Observations on the Reptiles and Mammals of Chacachacare, Bocas Islands, Notes on Five Species New to the Island

Abstract

Chacachacare is the westernmost of the three major Bocas Islands between the Paria Peninsula of Venezuela and the Chaguaramas Peninsula of Trinidad. Despite many visits by zoologists to Chacachacare, much remains to be learned regarding the island's vertebrate fauna. Thus far no amphibians have been recorded from Chacachacare; however, 15 species of reptiles have been reliably reported (Bacon 1973, Boos 1983, Murphy 1997). Only two species of mammals have been reported (ffrench 1967b, Boos and Quesnel 1993). Although the relative abundance of each species of bird was provided by ffrench (1967a, 1967b, 1969), a paucity of information exists on the relative abundance of various reptile and mammal species. In this note we report our observations on the reptiles and mammals of Chacachacare, including five species new to the island, based on several recent trips to the island.