Lauren A. Esposito

Presence of the Island Least Gecko, Sphaerodactylus sputator, confirmed for Saba, Caribbean Netherlands

Accurate assessment of species ranges is important not only for conservation planning but also for our understanding of their ecology and evolution (e.g., Kodric-Brown and Brown, 1993; Carlton, 1996; Blackburn and Gaston, 1998; Rondinini et al., 2006). Although several Lesser Antillean reptile groups show high levels of endemism, with most islands hosting at least one local endemic species (Lazell, 1972; Hedges et al., 2009; Tucker et al., 2017), it is not uncommon for Sphaerodactylus geckos to range across multiple islands (Schwartz and Henderson, 1991; Thorpe et al., 2008; Surget-Groba and Thorpe, 2012; Yuan et al., 2020). The Island Least Gecko, Sphaerodactylus sputator (Sparrman, 1784), is known to occur on the islands of Anguilla, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Martin, and Nevis, as well as their satellite islands (King, 1962; Schwartz and Henderson, 1991; Malhotra and Thorpe, 1999; Powell et al., 2005; Questel, 2012, 2018). Here, we confirm the presence of S. sputator on Saba, from where, to the best of our knowledge, the species has not previously been reported (Schwartz and Thomas 1975; Schwartz and Henderson, 1991; Powell and Henderson 1996; Powell et al., 2005; Powell and Bauer 2012; Powell and Henderson 2012).

Date
2023
Data type
Scientific article
Theme
Research and monitoring
Document
Geographic location
Saba