86 STUDIES ON THE FAUNA OF CURAÇAO AND OTHER CARIBBEAN ISLANDS: No. 189 The herpetogeography of Hispaniola, West Indies by Albert Schwartz (Miami-Dade Community College, North Campus, Miami,Fla. 33167) Page Abstract 86 Introduction 87 Geography (Figs. 30-31) 90 THE HERPETOFAUNA 94 I. Islandwide species 94 II. North Island species 99 III. South Island species 103 IV. North Island invaders ofthe South Island 107 V. South Island invaders of the North Island Ill VI. Species of unknown relationships 112 fie de la Gonave 118 Geographic distribution (Table) 120 References 127 Abstract The modern West Indian island of Hispaniola is in actuality a fusion of two formerly separate islands, each of which presumably supported a distinctive herpetofauna.With the union ofthese two paleoislands,there has been extensive to small interchangeofthese faunas; the of the is the of and difference between purpose present paper toanalyze degrees similarity the two primal herpetofaunas. A brief sketch of the geography of Hispaniola is given. This is in turn followed by discussions of the 179 native species of amphibians and reptiles of Hispaniola, cataloguing them into six categories: 1) islandwide species; 2) north island species; 3) south island species; 4) north island species that have invaded the south island; 5) south island species that have invaded the north island;6) species whose original distributions are uncertain. Comparisons are made,as far as success is concerned, between the invaders of the two islands, aswell as between the basic faunas of these islands. The south island has by far the greater number of species (116) than the north island (85), despite the fact that the south island comprises about one-eight of the total area of Hispaniola. The herpetofauna of the major Hispaniolansatellitle island,Ile de la Gonâve, is also analyzed. Its herpetofauna is shown to have had a double origin (from both north and south islands), but the total number of of species derived from these two independent sources is less than the number Gonâve species that are islandwide on the Hispaniolan main island. 87 INTRODUCTION The west Indian island of Hispaniola, alone among its other Greater Antillean has had The relatives, a peculiar history. present configuration of Hispaniola is derived from a fusion of two palaeoislands along a former - the former marine strait that is now the Cul de Sac Valle de Neiba plain; portion of this plain lies in Haiti and the latterin the Republica Dominica- na. Although relatively little is known about the detailed geology of Hispaniola, no other island than Hispaniola presents such a unique setting with of two large independent islands, separated by a strait, that, falling Pleistocene sea levels, have become one. There is no implication in the foregoing statement that there was but a single act of fusion between the former it at various two islands; rather, seems very likely that times, correlated with rising and falling sea levels, the two islands were partially to completely joined and sundered several times during the Pleistocene the 1971: (and perhaps as early as Eocene; KHUDOLEY & MEYERHOFF, 139-140). These two paleoislands have come to be called, in the herpetolo- gical literature, the north(north of the Cul de Sac - Valle de Neiba plain) and south (south of that plain) islands. That the Cul de Sac - Valle de Neiba plain was indeed a relatively narrow (ca. 25 km) strait is easily seen today by the fact that, especially in its central portions (in the vicinity of in Duverge and Jimani the Republica Dominicana) roadcuts pass through as much as 2.5 m of semifossilized broken corals, more or less loosely compacted into a "stratum." At least two of the four lakes that still remain in that plain are highly saline(Etang Saumatrein Haiti; Lago Enriquillo in the Republica Dominicana). The salinity of Lago Enriquillo fluctuates between 48%and 90% ppm with the amoilnt oflocalrainfall which in turn effects the volume of the lake. its below Likewise, depth sea level varies; in 1950 44 below and in 1972 41.9 it was m sea level, it was m (BONNELLY DE CALVENTI, 1978). The Cul de Sac - Valle de Neiba plain is bordered on the north and south by high mountains and thus lies in theirrainshadows. On the north are the MontagnesduTrou-d'Eau in Haitiand the Sierra de Neiba in the Republi- ca Dominicana; in the south are the Haitian Massif de la Selle and its northern front des ranges (Morne l'Hopital, Montange Noire, Morne Enfants Perdus) and the Dominican Sierra de Baoruco. To the north, the 88 89 San = = = = = La 17 26 35 49 58 = = Santiago centers Trinidad Carrefour 67 SC Azua; = Aquin; Macao; = Léogâne; = María 8 SR = Mirebalais; El = = Escondido; = Nacional; 25 population 16 = MTS Plaisance; Sud; 34 Estrelleta; = du Puerto and Distrito = 7 Momance; = La Jean Soliette; Duarte; = 66 = = St. = = DN ES 15 = Gonaïves; = = 33 D 47 24 55 Dominicana, = Pedernales; Macorís; Dajabón; 6 Zombi; Salcedo; = Salut; Miches; = de 14 = = Altagracia; = Lapierre; Port D Savane 45 Sud. SL Pedro = Montrouis. = República Diquini; = Villa 5 23 Riva; = San Juan; 32 = = = S = the = Espaillat; San Pedernales. 