Amphibians and reptiles are collective known as herptiles, and the herptiles found in a given geographic area make up the herpetofauna. People all over the world have been both fascinated and terrorized by amphibians and reptiles, a love-hate relationship that has confused science for centuries. However, amphibians and reptiles are important in nature, they are predators, scavengers, and prey. They help control populations that could become pests to humans, reduce the spread of disease, have medical value, and may be eaten by humans. Amphibians and reptiles are also aesthetically pleasing they have remarkable adaptations to their environments and represent lineages of animals that had ancestors in deep time.

We suspect that many new species of amphibians and reptiles remain to be discovered but their habitats are disappearing quickly and science is now in a race to find as many new species as possible before forests are cut, swamps and drains, and savannas become housing developments. Even the species that we know about have much interesting biology to learn and very likely contain molecules that can be used to improve human health.

This website will provide basic information on Trinidad and Tobago’s herpetofauna and make the user more aware of the very interesting animals that can be found in the islands. Knowledge of these animals increases the chance that people will want to protect them for future generations to enjoy.

How To Use This Website
We are providing photographs and a simple description of each of the animals for identification. This is not without problems because many species may look superficially similar. However, for many of the common species a photograph will readily aid the reader in making in the identification. Males, females, and juveniles sometimes have different colors or sizes making identification more difficult. And, sometimes two species may look alike by are not even closely related because one is venomous or toxic and the other species is mimicking the dangerous one.

Common names are provided in bold, capital letters, scientific names are provided in italics. The common English names are given may be local names or names that are used for this species in other parts of its distribution.

Four venomous snakes are present in Trinidad but are unknown from Tobago. However, many snakes produce toxins even though they may not have enlarged front fangs. It is never a good idea to allow a snake to bite you, even if you think it is harmless. Should you be bitten a venomous snakes go to the hospital immediately. Do not take time to administer first aid, go to the hospital. Snakes that are potentially dangerous (PD) are noted, snakes that are extremely dangerous are noted as (V). The potentially dangerous snakes often have fangs in the rear of their mouth and those fangs have an open, deep groove for conducting venom into the bite.

Sizes given are total length (TL), snout-vent length (SVL), and Carapace length (CL) for turtles. All measurements are in centimeters (cm) or meters (m).

Reproduction
Amphibians and Reptiles have a variety of reproductive strategies. Trinidad and Tobago amphibians always fertilize their eggs outside of the female’s body. Once the eggs are in the water or in a nest the male fertilizes them. Several frogs carry eggs on their backs until they hatch, some deposit the tadpoles into streams or water pools in plants, and a few frogs have eggs that hatch directly into little froglets skipping the tadpole stage altogether.

Reptiles, on the other hand, fertilize the eggs inside of the female’s body during mating. The female then puts a shell on the egg and deposits it in a nest (oviparous species). The nest may or may not be guarded. Or, the female may keep the eggs in her body until the young are ready to be born (viviparous species).

Activity
Amphibians and reptiles may spend much of their time in hiding. They may be below ground, in trees, or tree cavities, hiding between the leaves of plants, or in an ant or termite nest. Some are active during the days, others are active at night, and some may be active only at sunset or sunrise. Some are active only during the wet season others only during the dry season. This makes many species difficult to find.

Terrestrial species are active on land.
Arboreal species are usually seen in trees or shrubs.
Burrowing species are usually underground or in the leaf litter on the ground.
Amphibious species move between land and water.
Aquatic species are mostly freshwater dwelling.
Marine species are mostly ocean dwellers.

Native verses Invasive Species
Most species of amphibians and reptiles that occur on Trinidad and Tobago also occur on the adjacent South American mainland. A few are found only on the two islands. But some species have been introduced from the Lesser Antilles by humans. These are feral populations some of which may have a negative impact on the native fauna.