Research Article |
Corresponding author: Mark-Oliver Rödel ( mo.roedel@mfn-berlin.de ) Academic editor: Johannes Penner
© 2019 Mark-Oliver Rödel, Julian Glos.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Rödel M-O, Glos J (2019) Herpetological surveys in two proposed protected areas in Liberia, West Africa. Zoosystematics and Evolution 95(1): 15-35. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.95.31726
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In March and April 2018 we surveyed amphibians and reptiles in two Proposed Protected Areas (PPAs) in Liberia. In the Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area (KBPPA) in eastern Liberia 36 species of amphibians and 13 species of reptiles were recorded. In the Foya Proposed Protected Area (FPPA) in western Liberia 39 species of amphibians and 10 species of reptiles were recorded. The encountered herpetological communities in both sites were typical for West African rainforests. However, some species indicated disturbances, in particular at the edges of the study areas, the surrounding villages and plantations, and old artisanal gold mining sites within forests. Of particular conservation interest was the discovery of a high percentage of typical rainforest specialists with ranges restricted to the western part of the Upper Guinea rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Outstanding discoveries in KBPPA were two new species of puddle frogs, and the first country record for the arboreal, parachuting lizard Holaspis guentheri. Remarkable records in FPPA comprise a new species of stiletto snake, a new puddle frog and records of various frog species typically breeding in undisturbed rainforest streams, such as Odontobatrachus natator and Conraua alleni. Both study areas comprise an important proportion of the remaining rainforests in the Upper Guinea forest zone. The new discoveries indicate that within this biogeographic area, southeastern and western Liberian rainforest may still hold various undiscovered species and species of conservation concern. Further surveys in KBPPA and FPPA and nearby forests should clarify the distribution and conservation status of the new taxa.
This study also emphasizes that the western part of the Liberian forests comprise at least partly a herpetofauna which differs from that of the East of the country. The recorded threatened amphibian species are all specialized on relatively undisturbed rainforests and they all have only small geographic ranges. The remaining parts of undisturbed or little disturbed forests thus have high importance for the long-term survival of these species. In conclusion the study areas have a high conservation potential and should be urgently protected from any further forest loss degradation and uncontrolled hunting.
Amphibia , Anura , conservation, Crocodylia , Gymnophiona , rainforest, Sauria , Serpentes , Upper Guinea Forest
Amphibians and reptiles are amongst the world’s most endangered organisms. Reasons are manifold, but the most important ones are unarguably habitat destruction, conversion, and fragmentation, presumably followed by pollution, disease and climate change (
Compared to neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, the herpetofauna of Liberia is only poorly known, although herpetological specimens from Liberia have been reported as early as the beginning of the last century (
These early discoveries were followed by a longer period without any herpetological data from Liberia. Liberia was always hard to access due to the lack of infrastructure such as roads in most parts of the country, but from 1989–2003 a particularly brutal civil war stopped all scientific exploration within the country. Only in 2005, on a Rapid Assessment organized by Conservation International, Annika Hillers surveyed amphibians and reptiles in three Liberian forests, reporting five frog species new for the country (
Both study areas were surveyed during the beginning of the rainy season. The Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area (KBPPA) is located in southeastern Liberia, across the Grand Gedeh, River Cess and Sinoe counties. The nearest larger town is Zwedru. KBPPA comprises 290,167 ha within the larger Krahn-Bassa National Forest (WCF & FDA 2017). We surveyed KBPPA on 23–26 March 2018 (Camp 1, in the north of the area; 06°02'39.9"N, 008°20'03.6"W) and 28–31 March 2018 (Camp 2, in the central-eastern part of the area; 05°39'02.1"N, 008°39'05.0"W). KBPPA is part of Liberia’s two remaining forest blocks, the Taï-Grebo-Sapo forest complex (Taï being the largest remaining rainforest in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire). It consists of primary forest with high canopy cover, although the edges of the forest are partly heavily degraded by logging and agricultural encroachment. Most prominent signs of human activities in the core forest area were former artisanal gold mining pits and up to an average of one cartridge per 100 m, indicating a very high hunting pressure. Both camps were near a larger river. The surrounding forest was in good shape and comprised slightly undulating hilly areas with drier parts of high canopy forest, swampy areas in the valley and some smaller streams on sandy and rocky ground. In total we invested 142 person/hours (four persons working simultaneously) searching for amphibians and reptiles (Table
Details on study sites in the Krahn-Bassa (KBPPA) and Foya (FPPA) herpetological survey 2018. “Person/hours” calculated as time surveyed × four persons, geographic coordinates refer to initial points of survey transects.
