British Virgin Islands
The most spectacular reptile found only in the British Virgin Islands is the critically endangered Anegada Ground Iguana Cyclura pinguis (ARKive), now reduced to fewer than 200 individuals. At only 32 mm in length, the Virgin Gorda Least Gecko Sphaerodactylus parthenopion (geckolist.com) is one of the world's smallest lizards. Other reptiles unique to the islands include the Carrot Rock Anole Anolis ernestwilliamsi (caribherp), the Carrot Rock Skink Mabuya macleani (caribherp), and two blindsnakes: Typhlops naugus (caribherp) and Typhlops catapontus (p. 4 of Revista de Biologia Tropical pdf file).
The sole endemic frog, the Virgin
Islands Coqui Eleutherodactylus
schwartzi (ARKive)
formerly also lived in the U.S.
Virgin Islands, but now survives only on Tortola, Jost Van
Dyke, and Virgin
Gorda.
Invertebrates unique to the British Virgin Islands include a longhorned
beetle Styloleptoides
inflaticollis (Smithsonian),
a butterfly Calisto
anegadensis (Butterflies of America), a skipper Copaeodes eoa (Butterflies of America), a braconid wasp Coiba guanaensis
(fig. 34 on p.10 of Ent.
Soc. Wash. 5 MB pdf file), the goblin spiders Longoonops gorda (AMNH) and Stenoonops tortola (AMNH), a centipede Polycricus bredini (Chilobase),
and a shrimp Pseudalpheopsis
guana (Academia
Sinica pdf file).
Plants occurring only on Anegada include the Poke-me-boy Acacia anegadensis (Kew) and the Wire Wist Metastelma anegadense
(seaturtle.org).
Pitcairnia
jareckii (BHL) is a bromeliad known only from Guana Island. The
British Virgin Islands are the last refuge for several plant species
that formerly occurred also in Puerto Rico including Jost Van Dyke's
Indian Mallow Sida
(or Bastardiopsis)
eggersii
(USDA), the Puerto Rico Manjack Cordia rupicola (ARKive),
and Kiaerskov's Lidflower Calyptranthes
kiaerskovii (p. 11 of Kew
pdf file).
An
overview of the natural history of this territory of the United Kingdom is provided by the
JNCC (JNCC pdf file).