The Biodiversity Conservation and Management Section has initiated field surveys under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project “Reducing the threats to endangered reptiles from habitat loss and Invasive Alien Species (IAS) through enhanced biodiversity governance and strengthened bio-security in Barbados“, or “Conserving Barbados’ Endemic Reptiles (CBER)”. The project aims to assess the status of four Critically Endangered reptile species found nowhere else but Barbados – the Barbados leaf-toed gecko (Phyllodactylus pulcher), the Barbados threadsnake (Tetracheilostoma carlae), the Barbados skink (Alinea lanceolata), and the Barbados racer (Erythrolamprus perfuscus).

To assist this project, the Section accepted four interns who assisted surveys into forested gullies and wetlands in search of the Critically Endangered and endemic Barbados threadsnake. These surveys involved careful search of the undersides of rocks and logs, and sifting through leaf litter. Unfortunately, only the invasive flowerpot snake (Indotyphlops brahminus) was found within Redland Gully during these initial rounds of surveys. Follow up surveys to collect soil samples for eDNA analyses are currently underway to hopefully detect the rare and cryptic Barbados threadsnake through molecular means.

The Section would like to thank Ms. Nyrobi Corbin, Ms. Elisha Hope, Ms. Zahria Howell and Ms. Shadae Worrell for their tireless work in the field!