Area | Date | Time of day | Person/ hours | Site details | latitude (N) | longitude (W) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KBPPA | 24.03.18 | morning | 08:00 | Closed forest parallel to small stream | 06°02'39.9", 008°20'09.6" | |
KBPPA | 24.03.18 | afternoon | 13:00 | Closed forest parallel to small stream | 06°02'39.9", 008°20'09.6" | |
KBPPA | 24.03.18 | night | 08:00 | Closed forest | 06°02'39.9", 008°20'09.6" | |
KBPPA | 25.03.18 | morning | 15:00 | Closed forest | 06°02'34.8", 008°20'10.3" | |
KBPPA | 25.03.18 | night | 08:00 | Closed forest | 06°02'34.8", 008°20'10.3" | |
KBPPA | 26.03.18 | afternoon | 08:40 | Closed forest parallel to small stream | 06°02'34.8", 008°20'10.3" | |
KBPPA | 26.03.18 | night | 07:00 | Closed forest | 06°02'34.8", 008°20'10.3" | |
KBPPA | 28.03.18 | night | 07:00 | Closed forest parallel to large river | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
KBPPA | 29.03.18 | morning | 16:00 | Closed forest parallel to large river | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
KBPPA | 29.03.18 | night | 11:40 | Closed forest | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
KBPPA | 30.03.18 | afternoon | 10:00 | Closed forest | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
KBPPA | 30.03.18 | night | 09:00 | Closed forest and gold mining pits | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
KBPPA | 31.03.18 | morning | 16:00 | Closed forest parallel to large river | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
KBPPA | 31.03.18 | night | 04:00 | Closed forest and gold mining pits | 05°39'02.1", 008°39'05.0" | |
FPPA | 04.04.18 | night | 08:00 | Closed forest along small stream | 08°00'46.0", 010°25'32.1" | |
FPPA | 05.04.18 | morning | 14:00 | Closed forest | 08°00'46.0", 010°25'32.1" | |
FPPA | 05.04.18 | night | 14:00 | Closed forest | 08°00'21.3", 010°25'20.2" | |
FPPA | 06.04.18 | morning | 19:00 | Closed forest along small and large streams, including cascades | 08°01'16.2", 010°25'31.4" | |
FPPA | 06.04.18 | night | 12:00 | Closed forest along small and large streams, including cascades | 08°01'16.2", 010°25'31.4" | |
FPPA | 07.04.18 | night | 07:00 | Along road and cocoa plantations | 08°02'37.9", 010°24'35.1" | |
FPPA | 08.04.18 | morning | 18:00 | Closed forest, along stream including cascades | 08°03'18.6", 010°23'04.0" | |
FPPA | 08.04.18 | night | 08:00 | Closed forest, along stream including cascades | 08°03'18.6", 010°23'04.0" | |
FPPA | 09.04.18 | morning | 10:00 | Closed forest and along streams | 08°03'02.5", 010°23'15.9" | |
FPPA | 09.04.18 | night | 05:20 | Closed forest and along streams | 08°03'02.5", 010°23'15.9" |
The Foya Proposed Protected Area (FPPA) in western Liberia is the extension of the remaining block of the Gola Rainforest National Park in Sierra Leone and the Gola Forest National Park in Liberia. We surveyed areas in the north of FPPA on 4–6 April 2018 (Camp 1, ca 3 km south of Ducorbond; 08°00'46.0"N, 010°25'32.1"W) and 7–9 April 2018 (Ducorbond village; 08°02'37.9"N, 010°24'35.1"W). The forest is still partly primary (Fig.
