An annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of North Padre Island, Texas, USA, with comparisons to adjacent barrier island and mainland herpetofauna

Abstract

Padre Island is the world’s longest barrier island and includes the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world. Largely due to harsh environmental conditions and difficult access, only cursory and incomplete checklists and subjective estimates of abundance have been produced. The results of an inventory of amphibians and reptiles of North Padre Island conducted 2002–2020, including the results of extensive field surveys conducted 2002–2003, are reported herein. Natural history museum and iNaturalist records are summarized and compared among North and South Padre and Mustang islands and the mainland portion of the seven counties in which the islands occur. The conservation status of rare species and extirpation of others is noted. The morphology and taxonomic status of some unique occurrences are discussed. Eleven species of amphibians and 39 species of reptiles presently occur or have occurred naturally or as introduced or accidental species on North Padre Island. Twelve species of amphibians and 50 species of reptiles occur or have occurred on North Padre, South Padre, and Mustang islands. Thirty-one species of amphibians and 93 species of reptiles have been reported from the seven counties in which the islands occur.