First report of the Brahminy Blindsnake, Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin), from the Caribbean island of Montserrat

Abstract

The herpetofauna of Montserrat includes only two snakes, Alsophis manselli and Antillotyphlops monastus, both endemic (Hedges et al. 2009; 2014). Therefore, the discovery of an introduced third species is important, especially when it may pose a threat to the native blindsnake, Antillotyphlops. Here, we report the presence of Indotyphlops braminus, the Brahminy Blindsnake, on Montserrat. One individual, 130 mm in total length, was collected under a rock in the Belham River Valley, Salem (16.74139, -62.21861) in late April 2017 by N. Tirard. It was preserved in ethanol and catalogued into the collection of the New York State Museum (NYSM 6453). This is the first record of that invasive species from Montserrat but it has been documented from other Caribbean Islands: Anguilla, Barbados, Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Guadeloupe, La Désirade, Martinique, New Providence, Petite St. Vincent, Providenciales, St. Barthélemy, St. Croix, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, and St. Martin (Powell & Henderson 2012, Lorvelec et al. 2016). Indotyphlops braminus is a triploid obligate parthenogen (Wynn et al. 1987) with a clutch size of 1–8 (Ota et al. 1991). The clutch size of Antillotyphlops monastus is unknown but is probably similar. Given that half of the A. monastus population are females and all I. braminus are females, if all else is equal, I. braminus will produce more offspring than A. monastus. Blindsnakes generally eat ants and termites (Webb et al. 2001) and therefore the two blindsnakes on Montserrat are probably competing for food. Powell et al. (2016) listed the Montserrat blindsnake as “near threatened.” The presence of a competitor that probably reproduces more quickly may further threaten this endemic blindsnake population. For field identification, Indotyphlops braminus usually is very dark dorsally, sometimes appearing black. The Montserrat blindsnake is paler dorsally, often pinkish-tan in coloration. Under magnification, Indotyphlops (Fig 1A) differs in head scalation (Hedges et al. 2014) from Antillotyphlops (Fig. 1B).