The Herpetofauna of the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) and a First Country-Wide Checklist
Bonn zoological Bulletin 61 (2): 255–281 December 2012 The herpetofauna of the Bijagós archipelago, Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) and a first country-wide checklist 1 2,3 3 Mark Auliya , Philipp Wagner & Wolfgang Böhme 1 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Conservation Biology, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany. 2 Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA. 3 Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, D-53113 Bonn. Abstract. An annotated checklist of amphibians and reptiles from the Bijagós archipelago (Guinea-Bissau) with com- ments on the species’ distribution, systematics and natural history traits is presented here for the first time. During two field surveys 13 anurans and 17 reptile species were recorded from the archipelago of which several species represent either first records for the islands, i.e., Silurana tropicalis, Hemisus g. guineensis, Leptopelis viridis, Hemidactylus an- gulatus, Chamaeleo gracilis, Trachylepis perrotetii, Philothamnus heterodermus, Toxicodryas blandingii, Naja melanoleuca and Thelotornis kirtlandii or first country records, i.e., Amietophrynus maculatus, Ptychadena pumilio, P. bibroni, Phrynobatrachus calcaratus, P. francisci, Leptopelis bufonides, Hyperolius occidentalis, H. nitidulus, H. spatzi, Kassina senegalensis and Thrasops occidentalis. Species diversity reflects savanna and forest elements and a complete herpetofaunal checklist of the country is provided. Key words. West Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Bijagós archipelago, herpetofauna, first country records. INTRODUCTION The former Portugese colony Guinea-Bissau is an au- Guinea-Bissau's tropical climate is characterised by a tonomous country since 1974 and is bordered by Senegal dry season (November to May), and a wet season from in the north, Guinea in the east and south, and by the At- June to October with average annual rainfall between lantic Ocean in the west (Fig.
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