328 



LAMBERSON 



TABLE 1 (cont'd) 



Family VARANIDAE 



Varanus indicus (Daudin) 

 USNM— Japtan Islet: 

 AMNH — Japtan Islet: 

 MPRL— Japtan Islet: 

 Suborder SERPENTES (Snakes) 

 Family TYPHLOPIDAE 



Ramphotyphhps bramina (Daudin) 

 BPBM— Enewetak Islet: 

 MCZ — Medren Islet: 

 Order TESTUDINES ( = CHELONIA) 

 (Turtles) 

 Suborder CRYPTODIRA 

 Family CHELONIDAE 

 Chelonia m\idas 



(Linnaeus, 1758)-Green turtle, 

 £retmacfie/ys imbricata 



(Linnaeus, 1766)-Hawksbill turtle 



June 7, 1947, J. P. E. Morrison, 2 spec, 124112-13. 



A. A. Vincenzi, 1 spec, 78994. 



Sept. 15, 1975, in open field, P. B. Lamberson and J. Lamberson, 1 spec. 



Sept. 13, 1980, MPRL lanai at night, S. Ige, 1 spec, 6953. 

 June 1954, C. Okino and A. Souza, 1 spec, MCZ 53782. 



found in association witfi man (Hunsaker and Breese, 

 1967; Oliver and Shaw, 1953; McKeown, 1978). The 

 female produces two eggs which adhere to surfaces 

 (McKeown, 1978). 



The large Polynesian gecko, Gehi/ra oceanica, is found 

 in the forest on the leaves or trunks of coconut, Pisonia, or 

 Pandanus trees or under fallen logs or other debris on the 

 ground (Heatwole, 1975). It can be spotted at night by the 

 way its eyes shine red when touched by light. Its call is a 

 loud "Kraaaaaaa" (Marshall, 1951). 



The blue-tailed skink, Emoia cyanura, is common under 

 coconut or other plant debris, under driftwood, and among 

 scrub vegetation at the top of island beaches, especially 

 among the vines of the beach morning glory Ipomoea pes- 

 caprae (Sachet, 1962). These skinks are reportedly p>oor 

 climbers and are active primarily during the day (Moul, 

 1954; Marshall, 1951). 



The moth skink, Lipinia (Liigosoma or Leiolopisma) 

 noctua, is fairly common on Enewetak Atoll among leaf 

 litter and coconut debris. It is essentially diurnal and may 

 be partly arboreal (McCoy, 1980). Oliver and Shaw 

 (1953) reported that they had collected L. noctua on Runit 

 Islet on Enewetak Atoll on the ground among "herbaceous 

 vegetation along the beach dunes" and that sjjecimens 

 they collected had "two or more incomplete digits on the 

 feet." They speculated that the missing digits might have 

 been sheared off by terrestrial hermit crabs which are com- 

 mon on the islet or by other lizards during fights. Rats arc 

 also common on Runit and may have been responsible for 

 some of the missing digits. Missing toes among specimens 

 of L. noctua in Hawaii have been attributed to the lizards' 

 characteristic rolling escape behavior (McKeown, 1978). 

 Lipinia noctua brings forth one to four young alive from 

 eggs retained in the body (McKeown, 1978). 



The largest lizard on Enewetak Atoll is the monitor 

 lizard, Varanus indicus, a native of Australia and Papua 

 New Guinea which was introduced to Guam, the Mariana, 

 Caroline, and Marshall Islands by the Japanese for rat con- 

 trol or as a food source (Fisher, 1948; Marshall, 1975). 



This sp)ecies has been collected on Enewetak Atoll only 

 from Japtan Islet, and it apparently feeds on land crabs 

 and some marine life. Specimens from Enewetak Atoll are 

 commonly about 1 m in length. 



The Brahminy blind snake, Ran^phot\;phlops bramina 

 (Daudin) (Typh/ops or T\^phlina braminus), is a small 

 (<20 cm), secretive burrowing snake native to the Philif)- 

 pines and southeast Asia. The species has been introduced 

 into new areas in the dirt accompanying transported plants 

 and equipment and is now widely distributed among major 

 island groups of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is found 

 in Africa, Australia, India, and Mexico (Brown, 1957; 

 McCoy, 1980). In Micronesia it is found on Guam, Tinian, 

 Saipan, and Enewetak (Burt and Burt, 1932; Cagle, 1946; 

 Knight, 1984). It may have been introduced to Enewetak 

 with plantings from Hawaii, where it was initially observed 

 in 1930 (Slevin, 1930; Fisher, 1948; Oliver and Shaw, 

 1953; Hunsaker and Breese, 1967). 



Blind snakes are secretive, nocturnal, and generally 

 seen abroad only following a heavy rain. They are found in 

 loose, moist soil in or under rotting logs and other debris 

 and in gardens under stones, plastic cover, and plotted 

 plants (Cagle, 1946; McKeown, 1978; McCoy, 1980). Two 

 specimens have been collected on Enewetak Atoll: one on 

 Medren in 1954 (Knight, 1984) and one in 1980 on 

 Enewetak Islet on the MPRL lanai at night. It remains to 

 be seen whether any more specimens will be found on the 

 atoll or whether the species can survive in the island's rela- 

 tively dry, sandy soil. Blind snakes are parthenogenic, and 

 the single female parent lays two to eight elongate eggs in 

 moist soil (McKeown, 1978). A population may thus be 

 established from a single introduced individual. Blind 

 snakes are beneficial to man because they eat termites and 

 other soft-bodied insects and insect larvae (McKeown, 

 1978; McCoy, 1980). 



The relatively dry climate at Enewetak makes it a 

 rather harsh environment for terrestrial reptiles. Some of 

 the species found there are adapted to living where 

 humans live and may have been transported there by man 