Natural and disturbed habitats in the Krahn-Bassa (KBPPA) and Foya Proposed Protected Areas (FPPA). a Remaining puddles of a stream in Krahn-Bassa, habitat of Aubria subsigillata, Amnirana ‘albolabris West’, Leptopelis macrotis, Hyperolius chlorosteus and Chiromantis rufescens. b View on a near primary forest patch in FPPA. c Artisanal gold mining area near a small forest stream in FPPA, frogs breeding in these puddles were Xenopus tropicalis, Sclerophrys maculata, Hyperolius picturatus, Phlyctimantis boulengeri, Ptychadena longirostris, P. sp., and Chiromantis rufescens. d Recently slash and burn cleared forest patch in FPPA, prepared for establishing a cacao plantation.
Amphibians and reptiles were recorded during visual and acoustic encounter surveys by four people. The surveys were undertaken during day and night. Searching techniques included visual scanning of the terrain and investigation of potential hiding places or very specific habitats (e.g. tree holes, small rivers, and waterfalls); for tadpoles we searched by dip-netting in all available potential breeding sites (
Our sampling design only provided qualitative and semi-quantitative data. We therefore calculated the estimated species richness and, hence, our sampling efficiency with the Jackknife 1 and Chao 2 estimators using EstimateS (
The nomenclature for amphibians follows
Numbers listed in brackets after study site abbreviations refer to voucher specimens (ZMB) and tissue (ZMB or RG numbers; RG = tissue only) accessioned in ZMB. In Table
Amphibian species recorded in Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area (KBPPA) in eastern Liberia and Foya Proposed Protected Area (FPPA) in western Liberia (in alphabetic order) with preferred habitat, distribution and IUCN Red List category; # = number of records per site (number of individuals was usually much higher); pf = primary forest; df = degraded forest; oh = open habitat; wUG = western Upper Guinea; UG = Upper Guinea; wA = western Africa; A = Africa (any range beyond western Africa); ? = range not known; LC = Least Concern; NT = Near Threatened; VU = Vulnerable; NE = not evaluated.
Genus | Species | # KBPPA | # FPPA | pf | df | oh | wUG | UG | wA | A | IUCN |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afrixalus | dorsalis | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
fulvovittatus | 2 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||||
nigeriensis | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||||
Amnirana | ‘albolabris West’ | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NE | ||||
occidentalis | 1 | 1 | 1 | EN | |||||||
Arthroleptis | sp. 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NE | ||||
sp. 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | NE | ||||||
Astylosternus | occidentalis | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
Aubria | subsigillata | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
Cardioglossa | occidentalis | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | NE | |||||
Chiromantis | rufescens | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
Conraua | alleni | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | VU | |||||
Geotrypetes | seraphini | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
Hoplobatrachus | occipitalis | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
Hyperolius | chlorosteus | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | NT | |||||
concolor | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
fusciventris | 3 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||||
guttullatus | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
picturatus | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||||
soror | 1 | 1 | 1 | DD | |||||||
zonatus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NT | ||||||
Leptopelis | macrotis | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | NT | |||||
occidentalis | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NT | ||||||
spiritusnoctis | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
viridis | 3 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||||
Odontobatrachus | natator | 3 | 1 | 1 | NT | ||||||
Phlyctimantis | boulengeri | 3 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||||
Phrynobatrachus | alleni | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | NT | |||||
'aff. alleni' | 2 | 1 | ? | NE | |||||||
calcaratus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||||
fraterculus | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||||
guineensis | 2 | 1 | 1 | NT | |||||||
gutturosus | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
,sp. gutturosus/tokba‘ | 3 | 1 | ? | NE | |||||||
latifrons | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||||
liberiensis | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | NT | ||||||
