REPTILES OF JAMAICAPeter VogelDepartment of Life SciencesMona CampusUniversity of the West Indies

Order Testudines: Turtles

Jamaican Slider Turtle (freshwater)

Marine Turtles

Jamaican Slider Turtle(Trachemys terrapen)

Endemic to Jamaica, but introduced on someislands of the Bahamas

Freshwater lakes, ponds, streams and swamps

Carapace length• to 200 mm in males

• To 270 mm in females

• Hatchlings 40 mm

Frugivorous

Up to 4 clutches per year; clutch size 3-8

Sea Turtles

Hawksbill

Loggerhead

Green Turtle

Leatherback

Sea Turtle Nests by Species (%)

N = 112. Source: Sea Turtle Recovery Network Jamaica

58.9

25.9

12.5

2.7

Hawksbill

Loggerhead

Green Turtle

Leatherbackn = 112

Order CrocodiliaAmerican Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

Size• Up to 700 cm (average 300-400 cm)

• Hatchlings 25-30 cm

Distribution• Southern North America, Central America

• Cuba, Hispaniola and Jamaica

Habitat• Aquatic; occurs in coastal mangroves, lagoons, marshes, ponds,

lower parts of rivers

Food• Small mammals, fishes,

• turtles, birds, crustaceans

Crocodile Reproduction

Courtship and mating December-January

Harems of one male and several females

Eggs 30-60, deposited in hole excavated by female in softsand or gravel

Females guard nests

Incubation 3-4 months

Order Squamata: Sauria (Lizards)

Family Gekkonidae (geckos)• 9 native species

• 1 introduced species

Family Iguanidae: 8 species

Family Teiidae: 1 species

Family Scincidae (skinks): 1 species

Family Anguidae: 7 species

Gekkonidae

Aristelliger praesignis (Croaking Lizard)

Sphaerodactylus (Polly Lizards): 7 species

Gonatodes albigularis

Introduced: Hemidactylus

Aristelliger praesignis(Croaking Lizard)

Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Swan Island

SVL to 85 mm

Nocturnal; arboreal, but also in houses

Eggs with hard shell; laid singly incommunal nests

Croaks in chorus

Well developed digital pads

Digital Pads in Geckos

Adhesion through van der Waals forces: intermolecular bonds between 2 non-polar particles.

Geckos can sustain over 40 times their own body weights on a vertical surface

Sphaerodactylus (Polly Lizards)

Sphaerodactylus argus: most common species;non-endemic; SVL 30 mm

Six endemic species; SVL 20-40 mm

Gonatodes albigularis

Non-endemic; SVL to 40 mm

Diurnal; in dry habitats

Hemidactylus mabouia

Recent introduction; common inKingston (houses)

Iguanidae

Anolis: 7 species

Cyclura collei: Jamaican Iguana

garmanigrahamilineatopusopalinusvalenciennireconditussagrei (non-endemic)

Anolis (anoles)

Anoles cont.

Best studied lizards in Caribbean

Already discussed:• Ecomorphs

• Within-island radiation

Diurnal; sit-and-wait predators

Lay one egg at a time; once every 5-7 days inrainy season

Able to change colour

Several Jamaican species have voice

Colour Change in Lizards

Coloured pigment granules andblack melanocytes below.

Melanocytes can expand.

Mask pigment granules whenexpanded. Expansion/contractioncontrolled by a hormone.

Anole Dewlap

Communication• Male-male competition

• Male-female interaction

Species-specific displaypatterns, combined withhead bobbing

Extension by rotation ofelongated hyoid cartilage

Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei)

Genus endemic to Caribbean Islands; species endemic to Jamaica

General Characteristics

Total length up to 170 cm

Strictly diurnal; spends nightin rock crevices

Mainly on ground, but climbstrees as well

Herbivore: eats leaves, fruitsand flowers

Historical Distribution of theJamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei)

Fossil: Portland Ridge

Taino middens:Kingston to Spanish Town

Historical accounts:Kingston to Vere

Place name: Liguanea Plain

Thought to be extinct by about 1950

Rediscovery of the Jamaican Iguana

1970: Hellshire Hills Scientific Survey

1990: Retrieval of live iguana fromHellshire Hills by pig hunter (EdwinDuffus)

Iguana Conservation

ONGOING:

Protecting nesting females and hatching young

Protection of major iguana areas from human encroachment

Headstarting

Control of exotic predators

Captive breeding

FUTURE:

Implementation of Protected Area Management (Portland BightProtected Area)

Re-evaluation of housing plans

Establishment of satellite populations (Great Goat Island)

AnguidaeCelestus (Galliwasp)

C. crusculus: most common species; non-endemic

Six endemic species; greatly threatened

Mainly on ground, secretive; one species onbromeliads

ovoviviparous

TeiidaeAmeiva dorsalis (Ground Lizard)

endemic

SVL up to 120 mm

Scattered distributionalong coast

Diurnal, active forager

Vulnerable to mongoosepredation

Scincidae (Skinks)Mabuya sloanei

Non-endemic

SVL up to 90 mm

Diurnal; active forager;ovoviviparous

Scattered locality along dry southcoast

Vulnerable to mongoosepredation

Celestus crusculus

SVL to 90 mm

Celestus hewardi

SVL to 150 mm

Celestus duquesneyiBlue-tailed Galliwasp

Beautiful but crypticdry forest inhabitant

Known only fromPortland Ridge andHellshire Hills

Collected in1930’s, and again in1990’s

Detectable withspecial traps;otherwise easilymissed

Celestus occiduus(Jamaican Giant Galliwasp)

Over 60 cm total length; feared to be extinct.Said to have lived near swamps, feeding on fish and fruits

Order Squamata: Serpentes (Snakes)

9 species; all endemic

Families:• Typhlopidae: 1 species

• Boidae: 1 species

• Tropidophidae 3 species

• Colubridae: 4 species

TyphlopidaeTyphlops jamaicensis (Jamaican Blindsnake)

Primitive burrowing snake; eyes reduced (“Two-headed Snake”)

Total length to 50 cm

Feeds on ants and termites

BoidaeEpicrates subflavus (Jamaican Boa, Yellow Snake)

Total length to 300 cm

Nocturnal

Harmless, but often killed on sight

Occurs in both wet and dry forests

Feeds on small vertebrates

TropidophidaeTropidophis (Thunder Snake)

Three closelyrelated species;size to 70 cm

Feed on smallvertebrates;constrictors(related to boas)

Tail tipcoloured; usedas a lure

ColubridaeAlsophis ater (Black Racer)

SVL to 90 cm

Diurnal, activeforager; feeds onsmall vertebrates

Vulnerable tomongoose predation

Feared to be extinct

ColubridaeArrhyton (Garden Snakes)

Three small-sized species; common

Feed on small vertebrates

Arrhyton funereum

Diversity of Jamaican Herpetofauna

non-endemic endemic total

Frogs 21 21

Turtles 4 1 5

Crocodiles 1 1

Lizards 6 20 26

Snakes 9 9

Amphibians 21 21

Reptiles 11 30 41