This is a list of the reptiles of the archipelago of Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican archipelago consists of the main island of Puerto Rico, two island municipalities, Vieques and Culebra, one minor uninhabited island, Mona and several smaller islands and cays.
This list only includes animals with verifiable established populations in the archipelago of Puerto Rico. Many species of reptiles are imported, both legally (mainly through the pet industry) and illegally, to the archipelago of Puerto Rico every year, with some of these species being subsequently released into the wild. However, non-viable introduced species do not constitute a breeding population and hence they lack inclusion in this list.
The following tags help provide additional information regarding the status of each species. Endemic species Introduced species Extinct species Extirpated species
Reptiles
Family Emydidae Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherTrachemys stejnegeri stejnegeriPuerto Rican sliderXTrachemys scripta elegans Red-eared sliderXTrachemys decorata Hispaniolan sliderXChrysemys picta pictaEastern painted turtleX
Family Dermochelyidae
SpeciesCommon name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherDermochelys coriacea coriaceaLeatherback sea turtleXX
Family Cheloniidae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherCaretta caretta caretta Loggerhead sea turtleXChelonia mydas mydasGreen sea turtleXXXXX Eretmochelys imbricata imbricataHawksbill sea turtleXXXX Lepidochelys olivaceaOlive ridley sea turtleX
Family Testudinidae
SpeciesCommon name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherGeochelone monensis XGeochelone denticulata South American yellow-footed tortoiseX
Infraorder Gekkota Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherHemidactylus mabouia Tropical house geckoXXXXPhyllodactylus wirshingi Puerto Rican leaf-toed geckoXX Sphaerodactylus nicholsi Nichols' dwarf geckoXX Sphaerodactylus townsendi Townsend's dwarf geckoXXX Sphaerodactylus roosevelti Roosevelt's dwarf geckoXX Sphaerodactylus gaigeae Gaige's dwarf geckoXXX Sphaerodactylus klauberi Puerto Rico upland dwarf geckoXSphaerodactylus monensis Mona dwarf geckoXSphaerodactylus levinsi Desecheo dwarf geckoX Sphaerodactylus grandisquamisBig-scaled dwarf geckoXSphaerodactylus inigoi Vieques dwarf geckoXXSphaerodactylus macrolepis Big-scaled dwarf geckoXX Sphaerodactylus micropithecus Monito dwarf geckoX
Family Teiidae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherPholidoscelis exsulGreater Puerto Rican ameivaXXXX Pholidoscelis wetmorei Blue-tailed ground lizardXX Pholidoscelis alboguttatusMona ameivaXPholidoscelis desechensisDesecheo ameivaX
Family Scincidae
SpeciesCommon name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherSpondylurus nitidusPuerto Rican skinkXXXSpondylurus culebraeCulebra skinkXXSpondylurus monaeMona skinkXSpondylurus monitaeMonito skinkX
Family Anguinidae
SpeciesCommon name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherDiploglossus pleiiPuerto Rican galliwaspX
Family Iguanidae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherAnolis cuvieri Puerto Rican giant anoleXXAnolis roosevelti Culebra Island giant anoleXAnolis occultus Puerto Rican twig anoleXAnolis evermanni Emerald anoleXAnolis stratulusBarred anoleXXXX Anolis gundlachi Yellow-chinned anoleXAnolis cristatellusCrested anoleXXXX Anolis desechensis Desecheo anoleX Anolis cooki Cook's anoleXX Anolis monensis Mona anoleXX Anolis pulchellusPuerto Rican anoleXXXX Anolis krugi Upland grass anoleXAnolis poncensis Dryland grass anoleXCyclura pinguis Anegada ground iguanaXCyclura portoricensis Puerto Rican iguanaXCyclura nubila nubila Cuban ground iguanaXCyclura cornuta stejnegeri Mona ground iguanaXIguana iguana Green iguanaXXXIguana delicatissimaLesser Antillean iguanaX
Family Amphisbaenidae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherAmphisbaena bakeri Baker's worm lizardXAmphisbaena caeca Puerto Rican worm lizardXAmphisbaena schmidti Schmidt's worm lizardXAmphisbaena xera Puerto Rican dryland worm lizardXX
Family Typhlopidae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherTyphlops platycephalusFlat-headed blindsnakeXXTyphlops richardiRichard's blind snakeXXTyphlops rostellatus Puerto Rican wetland blind snakeXTypholps grantiGrant's blind snakeXTyphlops monensis Mona blind snakeXTyphlops hypomethesCoastal blindsnakeX
Family Boidae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherChilabothrus inornatus Puerto Rican boaXChilabothrus monensis Mona Island boaXChilabothrus granti Virgin Island tree boaXX
Family Colubridae
Species Common name Puerto Rico Culebra Vieques Mona OtherBorikenophis portoricensis Puerto Rican racerXXXXX Magliophis exiguusPuerto Rican garden snakeXXX
See also
Fauna of Puerto Rico List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico List of endemic flora of Puerto Rico List of mammals of Puerto Rico List of birds of Puerto Rico List of amphibians of Puerto Rico
Footnotes This species is endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. This species is extinct. This species no longer occurs in the archipelago Puerto Rico but other populations exist elsewhere. This species was introduced to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. This species occurs in Caja de Muertos Island. This species occurs in Cayo Batata. This species occurs in Cayo Santiago. This species occurs in the island of Desecheo. This species occurs in Magueyes island. This species occurs in the island of Monito. This species occurs in the island of Culebrita.
References