phyllophilus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NT | ||||||
plicatus | 8 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||||
‘sp. Gola’ | 2 | 1 | 1 | NE | |||||||
tokba | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
villiersi | 2 | 1 | 1 | VU | |||||||
Ptychadena | aff. aequiplicata | 6 | 1 | 1 | NE | ||||||
cf. bibroni | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
longirostris | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||
mascareniensis | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | |||||||
sp. | 6 | 1 | ? | NE | |||||||
Sclerophrys | maculata | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||
togoensis | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | NT | ||||||
Xenopus | tropicalis | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LC | ||||
49 species | total | 136 | 120 | 33 | 22 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 4 |
Amphibia
Gymnophiona
Dermophiidae
Geotrypetes cf. seraphini (Duméril, 1859); KBPPA (ZMB 88492)
Three Geotrypetes species are known from West Africa (
Anura
Pipidae
Xenopus tropicalis (Gray, 1864); KBPPA (ZMB 88454, 88466); FPPA (ZMB 88504)
An aquatic species of forests, degraded forests, and gallery forests in the moist savanna zone, which can be found from Senegal to western Cameroon (
Arthroleptidae
Arthroleptis sp. 1 & 2; KBPPA (ZMB 88476, 88477); FFPA (no voucher)
Both direct developing species occur in forest (
Cardioglossa occidentalis Blackburn, Kosuch, Schmitz, Burger, Wagner, Gonwouo, Hillers & Rödel, 2008; KBPPA (ZMB 88462); FPPA (ZMB 88493, 88494)
This species lives in the leaf litter along small rivers in primary and slightly degraded forest from Sierra Leone to Ghana (
Astylosternus occidentalis Parker, 1931; KBPPA (ZMB 88457); FPPA (ZMB 88519, 88550)
This species breeds in clear, in part fast flowing streams within the rainforest. However, adults may be also found at night in leaf litter far away from water. This species occurs in primary and slightly degraded forest of the western part of the Upper Guinea hotspot (
Leptopelis spiritusnoctis Rödel, 2007; KBPPA (ZMB 88437); FPPA (no voucher)
A very common small (males) to mid-sized (females) arboreal frog of degraded and primary forests. The quiet chucks and buzzes of adult males can be usually heard at night, a few meters up in dense vegetation near swampy areas (
Leptopelis macrotis Schiøtz, 1967; KBPPA (ZMB 88439, 88440); FPPA (no voucher)
This is a large arboreal frog with distinct black, parallel bands across the back (Fig.
Leptopelis occidentalis Schiøtz, 1967; KBPPA (no voucher); FPPA (ZMB 88532)
This is a mid-sized treefrog of primary forest in the western part of West Africa, usually calling from a few meters up in trees, near swampy parts of the forest or forest ponds (
Leptopelis viridis (Günther, 1869); FPPA (ZMB 88546)
This is a savanna treefrog which enters the forest zone in areas where forest has been cleared (
Bufonidae
Sclerophrys maculata (Hallowell, 1894); KBPPA and FPPA (ZMB 88499)
This is a very common species in the savanna zone and heavily degraded areas in the forest zone, sometimes entering forest along logging roads (
Sclerophrys togoensis (Ahl, 1924); KBPPA (ZMB 88456); FPPA (RG98, tissue only)
This toad species lives in primary forests from Togo to Sierra Leone. It breeds in small forest streams, but adults may be found in the leaf litter in all parts of the forest (
Conrauidae
Conraua alleni (Barbour & Loveridge, 1927); KBPPA (ZMB 88459, 88490); FPPA (ZMB 88496; tadpoles: ZMB 88526, 88527)
This aquatic frog occurs in slow and fast flowing rainforest streams in the western part of the Upper Guinea forests (
Dicroglossidae
Hoplobatrachus occipitalis (Günther, 1858); FPPA (no voucher)
This is a large, fully aquatic species, which is widespread in savannas and degraded habitats throughout tropical Africa (
Hyperoliidae
Afrixalus dorsalis (Peters, 1875); FPPA (ZMB 88525)
This is a leaf-folding frog of the West and Central African forest zone. In gallery forest it usually ranges far into savanna areas (
Afrixalus fulvovittatus (Cope, 1861); FPPA (ZMB 88539)
This is a leaf-folding frog of the West African forest zone, where it lives in heavily degraded former forest (
a Juvenile Afrixalus fulvovitattus (ZMB 88539) b Male Hyperolius soror (ZMB 88540), both from farmbush habitats in FPPA, note fine dark lines in the clear bands of A. fulvovittatus, the closely related A. vittiger is lacking these lines; c–f) dorsal and ventral views of Hyperolius picturatus c Female (ZMB 88487) from KBPPA with hourglass pattern, a pattern also often found in combination with dorsolateral line in males d, e Female (ZMB 88464) from KBPPA with common brown back and broad yellow dorsolateral bands and yellow venter f Translucent greenish venter of male (ZMB 88465) from KBPPA.
