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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 263HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

INTRODUCTION

This study of the herpetology of Hispaniola has been under-
taken for the purpose of advancing the survey of the

amphibian and reptile fauna of the Greater Antilles. Of these
islands Hispaniola has remained the least known faunistically
until the past two decades, during which time thorough col-
lecting in certain regions has multiplied the number of species
known to science. Although undoubtedly a great many more
species, and perhaps even some genera, remain to be discovered
in areas in which little collecting has so far been done,2 it is
hoped that the following keys, descriptions, and figures of the
species already known from Hispaniola may prove to be a stim-
ulus to further discoveries.

Hispaniola, with the adjoining islets, now divided between
the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has been
referred to by earlier writers as San Domingo, St. Dominique,
Santo Domingo, Hayti, and Haiti. When such names are used
without any specific river or town or other geographic feature
that might serve to locate them definitely, it is often impossible
to say whether it was the intention of the author to refer to the
entire island or to either one of its political subdivisions, prop-
erly spoken of as the Republic of Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. The old name of Hispaniola is now taken to refer to
the island as a whole and the adjoining islets Gonave, Tortue,
Sept Frères, Saona, Alta Vela, Beata, Île à Vache, and the
Cayemites. In the locality lists the abbreviation “D. R.” refers to
the Dominican Republic, and “Haiti” to the Republic of Haiti

alone. Equivocal records are given in quotation marks. While
the island of Navassa3 is not included in this survey, figures of
the types of the two Navassan reptiles, Typhlops sulcatus and
Celestus badius, will be found in the discussion of their apparent
allies in Hispaniola.

For the loan of specimens my thanks are due to Dr.
Thomas Barbour4, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology; to
Mrs. Helen T. Gaige, of the Museum of Zoology at Ann Arbor;
and to K. P. Schmidt, of the Field Museum. I am indebted to
Dr. G. K. Noble, of the American Museum of Natural History,
for the loan of several paratypes, and to Dr. E. R. Dunn for spec-
imens in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. I
have borrowed some Leiocephali from the British Museum,
which Boulenger had listed, and H. W. Parker kindly furnished
me with lists of other specimens in that museum, while I was
later allowed to examine these specimens and those in several
other European collections during a visit in 1938. My sincere
thanks are due to Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, of the United States
National Museum, whose unfailing interest, encouragement,
and assistance in the many problems involved have made the
completion of the work possible.

Most of the figures for this Herpetology of Hispaniola were
made by me from photographs. In a few instances, where the
specimens were mutilated or otherwise unsuited to photogra-
phy, the drawings are freehand. When figures have been copied
from earlier publications, credit is given in the legends.

PHYSIOGRAPHY
An excellent summary of the geographical features of Hispaniola
appeared in “The Birds of Haiti and the Dominican Republic,”
by Dr. Alexander Wetmore and Bradshaw H. Swales [U. S. Natl.
Mus. Bull. 155, pp. 2–7, 1931]. There is little to add to their
discussion, except to remark that the extremely rugged charac-
ter of the island’s surface has proved to be a very effective means
of isolation to certain genera of amphibians and reptiles, so that
a truly astonishing number of entirely localized forms is often
found within a relatively restricted area.

The Massif de la Selle Mountains, whose tops were islands
when the Cul-de-Sac Plain was below sea level, supplies a good
example of this condition, for within the past few years two new
genera of lizards and a new genus of snakes have been found on
Peak La Selle.

Another interesting evidence of specialization carried out to
subspecies is found in the genus Leiocephalus. No less than 11
distinct subspecies of the personatus group are now known from
Hispaniola as a whole — seven from the mainland and one each
from four of the adjoining islets.

The snakes of the genus Leimadophis [= Antillophis] have
the tendency to local specialization to nearly the same degree, as

H I S T O R I C A L  P E R S P E C T I V E

The Herpetology of Hispaniola1

Doris M. Cochran

1 Excerpted from the United States
National Museum Bulletin (177):
vii + 398 pp. (1941). This long
out-of-print book will soon be
available as The Center for
North American Herpetology
Facsimile Reprint Series, Num-
ber 1 (check www.cnah.org for
availability).

