Reptile observations on the Maria Islands —7 • _ .

fauna of the Maria Islands, St. Lucia, West Animals. IUCN, Gland and Cambridge. Indies. Dodo, J. Wild. Preserv. Trust 33, 104- Johnston, J.P., Anthony, D.A., & Bloxam, Q.M.C. 117. (1994). Rat eradication from Praslin Island: Corke, D. (1987). Reptile conservation on the The St. Lucia Whiptail Lizard Conservation Maria Islands (St. Lucia, West Indies). Biol. Programme. Dodo, J. Wild. Preserv. Trust. 30, Conserv. 40, 263-279. 114-118. Corke, D. (1992). The status and conservation McFarlan, D. (1990). The Guinness Book of needs of the Windward Islands (West Indies), Records. 1991 Enfield: Guinness Publishing Biol. Conserv. 62, 47-58. Ltd. Crother, B. (1999). Caribbean Amphibians and Pough, F.H., Andrews, R.M., Cadle, J.E., Reptiles. London: Academic Press. Crump, M.L., Savitzky, A.H., & Wells, K.D. Crump, M.L. & Scott, N.J. (1994). In Measuring (1998). Herpetology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Schwartz, R. W. and Monitoring Biological Diversity, Standard A. & Henderson, (1988). West Indian amphibians and reptiles: A checklist. Methods for Amphibians, pp. 84-85. Heyer, Milwaukee Public Museum: Contribs. Biol. W.R., Donnelly, M.A., McDiarmid, R.W., Geol. 74, 1-264. Hayek, L.C., and Foster, M. S. (Eds.). Schwartz, A. & Henderson, R.W. (1991). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Geoghegan, T. & Renard, Y. (1985). Maria Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural Islands Nature Reserve - Interpretative guide, History. Gainesville: University of Florida Castries, East Caribbean Natural Area Press. Management Program (ECNAMP) and St. Sherriff, D., Bloxam, Q.M.C., & Gibson. R.C. Lucia National Trust. Barbados: Letchworth (1995). A report on the reptiles of Maria Island Press Ltd. Major, St. Lucia, West Indies. Dodo, J. Wild. Holdridge, L.R. (1967). Life Zone Ecology, rev. Preserv. Trust. 31, 103-111. ed. San Jose, Costa Rica: Tropical Science Underwood, G. (1995). A Tale of Old Serpents: Center. The extermination of the Cribo in St. Lucia. St. IUCN (2000). 2000 IUCN Red list of Threatened Lucia National Trust, Castries: Unique Printers.

AN IGUANID LIZARD SHAMMING A HOUSE GECKO

YEHUDAH L. WERNER' and NURIT WERNER2 'Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel. E-mail: [email protected]

228 Ha-Ari Street, 92191 Jerusalem, Israel. rpHIS is a report of a free-living diurnal iguanid group, included the species of Plica in the genus .lizard, Tropidurus plica (Linnaeus), basking in Tropidurus. Frank & Ramus (1995) list the artificial light at night, indoors. This Neotropical vernacular name 'tree runner', which sounds species was widely known as Plica plica until strange for a lizard known for its 'sit and wait' Frost (1992), following an extensive study of the foraging strategy (Hoogmoed, 1973; Vitt, 1991;

