Living National Treasures: Haiti |
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Checklists of Endemics Swallowtail & Milkweed Butterfly Species 0 Families & Orders 0 |
Reptiles found nowhere
else than Haiti include the La Hotte Blind Snake Typhlops hectus (p.
6 of Hedges
Lab pdf file), the Tiburon Banded Racer Ialtris parishi (Biodiversity
Heritage Library), a worm lizard Amphisbaena caudalis
(p. 4 of Hedges
Lab pdf file), the
Hispaniolan Giant Galliwasp Celestus
warreni (CalPhotos),
the La Selle Galliwasp Celestus
macrotus (Hedges
Lab pdf file), the Gonave Gracile Anole Anolis caudalis (Reptile Database), the Yellow-bellied Desert Anole Anolis websteri (Reptile Database), the Banded Red-bellied Anole Anolis rupinae (Reptile Database), the La Hotte Long-snouted Anole Anolis dolichocephalus (Reptile Database), the Foothill Anole Anolis monticola (Reptile Database), and the Tiburon Curlytail Leiocephalus melanochlorus (flickr). Amphibians unique to Haiti include the Macaya Dusky Frog Eleutherodactylus ventrilineatus and the Short-nosed Green Frog Eleutherodactylus brevirostris (both at Father Sanchez’s W.I. Natural History), the La Hotte Frog Eleutherodactylus bakeri (p. 4 of VINS pdf file), the La Hotte Whistling Frog Eleutherodactylus eunaster (PNAS), and the Yellow and Black Spotted Frog Eleutherodactylus counouspeus (Cosmos). The Mangrove Frog Eleutherodactylus caribe (Hedges Lab pdf file) has a remarkable tolerance for salt water. Endemic freshwater fish include the Blackbarred Limia Limia nigrofasciata (FishBase) and the Miragoane Gambusia Gambusia beebei (FishBase). An endemic marine fish is the Haiti Coralbrotula Ogilbichthys haitiensis (FishBase). An endemic bird is the Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager (flickr). Extinct endemic mammals include Lemke’s Hutia Rhizoplagiodontia lemkei (Mammal Species of the World) and three species of the insectivore genus Nesophontes (Extinct Mammals of the West Indies). Butterflies known only from Haiti include Calisto pauli, Calisto woodsi, and Calisto thomasi (all on p. 4 of Hedges Lab pdf file). Other insects include a katydid Polyancistrus darlingtoni (OSF), a riffle beetle Helmis lahottensis (Harvard), a ground beetle Stenocellus selleanus (Harvard), and a longhorned beetle Calocosmus magnificus (Smithsonian). Land snails restricted to Haiti include Nenisca franzi and Drymaeus sallei (both at Father Sanchez’s W.I. Natural History) and Strophia ferruginea (Cerion). Vascular plants exclusive to Haiti include several endemic genera: an orchid Tomzanonia (orchidspecies.com), the Mapou Blanch Neobuchia (plantsystematics.org), Samuelssonia (Harvard Univ. Caribbean Insects), Mommsenia (NYBG), Mattfeldia (Harvard Univ. Caribbean Insects), Tortuella (NYBG), and the recently described Hispaniolanthus (BioOne). Endemic palms include Copernicia ekmanii (Fairchild Guide to Palms), Pseudophoenix lediniana (PACSOA), and Attalea crassispatha (Global Trees Campaign). Other endemic plants include the orchids Pleurothallis compressicaulis (Father Sanchez’s W.I. Natural History) and Specklinia (or Pleurothallis) stillsonii (Harvard Univ. Caribbean Insects), a tree fern Cyathea hotteana (NYBG), Lobelia hotteana (Univ. Michigan Herbarium), Aristolochia haitiensis (Biodiversity Heritage Library), Bunchosia pauciflora (NYBG), Illicium hottense (Univ. Florida Herbarium), Gesneria haitiensis (Aluka), and the legumes: Arcoa gonavensis (NYBG) and Albizia leonardii (NYBG). Haiti 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). The Massif de la Hotte has more critically endangered species than any other site in the world (AZE). Haiti is part of the Hispaniola freshwater ecoregion (FEOW). |