Reptiles of Fais Island, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia.

Abstract

Eleven species of reptiles (six skinks, four geckos, one monitor lizard) are recorded from Fais Island, Micronesia, four of them (Gehyra mutilata, Lepidodactylus moestus, L. sp., and Eugongylus albofasciolatus) for the first time. The skinks Emoia caeruleocauda and E. jakati are the most common species; G. mutilate is the most common gecko in edificarian habitats, and L. moestus is the most common outside the areas of human habitation. Nearly all of the species are widespread in the western Pacific region, although Eutropis sp. is at the easternmost limits of its distribution in the Caroline Islands on Fais. The monitor lizard Varanus indicus was introduced during the Japanese administration. The other species may have arrived by natural dispersal, or by human assistance, or a combination of the two.