>>CHILD: What is the difference between a reptile
and amphibian?
>>CHRISTOPHER RAXWORTHY: So, the difference between
reptiles and amphibians are reptiles have
got scales and dry skin. They lay hard-shelled
eggs, but they have a backbone and
amphibians have moist, usually smooth
skin. There's no scales on them and they
don't have hard-shelled eggs, but they do
have also a backbone. And both groups
have got, you know, eyes and a mouth, but some of
them look rather strange, like some of
the elongated forms like caecilians,
that are amphibians, there are burrowing skinks, and
of course, snakes are very elongate without
legs. So, some of the species have
got legs and some have actually lost them.
>>CHILD: How many kinds of reptiles and
amphibians live in Cuba?
>>RAXWORTHY: There are a big diversity of reptiles and
amphibians in Cuba. And with the amphibians,
there are currently 67 species that are
described, but we know that there are going
to be a lot more frogs still to be
discovered in Cuba. All the species in
Cuba are frogs that are amphibians. We don't
see examples of salamanders or caecilians there.
And with the reptiles there are
currently about 147 species
or 149 species of reptiles
that have been recorded in Cuba, and they
include things like lizards and snakes.
There is a an aquatic turtle there, for
example, and they also have a marine turtles.
Again, just like the amphibians,
we expect that number to
continue to increase as more research
work discovers yet more new species.
>>CHILD: What do you find most interesting about
Cuba's reptiles and amphibians?
>>RAXWORTHY: So, when I go to Cuba and I see these
reptiles and amphibians, I think the
first thing that I really love is that many
of them are found only in Cuba, and they've
adapted to very special conditions.
So, for example, there's this group of lizards
called anoles. They have these big
dewlap skin on their underside of their neck.
But these lizards are really cool
because they live in all sorts of
different types of habitats. So, you can
find them on walls of buildings, and on
treetrunks, and up high in the tops of
big trees. You find them in caves. You
can find them on the grasslands, and you
can even find them on the edges of
riverbanks. They're able to partly
swim. So, it's a great example of seeing
how, you know, these lizards got into Cuba,
and then have what we call adapted.
They've become specialists where they've
actually sort of found all these special
areas in Cuba where they can live.
>>CHILD: What are some of the biggest and
smallest reptiles and amphibians in Cuba?
>>RAXWORTHY: So, some of the smallest reptiles
in Cuba are- They have these
tiny geckos and they're not much bigger
than a fingernail. You find them in leaf
litter. Sometimes they have a little
white spot on the end of their tail. But
they're adapted for living amongst
leaf litter, and when you first see them, you
might think it's even an insect, which is
running around.
The largest reptiles in Cuba would be things like
the sea turtles where some of the
species that nest, these females when
they come onto the beaches are, you know,
more than a hundred pounds in weight.
And in terms of the species that are
found on the ground in Cuba, one of the
species that I came across that seem
to me particularly spectacular was the Cuban boa.
And this is a snake which can get
maybe as thick as your forearm, perhaps
five, six feet in length, and-
But they're impressive animals and also
very docile. You can pick them up in
the wild and they're very chill about it.
>>CHILD: Where do reptiles and amphibians live in Cuba?
>>RAXWORTHY: So, reptiles and amphibians in Cuba,
they live pretty much everywhere, which
is kind of cool. So, you can be in
towns, and you can find things like Cuban
tree frogs living in gardens and these
are actually quite toxic, large tree
frogs. They're very beautiful. I think
they're actually very pretty frogs, but
you can also find amphibians in
Cuba pretty much everywhere. So, in caves,
rivers and streams, deep in rainforests,
and also some species that are adapted
to dry conditions. And the same is
true for the reptiles. The reptiles, as well,
are found throughout the island. One of the
other large reptiles you get is this
amazing Cuban rock iguana, which is this
big, black-colored lizard, which gets to
about, like, three or four feet long, and
looks really like a mini dinosaur. But
you find that on the coastline.
