# Amphibians of the Caribbean islands and Lesser Antilles
The amphibians of the Caribbean islands and [Lesser Antilles](https://www.edgepedia.org/lesser-antilles) are the frogs and toads recorded across the West Indian archipelago, a fauna of roughly 248 currently recognized species, about 84% of them endemic to the region and most confined to a single island.[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) This article is an enumerative checklist overview: it explains how the regional list is compiled, gives island-level totals and endemism shares, and summarizes biogeographic and taxonomic issues, stopping short of species accounts.
| Key fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Amphibian species recognized (current) | 248, of 1,077 total Caribbean herpetofauna (23%)[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) |
| Endemism | 908 of 1,077 herpetofauna species (84%) endemic; 167 amphibians are single-island endemics[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) |
| Native families | Bufonidae, Dendrobatidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae (all anurans)[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) |
| Dominant genus | *Eleutherodactylus*, 84% of West Indian amphibian species[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) |
| Richest islands (native species) | Hispaniola 63, Cuba 50, Jamaica 22, Puerto Rican Bank 20, Lesser Antilles 10[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) |
| Poorest banks | Bahamas Bank 2 native species, Cayman Islands 1, none endemic[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) |
| Threat status | 65% of Caribbean amphibians threatened on the IUCN Red List, versus a 41% global average[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) |
| Median range size | 491 km² per species[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) |
## Scope and how the list is compiled
The region is defined in slightly different ways by different checklists. The [West Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-indies), as defined in the standard island-list bulletin, include the Swan, Cayman, and [Bahama Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/bahama-islands), the [Greater Antilles](https://www.edgepedia.org/greater-antilles), and the Lesser Antilles from Sombrero to Grenada.[3](https://flmnhbulletin.com/index.php/flmnh/article/download/flmnh-vol51-no2-pp86-90/vol51-no2/1973) A later Caribbean Herpetology checklist proposed biogeographic criteria for which islands count, notably excluding Trinidad, whose fauna is mostly mainland in character.[4](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch67.pdf) That choice changes the totals: amphibians and reptiles occur on at least 909 Caribbean islands and comprised 1,013 recognized species under the 2019 definition,[4](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch67.pdf) while the current Caribherp update recognizes 1,077 species across roughly 910 islands.[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf)
Checklists also separate status categories: native, endemic, and introduced records are counted differently, and introduced species are flagged in island lists (with an "(I)" in the bulletin's format).[3](https://flmnhbulletin.com/index.php/flmnh/article/download/flmnh-vol51-no2-pp86-90/vol51-no2/1973) The current Caribherp tally sorts the 248 amphibians into 167 single-island endemics, 34 multi-island endemics, 31 non-endemic natives, 6 endemic-and-introduced, 3 non-endemic-and-introduced, and 7 introduced from elsewhere.[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf)
## The fauna at a glance
All native West Indian amphibians are frogs (anurans) in four families: [Bufonidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/bufonidae) (toads, 11 species), Dendrobatidae (1), [Hylidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/hylidae) (treefrogs, 11), and [Leptodactylidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/leptodactylidae) (144).[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) The leptodactylid genus *Eleutherodactylus* dominates, accounting for 84% of West Indian amphibian species.[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) In Cuba specifically, 90% of the 50 native amphibian species are members of this genus.[5](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.7236)
An earlier monograph treatment counted the species known from the West Indies, 167 native and 8 introduced, with 164 (98%) of the native species endemic.[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf)
## By the numbers: islands, banks, and endemics
Island totals follow a steep species-area pattern. Hispaniola holds 63 native species (100% endemic), Cuba 50 (96%), Jamaica 22 (100%), the Puerto Rican Bank 20 (100%), and the Lesser Antilles 10 (90%).[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) At the low end, only two species are native to the Bahamas Bank and one to the [Cayman Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/cayman-islands), none of them endemic.[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) Single-island endemism is essentially complete in the Greater Antilles, the exception being two Cuban species that also occur elsewhere.[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf)
In the Lesser Antilles, ten of the 14 species present are native (nine endemics) and four are introduced; five island banks hold endemic species: [Guadeloupe](https://www.edgepedia.org/guadeloupe) (2), Dominica (1), [Martinique](https://www.edgepedia.org/martinique) (1), St. Vincent (1), and Grenada (1).[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf)
Ranges can be tiny. The median range area of an individual Caribbean species is 491 km².[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) Within Cuba, one-half of species (25) have distributions smaller than 6,000 km², about one-quarter (13) occupy less than 1,100 km², and 11 species (7%) were known only from their type localities, a caution on how reliable some island-level records are.[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf)
The species-area relationship for native Caribbean herpetofauna (n = 922) has a slope of z = 0.27 (R² = 0.83), rising to z = 0.36–0.37 when only single-island endemics are considered.[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) The steeper slope for endemics is consistent with endemic species accumulating on larger islands more strongly than widespread natives do.