2 For a more recent list of His-
paniolan species of amphibians
and reptiles, see: Powell et al.
1999. The Hispaniolan herpeto-
fauna: Diversity, endemism, and
historical perspectives, with com-
ments on Navassa Island, pp.
93–168. In: B.I. Crother (ed.), Caribbean Amphibians and Reptiles.
Academic Press, San Diego, California.

3 For more information about Navassan reptiles, see: Powell. 1999.
Herpetology of Navassa Island, West Indies. Caribbean Journal of
Science 35: 1–13 (www.caribjsci.org) or www.avila.edu/biology/
Bobweb/6pownav.htm.

4 See Iguana 12:43–47.



264 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 COCHRAN

seven subspecies of the parvifrons stock can be recognized, three
rather poorly separated forms from the present main body of the
island and four rather distinct forms from outlying islets. An
example of the effect of the removal of a natural barrier is evi-
dent here. Almost within the memory of the oldest inhabitant,
Samaná Peninsula was an island separated from the main body
of Hispaniola by a rapidly filling strait, in which pirate vessels
were said to have lain in wait for richly laden merchantmen sail-
ing for Europe. On this island a black form of Leimadophis
developed. The melanistic color is found in a good many of the
protenus specimens from the northeastern part of the Dominican
Republic, and, as a matter of fact, it is at present very difficult
to find a satisfactory basis for the separation of niger and protenus
as subspecies, since so many intergrading specimens now exist
in the lowlands lying between the areas once separated by
stretches of sea.

DISTRIBUTION OF 
GREATER ANTILLEAN GENERA

In table 1 are listed the genera occurring on the neighboring
islands of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola has 19 genera in com-
mon with Cuba. Cuba has 10 genera that Hispaniola lacks, but,
on the other hand, Hispaniola has 13 genera not found in Cuba.

Hispaniola and Jamaica have 19 genera in common.
Jamaica has no genus that is not also found in Hispaniola, while
Hispaniola has 13 that do not occur in Jamaica — a condition
perhaps to be expected as Hispaniola is so much the larger of the
two islands.

The tiny isolated rock called Navassa supports 10 genera, all
of which are represented in Hispaniola, including the highly spe-
cialized iguanid genus Chamaelinorops [now included in Anolis,
and no longer believed to occur on Navassa], which is not known
from any other localities except Navassa and western Haiti.

Surveying the islands east of Hispaniola, we find that
Puerto Rico has only one (nonendemic!) genus — Phyllodactylus
— which is not represented on Hispaniola [Phyllodactylus is now
known to occur on Hispaniola], while Mona does not have a
single genus peculiar to itself. Puerto Rico lacks 15 of the gen-
era that characterize Hispaniola, while the two islands have 16
genera in common.

DISTRIBUTION OF HISPANIOLAN SPECIES
Table 2 lists the species found in Hispaniola and indicates their
distribution among the various regions.

THE NONINDIGENOUS SPECIES
Out of 128 species and subspecies now known to inhabit
Hispaniola, only 6 or 7 are not indigenous. Of the 32 known
genera, 7 are found nowhere else.

Among the nonendemic forms now recorded from
Hispaniola, Bufo marinus, which was very recently introduced,
seems to be gaining a real foothold in Monte Cristi. Hemidactylus
brookii, originally introduced from Africa with the traffic in
slaves5, has now become established in tropical America.

The same is true of Hemidactylus mabouia. Another gecko,
Sphaerodactylus cinereus, is one of the commonest species in
Cuba, whence it was probably transported to southern Florida,
Navassa, and Haiti6. The slipperyback, Mabuya mabouia sloanii,
represented very rarely in Hispaniola, is considered by Dr. Dunn
(1936, p. 546) to be the same as the form occurring in the
southern Bahamas, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, Mona, and
Puerto Rico7. Typhlops lumbricalis is a species of which more
Hispaniolan material is needed before an ultimate decision as to

Ameiva chrysolaema chrysolaema (USNM No. 66730, from Tubano,
Azua Province, Dominican Republic). See also article on p. 234.

5 See discussions in: Powell and Maxey. 1990. Hemidactylus brookii.
Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (493):1–3, and Powell,
R., R.I. Crombie, and H.E.A. Boos. 1998. Hemidactylus mabouia.
Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (674): 1–11.
6 Cuban and Navassan populations once considered to be Sphaero-
dactylus cinereus are no longer considered to be conspecific with the
Haitian populations.
7 The status of West Indian populations of Mabuya is poorly under-
stood and in much need of work by researchers using genetic data.
Currently, as many as four species are thought to occur in the region,
but at least two of these may represent species complexes of uncertain
complexity.

