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REPTILES OF JAMAICA
Peter Vogel
Department of Life Sciences
Mona Campus
University of the West Indies
Order Testudines: Turtles
 Jamaican Slider Turtle (freshwater)
 Marine Turtles
Jamaican Slider Turtle
(Trachemys terrapen)
 Endemic to Jamaica, but introduced on some
islands 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 (%)
Leatherback
Green Turtle
Loggerhead
n = 112
2.7
12.5
25.9
Hawksbill
N = 112. Source: Sea Turtle Recovery Network Jamaica
58.9
Order Crocodilia
American 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 soft
sand 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 in
communal nests
 Croaks in chorus
 Well developed digital pads
Digital Pads in Geckos
Adhesion through van der Waals forces: intermolecular bonds between 2 nonpolar 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 in
Kingston (houses)
Iguanidae
 Anolis: 7 species
 Cyclura collei: Jamaican Iguana
Anolis (anoles)
garmani
grahami
lineatopus
opalinus
valencienni
reconditus
sagrei (non-endemic)
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 in
rainy season
 Able to change colour
 Several Jamaican species have voice
Colour Change in Lizards
 Coloured pigment granules and
black melanocytes below.
 Melanocytes can expand.
 Mask pigment granules when
expanded. Expansion/contraction
controlled by a hormone.
Anole Dewlap
 Communication
• Male-male competition
• Male-female interaction
 Species-specific display
patterns, combined with
head bobbing
 Extension by rotation of
elongated 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 night
in rock crevices
 Mainly on ground, but climbs
trees as well
 Herbivore: eats leaves, fruits
and flowers
Historical Distribution of the
Jamaican 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 from
Hellshire Hills by pig hunter (Edwin
Duffus)
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 Bight
Protected Area)
 Re-evaluation of housing plans
 Establishment of satellite populations (Great Goat Island)
Anguidae
Celestus (Galliwasp)
 C. crusculus: most common species; nonendemic
 Six endemic species; greatly threatened
 Mainly on ground, secretive; one species on
bromeliads
 ovoviviparous
Teiidae
Ameiva dorsalis (Ground Lizard)
 endemic
 SVL up to 120 mm
 Scattered distribution
along coast
 Diurnal, active forager
 Vulnerable to mongoose
predation
Scincidae (Skinks)
Mabuya sloanei
 Non-endemic
 SVL up to 90 mm
 Diurnal; active forager;
ovoviviparous
 Scattered locality along dry south
coast
 Vulnerable to mongoose
predation
Celestus crusculus
SVL to 90 mm
Celestus hewardi
SVL to 150 mm
Celestus duquesneyi
Blue-tailed Galliwasp
 Beautiful but cryptic
dry forest inhabitant
 Known only from
Portland Ridge and
Hellshire Hills
 Collected in
1930’s, and again in
1990’s
 Detectable with
special traps;
otherwise easily
missed
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
Typhlopidae
Typhlops jamaicensis (Jamaican Blindsnake)
 Primitive burrowing snake; eyes reduced (“Twoheaded Snake”)
 Total length to 50 cm
 Feeds on ants and termites
Boidae
Epicrates 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
Tropidophidae
Tropidophis (Thunder Snake)
 Three closely
related species;
size to 70 cm
 Feed on small
vertebrates;
constrictors
(related to boas)
 Tail tip
coloured; used
as a lure
Colubridae
Alsophis ater (Black Racer)
 SVL to 90 cm
 Diurnal, active
forager; feeds on
small vertebrates
 Vulnerable to
mongoose predation
 Feared to be extinct
Colubridae
Arrhyton (Garden Snakes)
 Three small-sized species; common
 Feed on small vertebrates
Arrhyton funereum
Diversity of Jamaican Herpetofauna
Frogs
Turtles
Crocodiles
Lizards
Snakes
Amphibians
Reptiles
non-endemic endemic
21
4
1
1
6
20
9
11
21
30
total
21
5
1
26
9
21
41