The fauna of Barbados is less diverse than that of the other Antilles. Human activities are responsible for the change in the composition of the fauna, in particular, the replacement of native species. Species that are able to adapt to human presence have survived.

Origin of Barbadian Fauna

The island of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

was formed by

tectonic uplift Tectonic uplift is the geologic uplift of Earth's surface that is attributed to plate tectonics. While isostatic response is important, an increase in the mean elevation of a region can only occur in response to tectonic processes of crustal th ...

and is younger than the surrounding lesser Antillean islands, primarily of volcanic origin.

Avian Avian may refer to: *Birds or Aves, winged animals *Avian (given name) (russian: Авиа́н, link=no), a male forename Aviation *Avro Avian, a series of light aircraft made by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s *Avian Limited, a hang glider manufacture ...

colonization has therefore occurred recently relative to the geological age of the island, accounting in part for the lack of

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

relative to neighboring islands. Species capable of crossing the sea barrier by flight enjoyed a comparative advantage, helping to explain why avian species are more numerous than other animal groups, such as mammals. In addition to the natural colonization of the island by animals, humans have contributed to the faunal composition of the island through species introductions (intentional and accidental).

Mammals

Few

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

live on the island, composed almost entirely of introduced species. The

Norway rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...

(''Rattus norvegicus''), house mouse (''Mus musculus''),

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

(''Lepus europaeus''),

small Indian mongoose The small Indian mongoose (''Urva auropunctata'') is a mongoose species native to Iraq and northern South Asia; it has also been introduced to many regions of the world, such as several Caribbean and Pacific islands. Taxonomy ''Mangusta auropu ...

(''Urva auropunctata''), and

green monkey The green monkey (''Chlorocebus sabaeus''), also known as the sabaeus monkey, is an Old World monkey with golden-green fur and pale hands and feet. The tip of the tail is golden yellow as are the backs of the thighs and cheek whiskers. It does n ...

(''Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus'') are the most notable examples.

Pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

were introduced by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

in 1563 as a future food source; the introduction was successful and a feral pig population persisted up until the point of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

settlement of the island, after which they became extirpated. The now extinct Barbados raccoon (''Procyon lotor gloveralleni'') is considered to have been endemic to the island; however, even this subspecies may have been introduced by

Amerindians The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

in pre-historic times. The only remaining native mammals are a number of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species; the most common of which is the velvety free-tailed bat (''Molossus molossus''), which emerges at dusk to feed on

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

. A breed of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

known as the Barbados Blackbelly sheep originated in Barbados. It has been exported to various nations around the world, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

where it is sometimes called affectionately "Barbado Sheep".

Marine mammals Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as seals, whales, manatees, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their re ...

are not frequently seen in Barbadian waters. Some species, however, particularly bottlenose dolphins (''Tursiops truncatus'') and humpback whales (''Megaptera novaeangliae''), are occasionally seen offshore on the north coast. Free-ranging dog, Feral dogs and Feral cat, cats, introduced by humans, are also present on the island.