Leimadophis [= Antillophis] parvifrons parvifrons (USNM No. 60607,
from Moline, Haiti).



IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 265HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Table 1.—Distribution of Greater Antillean genera of amphibians and reptiles1.

Genus Cuba Jamaica Navassa Hispaniola Mona Puerto Rico

Bufo X (X) — X — X
Hyla X X — X —
Eleutherodactylus X X — X — X
Leptodactylus — — — X — X
Sminthillus X — — — — —
Gonatodes X — — X — —
Phyllodactylus — — — — — (X)
Hemidactylus (X) (X) — (X) — (X)
Aristelliger — X X X — —
Tarentola X — — — — —
Sphaerodactylus X X X X X X
Chamaeleolis X — — — — —
Xiphocercus — X — X — —
Chamaelinorops — — X X — —
Audantia — — — [X] — —
Deiroptyx X — — — — —
Anolis X X X X X X
Norops [X] — — — — —
Cyclura X X X X X X
Leiocephalus X — X X — —
Hispaniolus — — — [X] — —
Celestus X X X X — X
Sauresia — — — [X] — —
Wetmorena — — — [X] — —
Cricosaura [X] — — — — —
Ameiva X X X X X X
Cadea [X] — — — — —
Amphisbaena X — — X — X
Mabuya — X — X X X

Typhlops X X X X X X
Epicrates X X — X X X
Tropidophis X X X X — —

Natrix X — — — — —
Tretanorhinus X — — — — —
Uromacer — — — [X] — —

Alsophis X X — X X X
Leimadophis X X — X — X
Hypsirhynchus — — — [X] — —
Arrhyton [X] — — — — —
Darlingtonia — — — [X] — —
Ialtris — — — [X] — —
Pseudemys X X — X — X
Crocodylus X X — X — —

Total 29 19 10 32 8 17

1 (X) Introduced; [X] endemic.



266 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 COCHRAN

Genus Haiti, Sept Tortue Gonave Petite Grande Petite Île à Beata Alta Dominican Saona
mainland Frères Gonave Cayemite Cayemite Vache Vela Republic

Bufo güntheri X — — — — — — — — — X —
marinus — — — — — — — — — — X —

Hyla dominicensis X — — — — — — — X — X —
pulchrilineata X — — — — — — — — — X —
vasta X — — — — — — — — — X —
heilprini — — — — — — — — — — X —

Eleutherodactylus inoptatus X — — — — — — — — — X —
ruthae — — — — — — — — — — X —
jugans X† — — — — — — — — — — —
ventrilineatus X† — — — — — — — — — — —
flavescens X — — — — — — — — — X —
poolei X — — — — — — — — — — —
glandulifer X† — — — — — — — — — — —
darlingtoni X† — — — — — — — — — — —
glanduliferoides X† — — — — — — — — — — —
minutus — — — — — — — — — — X —
weinlandi X — — — — — — — — — X —
rufifemoralis — — — — — — — — — — X —
schmidti schmidti — — — — — — — — — — X —
schmidti rucillensis — — — — — — — — — — X —
abbotti X — — — — — — — — — X —
femur-levis X† — — — — — — — — — — —
pictissimus X† — — — — — — — — — — —
brevirostris X† — — — — — — — — — — —
audanti X† — — — — — — — — — — —
intermedius — — — — — — — — — — X —
semipalmatus X† — — — — — — — — — — —
montanus — — — — — — — — — — X —
bakeri X† — — — — — — — — — — —
auriculatus auriculatoides X — — — — — — — — — X —
auriculatus wetmorei X† — — — — — — — — — — —
armstrongi — — — — — — — — — — X —

Leptodactylus dominicensis — — — — — — — — — — X —
Gonatodes notatus X — — X — — — — — — — —
Hemidactylus brookii X — — — — — — — — — X —
mabouia X — — — — — — — — — — —

