3. Field Notes From Tobago


Little Tobago Island is located off the northeast coast of Tobago, it is about 97 hectares, and contains seasonal and littoral forests. Birds of Paradise were once introduced here, they have now been extirpated and are replaced by feral domestic chickens. We made a day visit to the island on June 29 and observed some of the herpetofauna. The most obvious species is Ameiva atrigularis, these lizards are relatively tame, sit quietly on a trail and they will approach you, and some specimens are quite large. There is relatively little beach habitat on the island, but there is a small stretch of sandy beach next to the jetty where Cnemidophorus lemniscatus is present. Gonatodes ocellatus can be seen sitting on tree trunks in the shade. Iguanas are also present, and usually a fleeting glimpse is all you see.  We failed to find Bachia heteropa and Hemidactylus palaichthus species previously reported by Dinsmore (1970) and Murphy (1997).
Ameiva atrigularis foraging on Little Toabo
Cnemidophorus lemniscatus on Little Tobago
As for the snakes, we found only Mastigodryas dunni, a species also present on Tobago. Other snakes reported from the island are: Atractus trilineatus and  Leptophis coeruleodorsus.
Mastigodryas dunni from Little Tobago
Frogs are problematic on Little Tobago. Mannophryne olmonae and Leptodactylus fuscus have both been reported from the island by Murphy (1997) but we have been unable to confirm their presence. Freshwater is in short supply, streams are few and intermittent.  

Surprisingly absent from the island are: marine toads and any member of the genus Anolis.