Herpetofauna (Amphibia, Reptilia) at the Kafa Biosphere Reserve (original) (raw)
Related papers
2020
The island of Lefkada is a popular and easily accessible tourist destination; nevertheless, there is no comprehensive checklist of its interesting herpetofauna. Indeed, most records are old, scattered in different papers, and lacking precise locality data. In order to summarize the knowledge on the herpetofauna of the island, we critically reviewed literature, we looked for reliable records in the web and we carried out a field survey in May 2019. The herpetofauna of Lefkada amounts to 28 species (six amphibians and 22 reptiles). The occurrence of Testudo graeca on the island is considered unlikely, while an additional species, Testudo marginata, is here reported based on web sources. Among the species recorded on the island, 25 have been recently confirmed, two of them (Rana dalmatina and Anguis graeca) over a century. For three species (Lissotriton graecus, Chelonia mydas, and Podarcis tauricus) the last records date back to over 30 years ago.
The herpetofauna of the Guayana Highlands: amphibians and reptiles of the Lost World
2005
South America has an extremely diverse herpetofauna that includes about onethird of all living amphibian and one-fifth of all living reptile species (Duellman 1979b, 1999; Uetz 2000). The rate of discovery and description of amphibian and reptile species, unlike that of birds and mammals, continues to increase. Many of these new taxa are from South America (Bauer 1998; Glaw and Kohler 1998), a continent for which 60% of the species of amphibians have been described in the past 40 years (Duellman 1999). In contrast to other continents, South America has only moderate topographic complexity. Lowlands cover about half of the continent and are associated primarily with the major drainage systems of the Orinoco, Amazon, and Parana rivers. The highland regions are generally discrete and occur in the northeast (Guayana Shield), the southeast (Brazilian Shield), and along the western margin of the continent (Andes). Narrow coastal lowlands fringe these upland areas in the east and west. Even though the tropical lowland regions and their wet forests contribute substantially to herpetofaunal species diversity, species diversity among amphibians is highest in montane regions, where the numbers of endemics are high (usually above 75%; Duellman 1999). Comparable data for species of reptiles are not available, but typically, species diversity of reptiles in montane regions lags behind that of amphibians (e.g., amphibians make up 64% of the Andean herpetofauna; Duellman 1979c). In contrast, reptile diversity in lowland Neotropical regions may be 20%-30% higher than that of amphibians in any particular area (e.g., Hoogmoed 1979a; Duellman 1990).
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF HERPETOFAUNA IN THE INDIAN PENINSULA
Conference Proceedings Govt. Arts College, Ooty, 2020
Had not a little more than 1000 localities been visited at least once, the number of amphibian species recognised by taxonomists would be one quarter lower than now."-Dubois (2004) Biological diversity and its variations across space and time have been the central themes which have kept classical naturalists gravitated towards their wild pursuits. The above quote amply conveys the concomitant problems in bioinventories-of species and of its geographic range. In a sense, the number of species one discovers could become a proxy to the area of ground one covers. In the pages to come, I sketch an overview of the diversity and distribution of a remarkable vertebrate fauna known from what is perhaps one of the earliest regions where biological explorations happened in the Orient-the Indes Orientales or the 'East Indies' and its rich herpetofauna-reminiscing the past, calculating the present and contemplating the future.
Amphibian and reptile diversity in Mt. Kalatungan Range Natural Park, Philippines
Environmental and Experimental Biology
Herpetofauna inventory was conducted in the montane forest of Mt. Kalatungan Range Natural Park. Sampling plots were established in the lower montane at 1200 to 1400 m above sea level and upper montane at 1400 to 1600 m above sea level. Using a combination of pitfall trap and visual encounter methods, a total of 202 individuals were recorded belonging to 15 species, nine families and 12 genera, six of which are Mindanao endemic species. Five species belong to the IUCN Red List, which includes Limnonectes magnus, Ansonia muelleri, Ansonia mcgregori, Philautus acutirostris and Rhacophorus bimaculatus. Richness and diversity indices were consistently higher in the upper montane than in the lower montane. Similarity index of the two sites was only 26%, which implies that herpetofauna have specific habitat and food requirements for their survival. Threats in the area include habitat disturbance due to forest fire and conversion of forest to agriculture. These threats should be the focus of conservation efforts of local government units and the community to protect the habitat of these wildlife.
Uda Mäliboda Trail is an unstudied, remarkable forest located in the northwest region of Samanala Nature Reserve (SNR) in Sri Lanka’s wet zone. Here we report the first record of D. kotagamai from Uda Mäliboda Trail and the lowest elevation records of four highland Rhacophorid frogs: Pseudophilautus alto, P. asankai, P. femoralis, and Taruga eques. Further, we present results of a preliminary study of herpetofaunal diversity in Uda Mäliboda Trail. Thirty-four amphibian (26 endemic and 19 Threatened) and 59 reptile (32 endemic and 19 Threatened) species were observed. This wet zone forest supports high herpetofaunal diversity; however activities such as deforestation, human encroachment, mining, agriculture, dumping, road construction, and a hydroelectric power station threaten the ecology of this biologically diverse forest.
Herpetofaunal diversity in Área Natural Protegida Las Musas, Guanajuato, Mexico
Mesaomerican Herpetology, 2018
Tropical dry forests are recognized as environments with high biological diversity marked by phenological patterns throughout the year, which define their species richness, composition, and abundance. Accordingly, knowledge on the diversity and abundance of species in a given area, and other aspects of their biology, is crucial for their conservation. In this context, we conducted a herpetofaunal survey in Área Natural Protegida Las Musas, a natural protected area (NPA) in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. We compared species diversity between the seasons (wet and dry), and in five tropical vegetation types: gallery forest (GF), tropical deciduous forest (DF), xeric scrub (XS), induced grassland (IG), and associations of gallery forest and cornfields (G-C). We recorded a total of 40 species (27 from the field, 13 from the literature) in this NPA. The amphibians (12 species) are assigned to 10 genera and seven families, whereas the remaining herpetofauna (28 species of reptiles) are assigned to 20 genera and 10 families. We found species richness similar between the wet and dry seasons (17 species each), but species diversity was higher in the dry season than in the wet season. We also found the vegetation types DF, GF, and IG to be higher in species richness and diversity than G-C and XS. Our study adds to the knowledge of the herpetofauna at Las Musas, where the environment presently is threatened. Key Words: Amphibians, conservation, diversity, reptiles, season, species richness, vegetation
Additions to the Herpetofauna at Pasoh Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan
Abstrak: Satu survei herpetofauna telah dijalankan di Hutan Simpan Pasoh dari 13-19 Disember 2007 dan 20-24 Januari 2008. Sebanyak 23 spesies reptilia dan amphibia berjaya dijumpai, termasuk lima spesies yang merupakan rekod baru untuk Hutan Simpan Pasoh. Senarai spesies terbaru yang juga mengandungi hasil kajian-kajian lepas disediakan.