Aristelliger expectatus X — — X — — — — — X? — —
lar X — — X — — — — — — X —

Sphaerodactylus cinereus X — — — — — — — — — — —
copei X — — — — X — — — — — —
stejnegeri X — — — — — — — — — — —
samanensis — — — — — — — — — — X —
difficilis X X — — — — — — — — X —
armstrongi — — — — — — — — — — X —
altavelensis — — — — — — — — — X — —

Xiphocercus darlingtoni X† — — — — — — — — — — —
Chamaelinorops wetmorei X† — — — — — — — — — — —
Anolis ricordii X — — — — — — — — — X —
semilineatus X — — — — — — — — — X —
olssoni X — — X — — — — — — X —
bahorucoensis — — — — — — — — — — X —
distichus dominicensis X — X — — X X — — — X —
distichus juliae — — — — — — — X — — — —
distichus altavelensis — — — — — — — — — X — —
distichus wetmorei — — — — — — — — X — — —
distichus caudalis X — — X X — — — — — — —
cybotes cybotes X — X — — X — X — — X X
cybotes longitibialis — — — — — — — — X — — —
cybotes doris — — — X X — — — — — — —
monticola X† — — — — — — — — — — —
darlingtoni — — — — — — — — — — X —
chloro-cyanus X — X X — — — — — — — X
coelestinus X — — X — X — X — — — —
hendersoni X — — — — — — — — — — —

Table 2.—Distribution of Hispaniolan species of amphibians and reptiles1 [for a current list of the island’s species, see: 
http://evo.bio.psu.edu/caribherp/lists/HSP-LIST.HTM].

1 A dagger (†) indicates species peculiar to the southwestern mountains of Haiti.



IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 267HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Genus Haiti, Sept Tortue Gonave Petite Grande Petite Île à Beata Alta Dominican Saona
mainland Frères Gonave Cayemite Cayemite Vache Vela Republic

Audantia armouri X† — — — — — — — — — — —
shrevei — — — — — — — — — — X —

Cyclura cornuta cornuta X — X X X X — — — — X —
ricordii — — — — — — — — — — X —

Leiocephalus schreibersii X X X — — — — — — — X —
melanochlorus X — — — — — — X — — X —
personatus personatus X — — — — — — — — — — —
personatus semilineatus X — — — — — — — — — — —
personatus barahonensis — — — — — — — — — — X —
personatus altavelensis — — — — — — — — — X — —
personatus aureus X — — — — — — — — — — —
personatus scalaris X — — — — — — — — — X —
personatus mentalis — — — — — — — — — — X —
personatus lunatus — — — — — — — — — — X —
personatus beatanus — — — — — — — — X — — —
personatus vinculum — — — X — — — — — — — —
personatus louisae — — — — — — — — — — — X

Hispaniolus pratensis X — — X — — — — — — — —
Celestus costatus X — — — — — — — — — X —
darlingtoni — — — — — — — — — — X —

Sauresia sepsoides X — — X — — — — — — X —
Wetmorena haetiana X† — — — — — — — — — — —
Ameiva lineolata lineolata X — — — — — — — — — X —
lineolata beatensis — — — — — — — — X — — —
taeniura X — — — — X X X — — X —
chrysolaema chrysolaema X X X X — — — X — — X —
chrysolaema woodi — — X — — — — — — — — —
chrysolaema abbotti X — — — — — — — X — — —
chrysolaema affinis X — — — — — — — — — — —
barbouri — — — X — — — — — — — —
rosamondae — — — — — — — — — — — X

Amphisbaena manni X — — — — — — — — — X —
innocens X — — X X — — — — — — —
caudalis — — — — — X — — — — — —

Mabuya lineolata — — — — — — — — — — X —
mabouya sloanii — — — — — — — — — — X —

Typhlops lumbricalis X — — — — X — — — X X —
pusillus X — — — — — — — — — X —

Epicrates striatus striatus X — X — — — — X — — X —
inornatus fordii X — — X — — — — — — X? —
gracilis gracilis X — — — — — — — — — X —

Tropidophis maculatus haitianus X — X X — — — — — — X —
Uromacer catesbyi X — X X — — X X — — X —
scandax — — X — — — — — — — — —
frenatus X — — — — — X X — — X? —
wetmorei — — — — — — — — X — — —
dorsalis — — — X — — — — — — — —
oxyrhynchus X — X X — — — — — — X —

Hypsirhynchus ferox X — — — — — — — — — X —
Alsophis anomalus X — X — X — — — — — X —
melanichnus X — — — — — — — — — X —