13 40 Villa 54 64 in Nicholas; Jérémie; Anse; l’Ouest; SPM = = = = SJ = Payen; St. E P Belle = 22 Domingo; Enriquillo; LO Romana; Azua; Môle = Pierre provinces Plata; Port-au-Prince; = 31 = = Corail; = Santo Barahona; = La 4 Z = 43 = 39 = Puerto = Haiti, = 12 Marigot; 21 l’Artibonite; B = LR Vega; in Peravia; Marc; = PP La = = Port-de-Paix; Matelas; St. 30 = = LA = Altagracia; PE = 42 3 38 Valverde; Independencia; Source Jacmel; = Nord; La = Cristi; départements Vega; = = = = = 20 11 V La Cayes I N TG Thomonde; Monte = Pinos. = = 61 Paillant; = Cristi; 29 showing Ouest; Seibo; LV Baoruco; = Los 41 = = 37 Polo; = El 2 = Nord Monte = 19 = 69 follows. = Marbial; 51 60 Ramírez; = = BO = ES Hinche; 10 = Surza; as à Margot;Anse Dominicana: La Paraíso: Yuma; Oviedo;Cíenaga;63 65 62 à Veau;Anse La = La Higüey;BocaRomana; BocaBaní;Cotuí;Vacama; 4448 Chica;Nizao; 57535652 de NO Forban; Ira;ÇaTrou MC 28 HISPANIOLA Cap-Haïtien, Miragoâne; la text, Samaná; Sánchez Santiago; Ennery; 36 Barahona; of = = Baños = = 1 Jacmel; = in = = provinces: : 18 Peligre; República 59 = Map to départements: SR S = = SM Haiti de the 68 27 Río; 30 in in FIG. referred Haitian Dominican Sánchez; Cristobal; Rodríguez; Cities Marmelade:9 Petit-Goâve; Bainet; Barrage Cities 50 Monte Florida; 90 highest peak in these mountains is Monte Neibawith an elevation of 2260 the m, and in the south lies Pic la Selle with an elevation of 2574 m, one of highest mountains in the entire Antilles. Although the uplands of all mountains associated with the low-lying intervening plain are clad in deciduous or pine forest (or at least were, prior to some extensive defore- and station, especially in Haiti), the southern slopes ofthe northern ranges the northern of the southern xeric. This is slopes ranges are most especially true of the Haitian front ranges but is equally true in the better forested northern slopes of the Sierra de Baoruco. MERTENS (1939: 11-13) first suggested that the history of Hispaniola was reflected in species-pairs of reptiles (he cited no amphibian examples), one on the north island, and the other on the south. COCHRAN (1941) did is faulted for the not mention this concept, but she not to be omission; aside from the closeness ofthe datesof MERTENS'S and her works, relative- ly little was known in the 1940's to make such comparisons more than casually, as MERTENS had done. Specimens of many taxa were simply too few and locality records too scattered to make generalizations. The concept of north and south island herpetofaunas was brought tothe fore by WILLIAMS (1961) in his discussion of members of the Anolis referred semilineatus group. From that time onward, many authors have this divisonof the with to primal Hispaniolan herpetofauna, usually great when MERTENS'S success. Obviously, a time has come original concepts can be expanded and expatiated upon more thoroughly. It is the purpose of the in detail this division. That it exists is present paper to comment on unquestioned, but to what degree? GEOGRAPHY Before proceeding, a thumbnail sketch of the north and south islands is mandatory; the reader is referred of for since I do intend herein in to maps Hispaniola details, not to comment detail the of Some detailed be great on geography Hispaniola. pertinent comments are to found in SCHWARTZ (1973). 2 The south island is both the smaller (areal extent about 9550 km ) and the less complex of the it is series ofthree mountain the two paleoislands.Basically, a west-to-east major ranges: Massif de la Hotte, the Massif de la Selle. and the Sierra de Baoruco (see SCHWARTZ & THOMAS, 1 975: 209, and Fig. 3 1 herein for majortopographicfeatures). The first isentirely in Haiti and extends asfar east as about a line between Petit-Goave and Bainet; the majorpeak is Pic with western of in this range Macaya an elevation of 2347 m and lies nearthe extreme 91 = 7 Cordillera major Neiba; and = de = 11 islands ranges. 17 Sierra = Central; Azua; Satellite 6 mountain de García; Cordillera Llanos Samaná. = = de indicate Martín 16 10 Sierra Neiba; = areas Sierra Nord; 23 = du 5 Shaded Massif Cibao; shown. de Baoruco; = also 9 Valle de are Ouest; = HISPANIOLA. Sierra Sac 22 text, de in = Nord Nord; of 4 Cul du du Selle; = mentioned 14 features la Plaine de Montagnes = Oriental; 1 2 Massif = peninsulas, 8 = physiographic 3 Noires; Cordillera l’Artibonite; Hotte; = de 13 and la de Montagnes Vallée Massif Yamasá; = and 20 de = 2Plain; Valle San Valle = de de 15 Geographic Sierra Central; 31.