Birds

Birds are fairly well represented on the island, with most having adapted well to the presence of humans. Icterids such as the Carib grackle (''Quiscalus lugubris'') and the shiny cowbird (''Molothrus bonariensis''), which often parasitizes the nests of the former species, are quite common. Seedeaters include the black-faced grassquit (''Tiaris bicolor'') and the grassland yellow finch (''Sicalis luteola''), known locally as the ''grass canary''. Introduced from South America the grassland yellow finch is now faced with extirpation due to poaching for the pet trade. Until recently considered a non-sexually dimorphic subspecies of the Lesser Antillean bullfinch (''Loxigilla noctis''), the Barbados bullfinch (''Loxigilla barbadensis'') has recently been elevated to species level. There are two species of tyrant flycatcher found on the island; the grey kingbird (''Tyrannus dominicensis'') which is quite common, and the Caribbean elaenia (''Elaenia martinica'') which is rarer. Representatives of the family Columbidae include the zenaida dove (''Zenaida aurita''), common ground dove (''Columbina passerina''), scaly-naped pigeon (''Patagioenas squamosa''), and the ubiquitous rock pigeon (''Columba livia''). Another species, the eared dove (''Zenaida auriculata''), which was previously reported as an occasional visitor to the island, has now established a breeding population. Nectar consuming species include the Antillean crested hummingbird (''Orthorhyncus cristatus''), green-throated carib (''Eulampis holosericeus''), and the bananaquit (''Coereba flaveola''). Heron species include, the cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') and the fairly rare green heron (''Butorides virescens''). A recent addition to the island's Bird, avifauna is the little egret (''Egretta garzetta''), which has recently colonized the island from Africa. Early European visitors reported finding a species of parrot on the island, which subsequently became extinct. Currently, parrots are represented by a few escaped or released individuals which have formed feral populations; most notably is a small population of the orange-winged parrot (''Amazona amazonica'') which has become established among several ''Roystonea'' palms in the Belleville district of the capital Bridgetown. The brown-throated parakeet (''Aratinga pertinax''), introduced to the island, is rarely seen. The scaly-breasted thrasher (''Allenia fusca'') may have become extirpated from the Island. A resident race of the yellow warbler (''Dendroica petechia petechia'') is also threatened, mostly due to loss of its mangrove swamp habitat; the last major refuge for this species is the Graeme Hall Swamp in the south of the Island, However some reports suggest the species is expanding its range on the island. Species that may be encountered in wetland areas include the masked duck (''Nomonyx dominica''), American coot (''Fulica americana''), and the common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus'') The southern lapwing (''Vanellus chilensis''), a shorebird, has recently bred upon the island; having spread to Barbados from Trinidad and Tobago and northern South America. Substantial numbers of migratory birds either over-wintering on the island, or en route from North America to South American wintering grounds are seen annually. Shorebirds are one such group of birds that stop off in Barbados during migration; tens of thousands, however, lured to artificial wetlands, are shot annually for sport.

Reptiles

The green iguana (''Iguana iguana'') formerly resided on the island before being extirpated. An endemic species of anole lizard, (''Anolis extremus''), and the introduced tropical house gecko (''Hemidactylus mabouia'') are both common species; while Underwood's spectacled tegu (''Gymnophthalmus underwoodi''), and a native species of ''Kentropyx'' lizard (''Kentropyx borckiana'') are rarer on the island. The red-footed tortoise (''Geochelone carbonaria'') is widely kept in captivity; it was likely introduced to the island, as no reports of it were made by early European explorers to the island. Populations of an endemic ''Liophis'' grass snake (''Liophis perfuscus'') have been devastated as a result of predation by the introduced Indian mongoose; with no confirmed sightings of the species since 1961. Another snake species, ''Mastigodryas bruesi'' and the world's smallest snake, ''Leptotyphlops carlae'', have also been recorded from the island. Currently there are two species of sea turtle which nest in Barbados, the hawksbill turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata''), and the leatherback turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''). Though not nesting on the island, the green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas'') does forage in nearshore seagrass beds. Coastal infrastructure, such as hotel properties, has encroached upon the nesting grounds of sea turtles, while coastal lights also detrimentally impact nesting females.

Amphibians

The cane toad (''Bufo marinus'') from South America and the Eleutherodactylus johnstonei, Johnstone's whistling frog (''Eleutherodactylus johnstonei'') encompass the islands' amphibian community. The introduction of the cane toad was done as a biological control aimed at insect pests of sugarcane; as has been the case elsewhere, the lack of predators to control the cane toad has led to uncontrolled populations in some areas.

Fish

Freshwater Fish

The wild form of the guppy (''Poecilia reticulata'') is native to Barbados as well as Trinidad and northern South America. Introductions of aquarium varieties of the guppy into the wild mean that it may be impossible to distinguish between original and fancy varieties. Originally intended for aquaculture, tilapia species including, ''Oreochromis mossambicus'', and ''Tilapia zilli'' have become widely established in ponds and streams across the island.

Brackish Water Fish

Brackish water species also occur, particularly in coastal wetlands such as the Graeme Hall Swamp; one such species is the mangrove rivulus (''Rivulus marmoratus''), notable for its unique ability of self-fertilization. A resident and isolated population of Atlantic tarpon, (''Megalops atlanticus'') has become established in the Graeme Hall Swamp.

Invertebrates

Crustaceans

Terrestrial crab species found on the island include ''Cardisoma guanhumi'' and ''Gecarcinus lateralis''.

References

External links

Animals of BarbadosBarbados Reptiles & Amphibians
{{North America in topic, Fauna of Fauna of Barbados, Environment of Barbados