Afrixalus nigeriensis Schiøtz, 1963; KBPPA (ZMB 88489); FPPA (ZMB 88524)
This is a typical leaf-folding frog of primary closed canopy forest. The frogs are usually calling from high up in trees near forest ponds (
Hyperolius chlorosteus (Boulenger, 1915); KBPPA (ZMB 88447); FPPA (ZMB 88511)
The calls of this treefrog are the most common nocturnal sounds along rivers in primary forests of the western part of the Upper Guinea forest zone (
Hyperolius concolor (Hallowell, 1844); KBPPA (no voucher); FPPA (ZMB 88541-88543)
This reedfrog lives in degraded parts of rainforest, as well as in humid savannas. It is absent from closed canopy forest (
a, b Dorsal and ventral view of male Hyperolius zonatus (ZMB 88446) from KBPPA, showing the white gular region with the roundish gland, lacking dilatable skin of a larger vocal sac c H. concolor (ZMB 88542) with juvenile pattern from FPPAd male Phlyctimantis boulengeri (ZMB 88514) from FPPA.
Hyperolius fusciventris Peters, 1876; KBPPA (ZMB 88491) and FPPA (no voucher)
This small reedfrog occurs in the rainforest zones of western Africa (
Hyperolius guttulatus Günther, 1858; KBPPA (no voucher); FPPA (ZMB 88531)
This is a reedfrog of the western African rainforest and southern savanna zone, where it usually lives in and around open ponds with densely vegetated banks. It avoids closed forest (
Hyperolius picturatus Peters, 1875; KBPPA (ZMB 88463-88488); FPPA (ZMB 88523)
This reedfrog occurs in secondary growth and degraded forest habitats from Sierra Leone to central Ghana. It breeds in stagnant and slow flowing waters (
Hyperolius soror (Chabanaud, 1921); FPPA (ZMB 88540)
This reedfrog is only known from the western part of the Upper Guinea forest zone. It seems to be more closely associated with primary rainforest than the related H. fusciventris (
Hyperolius zonatus Laurent, 1958; KBPPA (ZMB 88446); FPPA (ZMB 88522)
This reedfrog occurs only in primary forest (Fig.
Phlyctimantis boulengeri Perret, 1986; FPPA (ZMB 88514)
This is a large treefrog of the western Africa forest zone and occurs at forest edges and along dense vegetation of larger ponds (
Odontobatrachidae
Odontobatrachus natator (Boulenger, 1905); FPPA (ZMB 88530, 88534)
The sable-toothed frog was, in part, very common along rocky creeks and rivers in primary and slightly degraded forests of FPPA. Morphologically similar species have been recently described within this genus (
Phrynobatrachidae
Phrynobatrachus alleni Parker, 1936; KBPPA (ZMB 88444)
This is a typical frog of primary and slightly degraded forests of the Upper Guinea forest zone (
Phrynobatrachus aff. alleni; KBPPA (ZMB 88460-88461, 88474-88475, 88479-88484); FPPA (ZMB 88498)
These frogs are morphologically very similar to the previous species; however, adult males present distinctly different ventral coloration. These color differences are reflected by genetic differences (M.-O. Rödel and J. Glos unpubl. data). However, as P. alleni was described from Liberia and both taxa seem to be represented in the type series (M.-O. Rödel unpubl. data), it is so far unclear which of the two taxa represent the real P. alleni. The taxonomy of these frogs and the description of a new species will be the subject of a separate publication.