>>CHILD: What is your favorite reptile or amphibian in Cuba?
>>RAXWORTHY: So, my favorite
reptile or amphibian in Cuba—I guess
I would say I have two. For a reptile, my
favorite reptile is a crown knight
anole, which is a green lizard. But it's
called a crown anole because it lives up in
the crowns and the very tops of trees, and
it gets to, maybe, like about two feet,
two and a half feet in length, but has
these lovely scales and beautiful
markings on its head.
It's very beautiful animal, and it's
really adapted for living at the tops of
trees. And the other species that I
particularly like is Cuba has the
second-smallest frog in the world, which
is this tiny little Eleutherodactylus
frog. And it's not much bigger than the
the pencil lead on a pencil. And it's black
with these little yellow stripes. It occurs in the
leaf litter. But the first time I found
those frogs it was just amazing to see.
It looked like a little insect.
>>CHILD: How does fieldwork help you understand Cuba's
reptiles and amphibians?
>>RAXWORTHY: So, fieldwork in Cuba really helps us
to understand reptiles and
amphibians because it gives us a chance
to actually see what's going on in the
wild. So, rather than seeing animals in an
aquarium or at a zoo, or seeing specimens
that were perhaps collected a hundred
years ago with very little information
associated with them, when you go into
the field you can see where the animals
are existing now, what they're feeding on.
You could also collect DNA from
them, which can be so useful for doing
genetic work. It can tell us all sorts of
things about how they evolved,
but it also can tell us about things
like how many there are in a population,
and give us also an idea about if
there are yet more new species that we
haven't seen before. And then of course,
we can also then take that
information and it tells us a lot about
conservation, like, for example, which
species are the most vulnerable to disappearing,
to going extinct. They're the ones that
we want to make sure, of course, are
protected, because anytime we lose a
species in Cuba, then because it's
not found anywhere else, it's gone from
the whole world. And that means that
future generations won't have the chance
themselves to see it and to study it. And
I think that's, to me, a very sad thing. So,
I really want to make sure that all the
species that we still have in Cuba, that
we keep them. We don't we don't lose
any more.
>>CHILD: Did any snakes bite you?
Can any of the snakes kill you?
>>RAXWORTHY: In Cuba there are no snakes that can
kill you or that are dangerous to human
beings, but I have been bitten by some snakes in
Cuba. But snakes are so small in Cuba, and for
the most part they're so gentle, that it
happens very rarely and when it does
happen it's almost like a bit of a joke.
One of the things that we were doing on our
expedition was showing, for example, in
schools we were bringing some snakes out
and handling them. And some of the
children were incredibly brave. They
would come forward and then start
handling snakes for the first time themselves.
>>CHILD: Can crocodiles really really leap out of the water?
>>RAXWORTHY: It's absolutely true that the crocodiles
in Cuba do leap. And probably the main
reason they're always chasing after food.
So, for things like these large rodents, these
hutias running around in the mangrove
swamps- If a Cuban crocodile is
sitting there in the water and it sees
this juicy meal suddenly coming nearby
on the bank, it will jump for it and grab it.
But here's the catch, is that that's
not special just to Cuban crocodiles.
Crocodiles and alligators all over the
world can do that.
>>CHILD: Are any of the reptiles and amphibians endangered?
>>RAXWORTHY: There are some species of
amphibians and reptiles in Cuba that are
endangered. The rock iguana, for example,
is a species- it's only found in Cuba.
And although it's large,
the populations are fairly small, and there's a
risk always that some people might try
and collect them and sell them as pets, for example.
So, that's one of the species
which is endangered.
Also, the sea turtles around Cuba are
also protected. The good news is that
Cuba has created many protected areas -
parks and reserves - and that program is
continuing. So, there are lots of
areas of Cuba now that are being out
well protected, and which- The species
that occur there
have got a very good chance of
their long-term survival.