## Biogeographic patterns
Two processes explain the distribution of amphibians across Antillean banks. Albumin immunological data on West Indian and mainland *Eleutherodactylus* indicate that the divergence between the subgenera *Euhyas* and *Eleutherodactylus* probably occurred in the late [Cretaceous](https://www.edgepedia.org/cretaceous), around 70 million years ago, consistent with vicariance (species split by geographic barriers, not dispersal) related to the breakup of the proto-Antilles.[2](https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf) Within islands, speciation can also proceed in place: all 17 island-endemic landfrogs (*Eleutherodactylus*) of Jamaica arose from a single common ancestor via in situ speciation.[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf)
Over-water dispersal and mainland affinity matter at the southern edge of the region. 63% of non-endemic Caribbean species occur on [Trinidad and Tobago](https://www.edgepedia.org/trinidad-and-tobago), islands close to and possibly connected with South America during the [Pleistocene](https://www.edgepedia.org/pleistocene).[1](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf) This mainland connection is why Trinidad's inclusion in the regional checklist is debated.[4](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch67.pdf)
## Introduced species and changing lists
Introductions reshape island lists in both directions. The large Cuban treefrog, *Osteopilus septentrionalis*, has become established in the [Virgin Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/virgin-islands) and Lesser Antilles,[3](https://flmnhbulletin.com/index.php/flmnh/article/download/flmnh-vol51-no2-pp86-90/vol51-no2/1973) and the bulletin notes that several extirpations or possible extinctions have occurred since the 1977 MacLean et al. island list.[3](https://flmnhbulletin.com/index.php/flmnh/article/download/flmnh-vol51-no2-pp86-90/vol51-no2/1973)
Among the *Eleutherodactylus*, taxonomy and introduction history intertwine. *Eleutherodactylus montserratae* was described from [Montserrat](https://www.edgepedia.org/montserrat) on 12 December 2022, split from *E. johnstonei*; it has also been introduced and established on Anguilla, St. Martin/St. Maarten, St. Barthélemy, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Christopher, Nevis, and Bermuda.[6](https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5219.4.5) The type specimen of *E. johnstonei* is from Grenada, yet the species was introduced there from Barbados, whose non-native population dates from about 1885, so a species' type locality does not indicate its native range.[7](https://www.thebhs.org/publications/the-herpetological-bulletin/issue-number-167-spring-2024/3981-14-book-review-the-conservation-and-biogeography-of-amphibians-in-the-caribbean/file)
Toad taxonomy is unsettled. As traditionally defined, *Rhinella marina* is a complex of several species, and Acevedo et al. (2016) referred Mesoamerican and northern populations to the Mesoamerican Cane Toad (*R. horribilis*), a change affecting how the introduced toad is listed.[4](https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch67.pdf) Separately, West Indian toad generic placement remains debated, with *Bufo* used in some treatments while some authors prefer *Peltophryne* as a genus or subgenus.[8](http://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/230.pdf) A recent community-science report documented the first record of the Lesser Dark-spotted Thin-toed Frog (*Adenomera* cf. *hylaedactyla*) on Tobago on 1 June 2023 at Pigeon Point, with four sightings more than 10 km apart suggesting establishment on the island's southwest.[9](https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v30i1.20741)
## References
1. Caribherp: exploring the diversity, distribution, and biogeography of Caribbean amphibians and reptiles. https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch100.pdf
2. West Indian amphibians: species numbers, endemism and distribution (Hedges, Johns Hopkins University Press). https://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/111.pdf
3. Island lists of West Indian amphibians and reptiles (FLMNH Bulletin). https://flmnhbulletin.com/index.php/flmnh/article/download/flmnh-vol51-no2-pp86-90/vol51-no2/1973
4. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names. https://www.caribbeanherpetology.org/pdfs/ch67.pdf
5. Biogeography of the West Indies: A complex scenario for species radiations in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.7236
6. A new species of frog from the Caribbean island of Montserrat (Eleutherodactylidae, Eleutherodactylus). https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5219.4.5
7. Book review: The Conservation and Biogeography of Amphibians in the Caribbean (Herpetological Bulletin 167, 2024). https://www.thebhs.org/publications/the-herpetological-bulletin/issue-number-167-spring-2024/3981-14-book-review-the-conservation-and-biogeography-of-amphibians-in-the-caribbean/file
8. The conservation status of amphibians in the West Indies. http://www.hedgeslab.org/pubs/230.pdf
9. Caribbean island hopping: Community science reveals the first report, establishment, and range expansion of the Lesser Dark-spotted Thin-toed Frog (Adenomera cf. hylaedactyla) on Tobago. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v30i1.20741
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Vertebrates › Reptiles and amphibians › Amphibians › Regional amphibian checklists › Amphibian checklists: Caribbean and Lesser Antilles islands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license