Phrynobatrachus calcaratus (Peters, 1863); KBPPA (no voucher)
These frogs comprise a complex of cryptic species (
Phrynobatrachus fraterculus (Chabanaud, 1921); FPPA (ZMB 88506)
This is a species of degraded forest and forest edges in the western part of the Upper Guinea forest region (
Phrynobatrachus guineensis Guibé & Lamotte, 1962; KBPPA (no voucher)
This is a species specialized to breed in water-filled tree holes in rainforests (Rödel et al. 2004). It is currently known from western Côte d’Ivoire, south-western Guinea and eastern Liberia (
Phrynobatrachus gutturosus (Chabanaud, 1921); KBPPA and FPPA (no vouchers)
This species was originally described from Sanikolé, Liberia (
Phrynobatrachus cf. gutturosus/tokba; KBPPA (ZMB 88435, 88436)
In drier parts of primary forest, near camp 1 in KBPPA, we found numerous small Phrynobatrachus which morphologically were most similar to P. gutturosus and P. tokba (Fig.
a Undescribed Phrynobatrachus sp. from KBPPA exhibiting characters of P. gutturosus and P. tokba b Ptychadena sp. male (ZMB 88505) from river bank in FPPAc, d Ptychadena mascareniensis-complex females with green (c: ZMB 88535) and brown (d: ZMB 88537) vertebral bands from the same rice paddy in FPPAe Chiromantis rufescens female (not collected) from KBPPA.
Phrynobatrachus latifrons Ahl, 1924; FPPA (ZMB 88544, 88545)
This species occurs from heavily degraded rainforest habitats throughout all of West and western Central African savanna habitats into the southern Sahara (
Phrynobatrachus liberiensis Barbour & Loveridge, 1927; KBPPA (ZMB 88449, 88478); FPPA (ZMB 88495)
This is a species typical for swampy primary forests, where they occur near slow-flowing, often very shallow streams (
Phrynobatrachus phyllophilus Rödel & Ernst, 2002; KBPPA (no voucher); FPPA (ZMB 88502)
This is a characteristic species of swampy primary forest from eastern Côte d’Ivoire to Sierra Leone (
Phrynobatrachus plicatus (Günther, 1858); KBPPA (ZMB 88445)
This is a large species of Phrynobatrachus and is distributed from eastern Liberia to western Nigeria (
Phrynobatrachus ‘sp. Gola’; FPPA (ZMB 88497, 88520, 88521)
This species is morphologically almost identical to, but genetically different from, P. plicatus (A. Hillers and M.-O. Rödel unpub. data). It seems to be restricted to rainforests of the Sierra Leone–Liberia border region. A formal description of this species will be made in a separate publication.
Phrynobatrachus tokba (Chabanaud, 1921); KBPPA (no voucher); FPPA (ZMB 88503)
This small leaf-litter frog is known from western Guinea to Ghana (
Phrynobatrachus villiersi Guibé, 1959; KBPPA (ZMB 88448, 88473)
This is a very small leaf-litter frog, which is known to occur patchily from Ghana to Liberia in swampy parts of primary rainforest (
Ptychadenidae
Ptychadena aff. aequiplicata; KBPPA (ZMB 88441, 88442, 88455); FPPA (ZMB 88510)
This is a typical rocket frog of leaf litter of lowland rainforests with terrestrial egg deposition (
Ptychadena cf. bibroni (Hallowell, 1845); KBPPA and FPPA (no voucher)
This is a typical rocket frog living in savanna and degraded forest habitats, where it breeds in stagnant puddles and pools (
Ptychadena longirostris (Peters, 1870); KBPPA (ZMB 88432, 88443); FPPA (ZMB 88513, 88515; tadpoles: 88508)
This forest frog prefers open areas and puddles on forest roads where they may congregate to large choruses (
Ptychadena mascareniensis -complex; FPPA (ZMB 88535-88538)
This is a complex of rocket-frog species ranging across the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, the Seychelles, and the Mascarene Islands (
Ptychadena sp.; FPPA (ZMB 88505, 88548, 88517, 88518)
We found these frogs (Fig.
