van Wagensveld, T.

 The Stout Four-eyed Frog (Pleurodema brachyops) is native to the northern South American and Central American nations of Guyana, northern Brazil (Roraima State), Venezuela (including Isla Margarita), eastern and northern Colombia into the Pacific lowlands of Panama from Azuero to central Panama, and Aruba (La Marca et al. 2010). The species is considered introduced on Curaçao, Bonaire, and Klein Bonaire (Hummelinck 1940; van Buurt 2005). Herin we present the first observations of P. brachyops on both Dutch and French sides of Sint Maarten/St. Martin, where it is te fifth anuran species to be introduced and established after the Lesser Antillean Frog, Martinique Frog, Cuban Flat-headed Frog and Cuban Treefrog. Stout Four-eyed Frogs were almost certainly introduced to teh islands as a consequence of ornamental plant imports.

The Leeward Blindsnake (Antillotyphlops geotomus) is a near threatened species according to the IUCN Red list (Powell et al., 2016), and was known only to occur on Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, and Nevis, where it is considered a native species (Thomas 1966). Here we report the discovery of A. geotomus on St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands. We obtained a DNA sequence of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene from a specimen collected on St. Eustatius in 2018 using the primers 16Sar (5’-CGCCTGTTTATCAAAAACAT-3’) and 16Sbr (5’-CCGGTCTGAACTCAGATCACGT-3’) (Palumbi 1996). The sequence was deposited in Genbank (MT256921). Blast analysis of the sequence resulted in 100% and 99.8% identity to sequences in Genbank of A. geotomus from Nevis (KF993199) and Antigua (AF366789) respectively. A 98.5% identity match was found with its nearest relative Antillotyphlops monastus (AF366708, KF993209). This species identification (A. geotomus) is consistent with the absence of pigment on the underside of the tail, a diagnostic trait of A. geotomus compared with A. monastus (Thomas 1966). The collected specimen had a total length of 125 mm, although they are known to reach lengths of up to 213 mm (Hedges et al. 2014). Furthermore, St. Eustatius is geographically in close proximity to St. Kitts & Nevis, which lie on the same shallow submarine bank only to be separated by the sea after the last ice age. Therefore, A. geotomus is likely native to St. Eustatius and not introduced. The other snake known from the island is the Red-bellied Racer (Alsophis rufiventris, native).

The Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima) is native to the Lesser Antilles, a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. The species is in serious decline, and has been extirpated on islands throughout its geographic range. Therefore I. delicatissima now is classified as endangered on the IUCN red list. A better understanding of these animals can help in effectively protecting them. With little known on the behaviour and distribution of the Lesser Antillean iguana on St. Eustatius, I spent 4 months studying this increasingly rare animal. In the search for iguanas approximately 80-84% of the island of St. Eustatius was investigated. To get an idea of the distribution, total population and biology of iguanas, 286 iguanas in total were caught, which includes work done by Thijs van den Burg. Of these iguanas 195 were beaded and 78 were temporarily marked. Nesting sites, hatchling sightings and the distribution of iguanas has been mapped. These maps illustrate fragmentation of the iguana population on St. Eustatius. We have found that both the Boven-and Quill National Parks have very few iguanas, and thus that the majority of iguanas live outside the park boundaries, which is a major cause for concern. Designating new protected areas might be required in order to save the species on St. Eustatius. Further research is needed on nesting behaviour and hatchling dispersion. Furthermore the beading of iguanas must be continued, and continuously monitored. The culling of feral livestock, placement of artificial nests along with a in situ head starting/ husbandry program is suggested to bolster the current population of iguanas.