Amphibian and reptile diversity along a ridge-to-reef elevational gradient on a small isolated oceanic island of the central Philippines

• Published in: Check list (Luís Felipe Toledo) Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. 941 - 948
• Main Authors: Meneses, Camila G., Siler, Cameron D., Alviola, Phillip A., Gonzalez, Juan Carlos T., Balatibat, Juancho B., Natividad, Cheryl A., Brown, Rafe M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 01.09.2022
• Subjects: biodiversity; conservation; ecology; endemism; fau
• ISSN: 1809-127X; 1809-127X
• DOI: 10.15560/18.5.941

Despite multiple recent field studies, herpetological species diversity of the Romblon Island Group in the central Philippines-particularly Sibuyan Island-has remained underestimated. Recently, we investigated the diversity of the herpetofauna of Mount Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, based on an elevational transect (10-1557 m a.s.l.). Our surveys resulted in a total of 47 species of amphibians and reptiles, including 14 new island records and one atypical occurrence of a snake species recorded for the first time from a high elevation (939 m a.s.l). These new records constitute a notable increase (21%) in Sibuyan's herpetological species diversity as compared to surveys from a decade ago. We also provide updates of the taxonomy and identification of species endemic to this island (e.g., members of the genera Platymantis Günther, 1858, Brachymeles Duméril & Gibron, 1839, and Pseudogekko Taylor, 1922), and discuss the importance of continued surveys and field-derived data to inform conservation status assessments of Sibuyan's unique assemblage of amphibians and reptiles.