Pyxicephalidae
Aubria subsigillata (Duméril, 1856); KBPPA (ZMB 88433, 88434)
This is an aquatic frog, known to feed, amongst other prey, on small fish (
Ranidae
Amnirana ‘albolabris-West’; KBPPA (ZMB 88438, 88458); FPPA (ZMB 88512, 88549; tadpoles: 88528)
This is a median-sized to large leaf-litter frog which was believed to range from forested West Africa into western East Africa. Very recently
Amnirana occidentalis (Perret, 1960); FPPA (ZMB 88501)
A large leaf-litter frog patchily distributed along rainforest streams of the Upper Guinea forests (
Rhacophoridae
Chiromantis rufescens (Günther, 1869); KBPPA (no voucher); FPPA (ZMB 88516)
This is a complex of treefrogs which is widespread in West and Central African rainforests (
Reptilia
Testudines
Trionychidae
Trionyx triunguis (Forskål, 1775); KBPPA (no voucher)
According to our guide, these large soft-shelled turtles use a particular sandbank of one large river as their breeding site in KBPPA. We confirmed the presence of this species there by a carapace kept in the nearby village. This species is widely distributed in rivers and forests along Africa’s western coast, but it is rarely encountered. It has been previously reported from Liberia (
Crocodylia
Crocodylidae
Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope, 1861; KBPPA (no voucher)
We encountered an adult specimen (103 cm length) of this threatened dwarf crocodile at night, near a swampy part of primary rainforest in KBPPA. This species was believed to be widely distributed in forests of West and western Central Africa (
Sauria
Agamidae
Agama agama (Linnaeus, 1758); KBPPA and FPPA (no voucher)
These common rock- and tree-dwelling lizards (
Gekkonidae
Hemidactylus fasciatus Gray, 1842; KBPPA (no voucher)
This widespread West African forest gecko (
Hemidactylus muriceus Peters, 1870; KBPPA (ZMB 88450); FPPA (no voucher)
This is a widespread species in western African forests (
Lacertidae
Holaspis guentheri Gray, 1863; KBPPA (ZMB 88471, 88472)
This is an arboreal lizard of West and Central African rainforests and occurs east to Uganda (
Scincidae
Cophoscincopus simulans (Vaillant, 1884); FPPA (ZMB 88500, 88507, 88509)
Water skinks were occasionally encountered in the leaf litter along small streams in primary forest of FPPA (Fig.
Trachylepis affinis (Gray, 1838); KBPPA and FPPA (no voucher)
This skink is frequently seen in clearings or degraded parts of the forest. This species-complex is widely distributed in forests (rainforest and the humid savanna zone) of West and Central Africa (
Trachylepis maculilabris (Gray, 1845); KBPPA and FPPA (no voucher)
This skink is broadly distributed throughout Africa (
Varanidae
Varanus ornatus Gray, 1845; KBPPA and FPPA (no voucher)
We observed adult specimens foraging during the day in the leaf litter of drier parts of the rainforest. The validity of this taxon was recently doubted, and it was consequently synonymized by
Serpentes
Colubridae
Afronatrix anoscopus (Cope, 1861); KBPPA (ZMB 88469)
We collected at night in KBPPA one specimen of these common aquatic snakes. This species ranges from Senegal to Cameroon (
Toxicodryas blandingii (Hallowell, 1844); FPPA (no voucher)
In FPPA, we observed at night a large adult snake high in the trees over a rocky torrential stream, apparently searching for food. The species has a wide distribution from Guinea in the west to Kenya in the east and mostly is living in forest habitats (
Lamprophiidae
Atractaspis sp. n.; FPPA (ZMB 88529)
We collected a stiletto snake at night in FPPA on the steep banks of a rocky stream in primary rainforest. A detailed comparison of characters among all described species of Atractaspis revealed that our specimens is an undescribed species. This taxon will be formally described elsewhere.
