Sphaerodactyls Endemic to South-Eastern of Martinique and Geological History of the Eastern Caribbean

In 2013 during preliminary work for the ABC (Atlas of the Biodiversity Communal) of Sainte Anne, a very particular phenotype of Sphaerodactylus was observed present around and on the limest one Dulls of the peninsula of the southeastern Martinique; similarly during the IBR (Rapid Biological Inventory), still in 2013 at the initiative of the city of Lamentin in partnership with Cuban scientists from BIOECO in Santiago de Cuba, a particular mor photype was spotted on the islands o f the Bay of Genipa and Cohe of Lamentin. Working for the Atlas of amphibians and reptiles of Martinique initiated by the PNRM (Regional Natural Park of Martinique) for many years, Dr. Michel Breuil reported the intriguing presence of spherodactyls with scapular ocelli (such as spherodactyls north of Martinique), yet located in the South East on the Vauclin Mountain In 2013 Groba & Thorpe's work in molecular biology carried first important data allowing to identify the existence of two Sphaerodactyl species for Martinique going back to the d ate of their divergence 12 My, and without integrating the data concerning the species of sphaerodactyls present in St. Lucia. It was not until 2015 that we became aware of additional data with the published work of Hedges et al. al., allowing to integrate in our analysis sphaerodactyls present in Saint Lucia, and generally throughout the Caribbean to establish their phylogeny. These molecular biological data from Hedges are essential to establish our initial findings regarding our spherodactyl phenotypic data observed in 2013 at the St. Anne Peninsula and the IBR on Genipa, Ducos and Lamentin Bay. They allow us to test our hypothesis of demonstration of a third line in Martinique of sphaerodactyls represented by our S. X sp. in southeastern Martinique, distinct from the two lineages that generated S. vincenti in the southwest, and S. festus in northern Martinique. Geological history and geoscience are crucial to understanding the overall evolution of biodiversity. The herpetofauna of the islands of the Eastern Caribbean and especially small amphibians and squamates living in ecological Caribbean and especially small amphibians and squamates living in ecological niches on soils requiring litter, are then among the first occupants of emerged niches on soils requiring litter, are then among the first occupants of emerged land surfaces. And so the geological evolution land surfaces - tectonic and volcanic tectonic and volcanic - of Martinique and the Caribbean archipelago is determining for the process of dispersions and thus of speciations of this herpetofauna originating from the zone of the current basin of the Orinoco. With advances in genetics, research in molecular systematics makes species of this micro herpetofauna in particular indicators allowing revelation and accuracy of dating phenomena and geological events. Phylogeny of a herpetofauna, and especially of Sphaerodactyls, which proves to be indicative of a geological history of the Eastern Carib proves to be indicative of a geological history of the Eastern Caribbean where bean where Martinique stands out as exceptional and central on the scale of this Grenadian basin where it is located; playing a main role of refuge island from basin where it is located, then -38 My, dispersal center from - 31 My, and - 12 My for Sphaerodactyls. A proto--Martinique Martinique island refuge in this almost unique Grenadian basin (with proto--Barbados) maintained not submerged from - 25 My, which was quite naturally dispersal center, first of all towards proto-Saint Lucia in the geological phase of reof re--emergence around -31 My. The research in herpetology and especially the first results of work in molecular systematics of 2013, then of 2015 relating to this Martinique herpetofauna jostle the geosciences and force a revision of the historical scenario of the formation and the geological evolution of the Caribbean's tectonics Oriental with land masses (forming an isthmus since the Eocene, well over - 45 My), then almost all submerged to -25 My. This isthmus at the top of a cordillera, located on the southeastern edge of the so-called lithospheric film The Caribbean Plate, at the junction of the three lithospheric films, Caribbean, North America and South America, has formed a bridge between the Orinoco basin and the Bank of Puerto Rico, and the islands of the proto-Greater Antilles. The history of biological endemism in the surface of emerged lands does not begin there, therefore, only in the Miocene at "- 24 My" as it is generally admitted.