Living National Treasures: Dominican Republic |
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Checklists of Endemics Mammal Species 0 Vertebrate Genera 0 Swallowtail & Milkweed Butterfly Species 0 Families & Orders 0 |
Two bird species now
appear to be extinct in neighboring Haiti
and survive only in the Dominican Republic: the Bay-breasted Cuckoo (BirdLife
Int'l) and Ridgway’s Hawk (GRIN). The Dominican Republic is home to the world's smallest lizard, the Jaragua Dwarf Gecko Sphaerodactylus ariasae (BBC). A diverse endemic anole fauna includes the Dominican Giant Anole Anolis baleatus (flickr), the Cordillera Central Twig Anole Anolis insolitus (flickr), and the Red-fanned Stout Anole Anolis marcanoi (Reptile Database). Other endemic reptiles include the Hispaniolan Ground Iguana Cyclura ricordi (ARKive), the Hispaniolan Striped Galliwasp Celestus darlingtoni (Reptile Database), and the Santo Domingo Curly-tailed Lizard Leiocephalus lunatus (wildherps.com). Amphibians unique to the Dominican Republic include the Hispaniolan Yellow Tree Frog Osteopilus pulchrilineata (ARKive), the Hispaniolan Crestless Toad Bufo fluviaticus (IUCN Red List), theYellow Split Toed Eleuth Eleutherodactylus flavescens (ARKive), the Montane Cricket Eleuth Eleutherodactylus haitianus (Marcos Rodriguez), the High Mountain Eleuth Eleutherodactylus patriciae (ARKive), and the Melodius Pine Eleuth Eleutherodactylus pituinus (flickr). Freshwater fish restricted to the Dominican Republic include the Hispaniolan Rivulus Rivulus roloffi (South American Annuals), the Sulfur Limia Limia sulphurophila (FishBase), Perugia’s Limia Limia perugiae (eol), and the Black-and-blue Pupfish Cyprinodon higuey (AMNH Digital Library pdf file). Beetles known only from the Dominican Republic include a ground beetle Platynus baorucensis (Harvard Univ. Caribbean Insects), and two longhorned beetles: Phoenicus sanguinipennis (Cerambycidae) and Mecosarthron domingoensis (Smithsonian). Other endemic insects include an ant Pheidole harlequina (Discover Life), a silk moth Hispaniodirphia lemaireiana (Saturniidae World), a tiger moth Lophocampa lesieuri (Markku Savela), and seven recently described species of stinkbugs (p. 31 of NDSU pdf file). Other endemic invertebrates include a landsnail Abbottella moreletiana (Femorale), a cave-dwelling amphipod Ottenwalderia kymbalion (Contributions to Zoology), and a spider Ochyrocera cachote (p. 4 of AMNH Digital Library pdf file).. Orchids found solely in the Dominican Republic include Lepanthopsis constanzensis (orchidspecies.com), Hispaniella henekenii (Orchids Online), and Psychilis dodii (orchidspecies.com). Other endemic plants include the Dominican Cherry Palm Pseudophoenix ekmanii (PACSOA), a silver palm Coccothrinax boschiana (Int'l Palm Soc.), Podocarpus hispaniolensis (Albion College), Pitcairnia domingensis (FCBS), Cinnamodendron ekmanii (Flora of Hispaniola), Vachellia barahonensis (acaciaID), Cubanola domingensis (PlantFiles), the Bayahibe Rose Pereskia quisqueyana (Wikipedia), Melocactus pedernalensis (Flora of Hispaniola), Magnolia pallescens (flickr), and Pinguicula casabitoana (World of Pinguicula). Endemic genera include Anacaona (NYBG), Pedinopetalum (NYBG), and Tuerckheimocharis (Harvard Univ. Caribbean Insects). The Dominican Republic is part of the Caribbean Islands biodiversity hotspot (Biodiversity Hotspots). Important terrestrial ecoregions include the Hispaniolan Pine Forests (WWF) and the Hispaniolan Moist Forests (WWF). With Haiti now almost completely deforested, many formerly more widely ranging Hispaniolan endemic species (in addition to the birds mentioned above) and genera (15 terrestrial vertebrate genera are unique to the island) may already survive only in the Dominican Republic. |