History of Amphibian Research in Trinidad & Tobago

[Tobago glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium orientale tobagoense. Photo by Renoir Auguste]. When most people think of amphibians (frogs) in Trinidad and Tobago, the crapaud or cane toad is typically the first that comes to mind. But did you know T&T has 35 species of amphibians? These frogs come in different sizes, shapes, and colours. They occur mostly in forests, but also in savannas, marshes, and even in our homes (usually the crapaud or Johnstone whistling frog). Most of what we know about the amphibians in the country can be traced to key figures over the last few decades. If you are interested in learning more about the history of amphibian research in T&T, then perhaps you may want to start with Julian Kenny's 1969 book on the Amphibia of Trinidad. One key line from his book is “Since Parker’s 1933 list was published, the names of nine of the twenty-three species have been altered in one way or another, some even at the generic level, while two unrecorded species have been found. Further, “surprisingly little recorded on general life histories of the Trinidad species or of mainland representatives of these species”. You may be wondering why I am pointing out that quote: more on that later. In Kenny's book, he first documented 25 species of amphibians (on Trinidad only). He provided data on distribution, habitat preferences, and identification keys for the frogs found on the island. In particular, not only did he devise keys to identifying adult frogs on Trinidad, but tadpoles too, which, can be challenging! These identification keys are mostly still used today, more than half a century ago.

Fast forward to the 1990s, and the other integral person to contribute to knowledge on T&T's amphibians is John Murphy. Murphy produced a landmark book, the first for the country documenting both the amphibians and the reptiles known from T&T. His book, based on more than 10 years of research provided information on the distribution of species (updated from Kenny's 1969 book), natural history (a gap that Kenny noted prior), and also new names to some of the species on the islands. Changes to species names sometimes happens when new scientific data arises, particularly DNA. Murphy has been studying T&T's herpetofauna for well over 40 years now, and without him, we would know so little about the underappreciated herps in the country.

We move forward to 2018, and Murphy, together with colleagues put together an updated version of his 1997 book, a field guide - one we can take with us in the field (a bit smaller than his 1997 book). This guide provides updated information on the distribution, natural history, and names to more species (though some names have changed since!). This field guide is still one of the most used references to amphibian research in the country.

Now, in 2023, a chapter was (finally) published in a Caribbean amphibian conservation book. The book features information on amphibians for all the Caribbean countries that have amphibians, including T&T. The chapter is authored by local and international researchers who have all contributed to herpetology in the country. Unlike the field guide, it is not readily available locally, but can be purchased online for interested persons. Here, we provide updated information on T&T's amphibians since the field guide came out. Some notable upates include the redescription of a new species of frog, an update on the conservation status of all the frogs in the country, and new natural history information.

Overall, amphibian conservation and research in Trinidad and Tobago has had a strong foundation, thanks to Kenny, Murphy, Downie, and others. It is in the best interest of all that we continue this and contribute to sustainable biodiversity management in the country - and not to leave out amphibians!