only native to the small islets of Maria Major and Maria Minor, with fewer than 1000 individuals estimated. A third population has been established on nearby Praslin Island through translocation.[3]
Microteiids (Gymnophthalmidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Gymnophthalmus pleei Martinique spectacled tegu Regional endemic.
Skinks (Scincidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Mabuya mabouya[4] Regional endemic. Possibly extirpated.
Worm snakes (Typhlopidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Leptotyphlops breuili[5] St. Lucia threadsnake Endemic. First described as a separate species in 2008.
Boas (Boidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Boa constrictor Boa constrictor
Colubrids (Colubridae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Liophis ornatus St Lucia racer Endangered. Endemic. Probably extirpated from the main island; present on Maria Major but rare.
Vipers (Viperidae)
Species Common name(s) Notes Image
Bothrops caribbaeus Saint Lucia lancehead Endemic. Distributed in lowlands, commonly found along river valleys.

Notes

  1. ^ Conservation status, where available, is from the IUCN Red List and is indicative of the status of the species as a whole, not just populations on Saint Lucia.
  2. ^ Malhotra 2007, p. 182. The authors previously doubted there was a viable natural population, attributing its presence to escaped pets. Malhotra 1999, p. 49.
  3. ^ Powell & Henderson 2005, p. 66.
  4. ^ Malhotra & Thorpe 1999 instead records M. bistriata as the sole Mabuya species in the Lesser Antilles; many of its Caribbean populations have since been reassigned.
  5. ^ Hedges 2008. Recorded in Malhotra & Thorpe 1999 as Leptotyphlops bilineata.

References

Note: All species listed above are supported by Malhotra & Thorpe 1999, unless otherwise cited.

  • Hedges, S. Blair (2008), "At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles" (PDF), Zootaxa, 1841: 1–30, retrieved March 5, 2010
  • Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999), Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean, Macmillan Education Ltd., pp. 92–97, ISBN 0-333-69141-5.
  • Powell, Robert; Henderson, Robert W. (2005), "Conservation Status of Lesser Antillean Reptiles", Iguana, 12 (2): 63–77
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