reptile

The Curaçao Whiptail (Cnemidophorus murinus) (Squamata: Teiidae) was once considered to have two subspecies, C. m. murinus (endemic to Curaçao and Klein-Curaçao) and C. m. ruthveni (endemic to Bonaire and Klein-Bonaire), but the two are now considered separate species (Ugueto and Harvey 2010). Little has been published on the natural history of C. murinus. Most of the literature on the natural history of “C. murinus” actually pertains to C. ruthveni and includes studies on diet (Dearing and Schall 1992, Schall 1996), body temperature (Schall and Dearing 1994), metabolic expenditure (Bennett and Gleeson 1979), population density and energetics (Bennett and Gorman 1979), signaling behavior (Cooper et al. 2004), escape behavior (Cooper et al. 2003), and learning (Schall 2000). In contrast, published literature on C. murinus that deals with topics other than its taxonomy, morphology, and distribution is limited to a few notes on its parasites (Specian and Whittaker 1980), pathology (Hughes and Delis 2014), clutch size (van Buurt 2011), conservation (van Buurt 2006), and interactions with tourists (van Buurt 2011). Herein I add to the published knowledge of C. murinus with observations on diet and foraging.

Abstract.– Intraspecific diversity is among the most important biological variables, although still poorly understood for most species. Iguana iguana is a Neotropical lizard known from Central and South America, including from numerous Caribbean islands. Despite the presence of native melanistic I. iguana populations in the Lesser Antilles, these have received surprisingly little research attention. Here we assessed population size, distribution, degree of melanism, and additional morphological and natural history characteristics for the melanistic iguanas of Saba, Caribbean Netherlands based on a one-month fieldwork visit. Using Distance sampling from a 38- transect dataset we estimate the population size at 8233 ±2205 iguanas. Iguanas mainly occurred on the southern and eastern sides of the island, between 180-390 m (max altitude 530 m), with highest densities both in residential and certain natural areas. Historically, iguanas were relatively more common at higher altitudes, probably due to more extensive forest clearing for agricultural reasons. No relationship was found between the degree of melanism and elevation, and few animals were completely melanistic. Furthermore, we found that body-ratio data collection through photographs is biased and requires physical measuring instead. Although the population size appears larger than previously surmised, the limited nesting sites and extremely low presence of juvenile and hatchling iguanas (2.4%), is similarly worrying as the situation for I. delicatissima on neighboring St. Eustatius. The island’s feral cat and large goat population are suspected to impact nest site quality, nest success, and hatchling survival. These aspects require urgent future research to guide necessary conservation management.