28 Herpetological Bulletin [2001] - Number 77 lguanid lizard shamming a house gecko see Werner, 1996, for comments on vernacular section frequented by the lizard at night names). Murphy (1997) quotes the local names approximated 3000 lux (Gossen Lunasix-F 'tok-tok' and 'old man' with reservation. photographic exposure meter graded in lux). We During 21 May - 3 June and 6 -13 June 2000 we did not actually verify the lizard's whereabouts stayed on Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and during the day but believe that it stayed behind Tobago, West Indies), in the Pax Guest House on the piece of furniture. Mt. St. Benedict, Tunapuna (10° 39' 38.6" N, 61° Tropidurus plica ranges widely in northern, 23' 49.8" W, 160 m a.s.l.). We lodged in a small especially Amazonian, South America and on cottage annexed to the main building, which had a Trinidad, living in forests, mainly on the trunks of corridor bounded towards the outside by a wall of large trees but also on rocks (Avila-Pires, 1995; natural stones. This wall was only 2 m high, not Murphy, 1997). We saw an individual on a rock in reaching the ceiling, so that above it the corridor the forest on Mt. St. Benedict, appearing awake at communicated with the outside. In the corridor about 14:00 h. Hoogmoed (1973) described the stood a chest of drawers carrying a large mirror. A species as diurnal with 'sit and wait' foraging couple of incandescent lamps lit the habits. Vitt (1991), based on eight months of corridor at night. observations (wet and dry seasons) in Brazil, Every night, an adult Tropidurus plica would details the diel cycle of T. plica as diurnal. At night emerge from behind the mirror and hang spread- he observed four individuals sleeping, two eagled on the wall beside it, usually vertically with hanging on tree trunks and two in rock crevices. the head down but tilted up, away from the wall He recorded the average body temperature of three (Hoogmoed, 1973). The lizard was missing part day-active individuals as 30.7° C, while the of the tail, and its coloration lacked the usual green accompanying air and substrate temperatures component; its dominant colours were grey and averaged 27.4 and 27.7° C respectively. black. The identification of the species was This case of reversed diel cycle in a Tropidurus confirmed by Dr. Victor Quesnel, an experienced plica is certainly unusual and one must wonder and renowned local naturalist and herpetologist, whether we have encountered a single freak when he came to visit on 29 May 2000. animal, or a rare example of an existing pattern. The lizard was out almost every night Only after this latter alternative is validated throughout the whole night, but was extremely will it be warranted to expound the wary and on the appearance of people a few assorted implications. meters away would quickly dodge behind the mirror. It would stay under cover for a variable ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS duration, and then sometimes emerge with only We thank F. Hayes, H.E.A. Boos, and especially V. the front half of the body exposed. Although our Quesnel for expert and friendly guidance; P.R. room had a window, with semi-transparent Bacon, head of the Department of Life Sciences, curtains, towards the corridor, it was very difficult University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, for to photograph the lizard because it tended to supportive hospitality; and C.K. Starr of the same escape even from the camera's approach behind department and C. Posthoff, head of the the window. Department of Mathematics and Computing, for Times when we actually recorded the lizard's help with communication. presence included two attempts at photography, on 31 May at 05:00 h and on 9 June at 00:30 h, and a REFERENCES series of inspections in the night 12/13 June at Avila-Pires, T.C.S. (1995). Lizards of Brazilian 22:30, 00:30, 01:30, 05:00 and 06:40 h. At 00:30 Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). Zoologische and 05:00 h air temperature and wall temperature Verhandelingen 299, 1-706. ranged from 25 to 25.6° C (Miller-Weber small Frank, N. & Ramus, E. (1995). A Complete Guide animal thermometer). Light intensity on the wall to Scientific and Common Names of Reptiles

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and Amphibians of the World. Pottsville, PA.: Vitt, L.J. (1991). Ecology and life history of the N.G. Publishing Inc. scansorial arboreal lizard Plica plica Frost, D.R. (1992). Phylogenetic analysis and (Iguanidae) in Amazonian Brazil. Can. J. ZooL taxonomy of the Tropidurus group of lizards 69, 504-511. (Iguania: Tropiduridae). Am. Mus. Novitates Werner, Y.L. (1996). Book review: A Complete 3033, 1-68. Guide to Scientific and Common Names of Hoogmoed, M.S. (1973). Notes on the Reptiles and Amphibians of the World, by Herpetofauna of Surinam IV. The Lizards and Norman Frank and Erica Ramus. Copeia 1996, Amphisbaenians of Surinam. The Hague: Junk. 1066-1069. Murphy, J.C. (1997). Amphibians and Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago. Malabar, Florida: Krieger.

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A SHORT NOTE ON THE HERPETOFAUNA OF THE PALINURO PENINSULA, CLIENT°, SOUTHERN CAMPANIA, ITALY

FRANK D. BOWLES

37 Albany Terrace, Dundee DD3 6HS, U.K.

HE Palinuro peninsula was visited between 11 rises from the valley of the Lambro to form Tand 25 May, 2001. As Campania had been limestone cliffs of about 170 metres, the highest visited by myself and my family before, it was point being above the southwest extremity, where assumed that there would be nothing particular of the lighthouse called Faro di Palinuro stands at individual interest. However, despite the fact there 203 m. The north-facing slope is in great part were no species observed that had not been seen covered by mixed woodland, the sun-facing south previously, there were unusual characteristics of is clad in typical Mediterranian scrub, and there is the local herpetofauna that were worthy of note. some intense cultivation along some of the banks of the Lambro. During our visit the weather was very variable LOCALITY DESCRIPTION with several overcast days and a little rain. Midday The Palinuro peninsula is just over two kilometres temperatures averaged between 21 and 25° C. We long and has an average width of about one had accommodation above the southern cliffs in kilometre. It juts westwards into the Tyrennian one of several chalet-type buildings belonging to a Sea, out of the mountainous, southwest-facing hotel. These had gardens around them whose coast of the Cilento National Park, of which it is hedges and dry-stone walls provided habitat for also a part, separated from it by the southern four of the six reptile species observed on the reaches of the River Lambro which enters the sea peninsula. The banks of the Lambro demonstrated on its south coast. The north coast swings round in one of the other two reptile species and three a gentle sandy bay, around which the little resort amphibians. The remaining reptile was found on and fishing town of Palinuro sits. The south coast rough-cast house walls.

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