Leimadophis parvifrons parvifrons X — — — — — — — — — — —
parvifrons lincolni — — — — — — — — X — — —
parvifrons niger X — — — — — — — — — X —
parvifrons protenus X — — — — — — — — — X —
parvifrons alleni — — — X — — — — — — — —
parvifrons tortuganus — — X — — — — — — — — —
parvifrons rosamondae — — — — — — — X — — — —

Darlingtonia haetiana X† — — — — — — — — — — —
Ialtris dorsalis X — — — — — — X — — X —
parishi X — — — — — — — — — — —

Pseudemys stejnegeri vicina X — — — — — — — — — X —
decorata X — — — — — — — — — — —

Crocodylus acutus X — — — — — — X — — X —

1 A dagger (†) indicates species peculiar to the southwestern mountains of Haiti.

Table 2.—continued



268 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2005 COCHRAN

its status can be made. Crocodylus acutus is found in Cuba,
Hispaniola, Jamaica, Florida, and Central America.

SPECIES ERRONEOUSLY RECORDED 
FROM HISPANIOLA

The type of Spelerpes infuscatus Peters, now in the Berlin Museum
(No. 6556), supposedly from “Hayti,” has been positively iden-
tified by Dr. E. R. Dunn as Oedipus lineolus Cope and hence
must have come from Mexico (Dunn, 1926). The intensive col-
lecting done during the past few years leaves little expectation of
finding any endemic tailed amphibians in the West Indies.

Hispaniolan records of Eleutherodactylus auriculatus Cope
are undoubtedly based on misidentifications of the several small
frogs that bear quite a close resemblance to the rather variable
true auriculatus of Cuba.

Boulenger’s record of a Dendrobates trivittatus (1882, 
p. 145) from “S. Domingo” is probably based on an incorrect
locality record, as no true Dendrobates is to be expected so far
out of its range.

Doris Mable Cochran was a specialist in Neotropical
herpetology and was for many years the custodian of

the American national collection at the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, D.C. Her interest in natural
history began as a child growing up in a small town near
the shores of Lake Erie and, while still an undergraduate
at George Washington University (A.B. 1920, M.S. 1921),
she became Aide in the Division of Herpetology at the
United States National Museum. Although formally under
the curatorship of Leonhard Stejneger, Cochran was
responsible for the day-to-day administration of the her-
petological collections. In 1927, she became Assistant
Curator and, in 1942, Associate Curator, before formally
taking charge of the collections after Stejneger’s death in
1943. In the interim, she earned a Ph.D. at the University
of Maryland (1933) with a thesis on crab myology.
Eventually promoted to Curator in 1956, she retired in
1968, and died less than a month later.

Cochran’s research emphasized the herpetofaunas of
southeastern Asia, the West Indies, and South America,
particularly those of Brazil and Colombia. She published
nearly 90 titles from 1922–1970, most of them short tax-
onomic papers describing new genera (8) and species and
subspecies (125). Her interest in the West Indies spanned
a 20-year period and culminated in The Herpetology of
Hispaniola (1941). Subsequently, she focused most of her
attention on South American frogs, about which she pub-
lished many papers and two books, Frogs of Southeastern
Brazil (1954) and Frogs of Colombia (1970), the latter pub-
lished posthumously with her longtime collaborator,
Coleman J. Goin. She also wrote numerous semi-popuu-
lar articles and some wartime booklets for use by the mil-
itary. Her most widely known book was the profusely illus-
trated Living Amphibians of the World (1961), which was

translated into at least ten languages. The New Field Book
of Reptiles and Amphibians (1970), coauthored with Goin,
was not successful and never competed seriously with
existing North American field guides by Roger Conant
and Robert C. Stebbins.

B I O G R A P H I C A L  S K E T C H

Doris M. Cochran (1898–1968)1

Doris M. Cochran (photograph courtesy of Kraig Adler).

1 Source: Adler, K. 1989. Herpetologists of the past, pp. 5–141.
In K. Adler (ed.), Contributions to the History of Herpetology.
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles,
Contributions to Herpetology, vol. 5. Ithaca, New York.

Cyclura cornuta (USNM No. 82107, from Petite Gonave Island,
Haiti). See also article on p. 222. 




