Uncovering the herpetological diversity of small forest fragments in south-eastern Madagascar (Haute Matsiatra)

By

Belluardo, Francesco
Díaz Quirós, Darwin
Lobón-Rovira, Javier
Rosa, Gonçalo M
Rasoazanany, Malalatiana
Andreone, Franco
Crottini, Angelica

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

97

Pages

315--343

Subjects

16S , Andringitra , Barcoding , COI , forest patches , herpetofauna , microendemic , rapid assessment

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.97.63936

 

Abstract

Madagascar has historically suffered from high fragmentation of forested habitats, often leading to biodiversity loss. Neverthless, forest fragments still retain high levels of biological diversity. The Haute Matsiatra Region (south-eastern Madagascar) hosts the renowned Andringitra National Park and several surrounding isolated forest fragments embedded in a matrix of human-dominated landscape. During a herpetological survey conducted in the Region, we visited a total of 25 sites. We applied a molecular taxonomic approach to identify the collected material and generate new reference sequences to improve the molecular identification of Malagasy herpetofauna. We identified a total of 28 amphibian and 38 squamate taxa and provided a systematic account for each one of them. Nine of the identified taxa are candidate species, amongst which one was newly identified. We extended the known distributional range of 21 taxa (nine amphibians and 12 squamates). Although the largest forest fragments hold a higher number of species, we also detected a relatively high herpetological diversity in small patches. Our results highlight the importance of investigating small forest fragments to contribute to a better understanding of the patterns of diversity and distribution of the amphibians and reptiles of Madagascar.