List of snakes of Trinidad and Tobago

This is a list of snakes which have been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago. Forty-seven species have been recorded - forty-four in Trinidad and twenty-one in Tobago, making the snake population of this area by far the most diverse in the Caribbean. Many of these species are South American, most of which are present in Venezuela.

Cascabel Dormillon or Cook's Tree Boa (Corallus ruschenbergerii), Caroni Swamp, Trinidad.

Trinidad and Tobago consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and several smaller islands. The "Bocas Islands", which lie between Trinidad and Venezuela, in the Bocas del Dragón (Dragons' Mouth), consist of Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos and Gaspar Grande. Several smaller islands lie off Trinidad, but snakes have only been recorded on one of them, Caledonia Island. Snakes have only been recorded on one island off Tobago, Little Tobago.

Only four species are venomous - two Coral Snakes (Micrurus spp.), the Fer-de-lance (Bothrops atrox) and the Bushmaster (Lachesis muta). The Common Coral is found on one of the Bocas Islands (Gaspar Grande). No venomous snakes occur in Tobago.

Contents

Family Leptotyphlopidae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Leptotyphlops albifrons Ground Puppy X

Family Typhlopidae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Helminthrophis sp. 1 Yellow-headed Ground Puppy X
Typhlops brongersmianus Burrowing Snake X
Typhlops trinitatus 2 Trinidad Burrowing Snake X X

Family Aniliidae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Anilus scytale scytale 3 Burrowing False Coral; Rouleau X

Family Boidae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Boa constrictor constrictor Macajuel, Boa Constrictor X X X 4 5
Corallus ruschenbergerii Cascabel Dormillon; Cook's Tree Boa X X
Epicrates cenchria maurus Rainbow Boa X X X 6 7
Eunectes murinas gigas Huille, Anaconda X

Family Colubridae

Subfamily Xenodontinae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Clelia clelia clelia Black Cribo, Mussurana X X 6 7
Erythrolamprus aesculapii 3 False Coral X
Erythrolamprus bizona False Coral X
Erythrolamprus ocellatus 2 Tobago False Coral, Red Snake X
Helicops angulatus Water Mapepire, Brown-banded Water Snake X
Hydrops triangularis neglectus Water Coral X
Liophis cobellus cobellus Mangrove Snake, Mangrove Mapepire X
Liophis melanotus nesos 2 Beh Belle Chemin, Doctor Snake X X X 6
Liophis reginae zweifeli High Woods Coral X X
Oxyrhopus petola petola False Coral X X
Pseudoboa neuwiedii Ratonel X X X 6
Siphlophis cervinus Checkerbelly X
Thamnodynastes sp. Striped Swamp Snake X
Tripanurgos compressus Mapepire De Fe, False Coral X

Subfamily Dipsadinae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Atractus trilineatus Three-lined Ground Snake X X ? 8
Atractus cf. univittatus 9 Tobago One-lined Snake X
Dipsas variegata trinitatis 2 Snail-eating Snake X
Imantodes cenchoa cenchoa Mapepire Corde Violon, Fiddle-string Snake X X
Leptodeira annulata ashmeadi False Mapepire, Cat-eyed Night Snake X X X 5 10
Ninia atrata Red-nape Snake, Ring Neck Snake X X
Sibon nebulata nebulata Clouded Snake X X X 10

Subfamily Colubrinae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Chironius carinatus carinatus Machete Savane, Yellow Machete X
Chironius multiventris septentrionalis Long-tailed Machete Savane X
Chironius scurrulus 3 Smooth Machete Savane X
Drymarchon corais corais Yellow-tailed Cribo X X X 4
Leptophis ahaetulla coeruleodorus Lora, Parrot Snake X X
Leptophis stimsoni 2 Grey Lora X
Mastigodryas boddaerti boddaerti Machete Couesse X X 4 5 6 10 X 11
Mastigodryas boddaerti dunni 2 Machete Couesse X X 12
Oxybelis aeneus Horsewhip X X X 6 10
Pseustes poecilonotus polylepis Dos Cocorite X
Pseustes sulphureus sulphureus Yellow-bellied Puffing Snake X
Spilotes pullatus pullatus Tigre, Tigro X X
Tantilla melanocephala Black-headed Snake X X X 10

Family Elapidae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Micrurus lemniscatus diutius Common Coral Snake X X 5
Micrurus circinalis Large Coral Snake X

Family Viperidae

Species Common name Trinidad Tobago Bocas Is. Other
Bothrops atrox Mapepire Balsain, Fer-de-lance X
Lachesis muta muta Mapepire Zanana, Mapepire Z'Ananas, Bushmaster X

Notes

  1. ^ Helminthrophis sp. is known from a single collection. It may represent an undescribed species since none of the three described species are known from adjacent portions of Venezuela.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Endemic to Trinidad and Tobago.
  3. ^ a b c This species is only known in Trinidad and Tobago from a single collection.
  4. ^ a b c Recorded from the island of Monos.
  5. ^ a b c d Recorded from the island of Gaspar Grande.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Recorded from the island of Chacachacare.
  7. ^ a b Report has not been confirmed with a specimen.
  8. ^ Has been reported from the island of Huevos, but Boos considers this record doubtful.
  9. ^ Atractus cf. univittatus is known from a single collection in Tobago. It has affinities with A. univittatus, but may be an undescribed species.
  10. ^ a b c d e Recorded from the island of Huevos.
  11. ^ Recorded from Caledonia Island.
  12. ^ Recorded from the island of Little Tobago.

See also

References

Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The snakes of Trinidad and Tobago, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX. ISBN 1-58544-116-3. 

External links

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