UNCORRECTED PROOF First record of the frog Eleutherodactylus lentus in the British Virgin Islands: Conservation implications of native or introduced status Gad Perry Department of Natural Resource Management, Texas Tech University, Box 42125, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2125, USA. E-mail: Gad.Perry@TTU.edu Abstract. Eleutherodactylus lentus, thought to be endemic to the US Virgin Islands, is now found on Jost Van Dyke in the nearby British Virgin Islands, where previous surveys have failed to note it. This poses an unusual conundrum. If the new record represents human-aided dispersal, then control actions may be appropriate, even though the species is categorized as at risk in its native range. However, it is possible that this population is native to Jost Van Dyke, and was not previously recorded because of methodological issues. In that case, protection would be warranted. Interviews with researchers and locals suggest the former scenario is more likely. Key words: British Virgin Islands; conservation status; distributional range; Eleutherodactylus lentus; Jost Van Dyke; US Virgin Islands. Eleutherodactylus lentus, sometimes misleadingly called the mute frog, is only known from the US Virgin Islands (USVI; Platenberg and Boulon, 2006). The species is considered Endangered (IUCN et al., 2004) because of its geographically limited range and development-caused reduction of its semi-xeric habitat. However, the species is locally abundant in some areas (Platenberg and Boulon, 2006). The mute frog has never been documented in the British Virgin Islands (BVI; Perry and Gerber, 2006), nor is it documented as invasive elsewhere (Lever, 2003). However, other members of the genus Eleutherodactylus are frequently invasive (Lever, 2003). In early October 2007, I located several specimens of E. lentus at Great Harbour (18 ◦ 26 ′ 42 ′′ N, 64 ◦ 45 ′ 02 ′′ W) on Jost Van Dyke. The first was collected during daylight, under a wooden board in the back yard of Foxy’s Bar, at the east end of Great Harbour. This popular beach bar receives visitors, primarily arriving by yacht, from throughout the area. A nocturnal visit a few days later showed the presence of many additional frogs at that locality, some of them calling from underneath objects on the ground (despite the inapt common name). Additional specimens were seen and heard, and one collected, at the west end of Great Harbour, a few hundred meters away from the first population. At that location, small puddles of fresh water APHE 2008/01/24 10:14; Prn:9/07/2008; 14:39 F:aphe1135.tex; VTeX/Aust p. 1 (40-107) © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 APPLIED HERPETOLOGY 00: 1-3 Also available online - www.brill.nl/ah