An updated herpetofaunal species inventory of Iona National Park in southwestern Angola

By

Lobón-Rovira, Javier
Vaz Pinto, Pedro
S. Becker, François
Tolley, Krystal
Measey, John
Bennet, Bruce
Boon, Bastiaan
De Sá, Sango
Conradie, Werner

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-4-1

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

18

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

289--321

Subjects

Amphibians , Biodiversity , Checklist , Conservation , molecular , Reptiles

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/18.2.289

 

Abstract

Angola has experienced an incredible increase of the knowledge of its herpetofauna over the past decade. However, accurate biodiversity inventories remain deficient for certain regions of particular conservation interest. We therefore provide an updated checklist of Iona National Park’s herpetofauna, with 75 recorded species, including five amphibians and 70 reptiles, 40 of these recorded for the first time in Iona National Park. These species comprise ~80% of the reptile diversity of Namibe Province. Therefore, this work recognises Iona National Park as the most reptile-diverse protected area in Angola and is potentially one of the richest in southern Africa. Consequently, this work enhances the importance of specific conservation plans in the area and the need for further investigation into the hidden biodiversity of this region.