Boaedon lineatus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854; FPPA (ZMB 88547)
We found a juvenile snake in a degraded area near a small stream in a cleared area surrounded by forest. This species is widespread in forest and savanna habitats in West Africa (
Gonionotophis klingi Matschie, 1893; KBPPA (ZMB 88467)
This West African species lives in leaf litter in rainforests (
Lycophidion nigromaculatum (Peters, 1863); KBPPA (ZMB 88468); FPPA (no voucher)
In KBPPA, this terrestrial, lizard-eating snake was found at night near a small pond in an area of former artisanal gold mining. In FPPA it was found at night climbing on a tree trunk which was bridging a small forest stream. This species lives in West African rainforests and is known from Ghana to eastern Liberia (
Viperidae
Atheris chlorechis (Pel, 1852); KBPPA (no voucher)
This is a species of small arboreal viper, which is widely distributed in the Upper Guinea rainforests (Rödel and Masberg 2000;
In KBPPA we also found the skin of a large snake, most likely a forest cobra, Naja guineensis Broadley, Trape, Chirio, Ineich & Wüster, 2018 (
In FPPA, our guide and various villagers gave reliable descriptions of the following additional species: rainbow toad, Sclerophrys chevalieri; rock python, Python sebae (Gmelin, 1789); crocodiles, Osteolaemus tetraspis and Mecistops cataphractus; tortoises, Kinixys spp.; turtles, Pelusios spp.; forest vipers, Bitis nasicornis and Bitis rhinoceros; and cobra, Naja guineensis. A previous preliminary survey in FPPA (
Because our data for amphibians are much more complete than those for reptiles, we only analyse the former. We found at both sites combined a minimum of 49 amphibian species (1 caecilian, 48 anurans) but did not count cryptic species within, e.g., the P. aequiplicata-complex.
In KBPPA, we recorded 36 amphibian species (1 caecilian, 35 anurans), which were mostly forest specialists and included only a very few open-habitat species (Table
Permutated species accumulation curves (=sample-based rarefaction curve; red line: mean, blue lines: 95% confidence intervalls) of amphibian species richness in a the Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area in eastern Liberia and b the Foya Proposed Protected Area in western Liberia during the March/April 2018 survey. Y-axis: estimated amphibian species richness, x-axis: sample units (each comprising six to 16 man/hour surveys in different localities within the respective areas).
In FPPA, we recorded 39 amphibian species (all anurans), with most being forest specialists and less than a quarter typically from open habitats (Table
Whereas we obtained a very good overview of the amphibian fauna, the reptile data are too incomplete to allow for meaningful discussions. We recorded a few interesting reptile species, but for snakes more than 50 species might be expected in both sites (e.g.
We recorded between 36 and 39 amphibian species at both sites, and we estimated the presence of another 15–20 species that we could not find. Compared to data available from other forest sites within the western part of the Upper Guinea forest region (
We found the amphibian and reptile fauna in KBPPA to be very similar, but not identical to that of Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire (
We conclude that both KBPPA and FPPA have very high conservation values, based on the amphibian species richness, which is due to the high proportion of forest specialists, species with restricted ranges, undescribed taxa, and our estimate that more species should be detectable. However, these areas were seriously affected by artisanal logging and mining, agricultural encroachment, and hunting. These principal threats lend urgency to the immediate protection of the remaining forests. As our data and the published faunal list of
We thank the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation and the Society for the Conservation of Nature of Liberia, their employees in general, and Annika Hillers and Jerry Garteh in particular for the invitation to conduct our survey and for all the logistic support! Without the various drivers, guides, porters, and cooks, the survey would not have been possible. Thank you all for your support! Alan Channing and Philipp Wagner provided valuable comments to a previous draft of the manuscript. Comments by Robert Forsyth improved the language. Finally, we thank the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) of the Republic of Liberia for the permission to survey these forests and the collection and export permits (Ref: MD/037/2018/11).