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Herpetofauna diversity in Zamrud National Park, Indonesia: baseline checklist for a Sumatra peat swamp forest ecosystem

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Sumatra is an island that contains rich wildlife biodiversity and a variety of ecosystems, and is categorized as one of the most threatened terrestrial ecoregions on earth. One of Sumatra's ecosystems is peat swamp forest, which has unusually extreme conditions, but otherwise can support diverse flora and fauna with many endemic and endangered species, including herpetofauna. This survey was conducted in Zamrud National Park (ZNP) with the goal of determining the herpetofaunal diversity and community. Visual encounter survey and glue trap methods were used to sample and determine species diversity and distributions. The survey identified 33 herpetofauna species in ZNP, which included 12 amphibian and 21 reptile species. Cyrtodactylus majulah was the most common species that could be found in all transects. The 33 species, or approximately 30.8% of all herpetofauna in Kampar Peninsular, were found in only 15 days of fieldwork, and included two high-risk species, i.e., Limnonectes malesianus (NT) and Cuora amboinensis (VU). Furthermore, two endemic Sumatra species, Chalcorana parvaccola and Pulchrana rawa, were also recorded, along with a new distribution record of a skink species for Sumatra and Indonesia. Further surveys and monitoring are needed to continue the inventory and to monitor the current communities, as well as to document new findings in other areas of ZNP.
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Amphib. Reptile Conserv. August 2020 | Volume 14 | Number 2 | e249
Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
14(2) [General Section]: 250–263 (e249).
Herpetofauna diversity in Zamrud National Park, Indonesia:
baseline checklist for a Sumatra peat swamp forest
ecosystem
1,2,*Sandy Leo, 3Muhammad Suherman, 4Anggi Permatasari, 5Darwan Suganda,
6Zulamri, and 1Nurul L. Winarni
1Research Center for Climate Change-Universitas Indonesia, Gd. Lab Multidisiplin FMIPA-UI Lt. 7, Kampus Baru UI Depok, Depok, 16424
INDONESIA 2School of Environmental Science, University of Indonesia, Jl. Salemba Raya No. 4, Jakarta, 10430 INDONESIA 3Zoology Division,
Generasi Biologi Indonesia Foundation, Jl. Swadaya Barat No. 4, Gresik, East Java, 61171 INDONESIA 4Ambi Reptil Sumatra (ARS), Jl.
Sei Padang Gg. Damai No. 4A Medan Selayang, Medan, North Sumatra, 20131 INDONESIA 5Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Riau, Kampus Bina Widya Km 12,5, Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru, Riau, 28293 INDONESIA 6Department of Biology, Faculty of
Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Riau, Kampus Bina Widya Km 12,5, Simpang Baru, Pekanbaru, Riau, 28293 INDONESIA
Abstract.—Sumatra is an island that contains rich wildlife biodiversity and a variety of ecosystems, and is
categorized as one of the most threatened terrestrial ecoregions on earth. One of Sumatra’s ecosystems is
peat swamp forest, which has unusually extreme conditions, but otherwise can support diverse ora and fauna
with many endemic and endangered species, including herpetofauna. This survey was conducted in Zamrud
National Park (ZNP) with the goal of determining the herpetofaunal diversity and community. Visual encounter
survey and glue trap methods were used to sample and determine species diversity and distributions. The
survey identied 33 herpetofauna species in ZNP, which included 12 amphibian and 21 reptile species.
Cyrtodactylus majulah was the most common species that could be found in all transects. The 33 species, or
approximately 30.8% of all herpetofauna in Kampar Peninsular, were found in only 15 days of eldwork, and
included two high-risk species, i.e., Limnonectes malesianus (NT) and Cuora amboinensis (VU). Furthermore,
two endemic Sumatra species, Chalcorana parvaccola and Pulchrana rawa, were also recorded, along with
a new distribution record of a skink species for Sumatra and Indonesia. Further surveys and monitoring are
needed to continue the inventory and to monitor the current communities, as well as to document new ndings
in other areas of ZNP.
Keywords. Amphibian, Asia, conservation, ecology, new record, reptile, wetland
Citation: Leo S, Suherman M, Permatasari A, Suganda D, Zulamri, Winarni NL. 2020. Herpetofauna diversity in Zamrud National Park, Indonesia:
baseline checklist for a Sumatra peat swamp forest ecosystem. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 14(2) [General Section]: 250–263 (e249).
Copyright: © 2020 Leo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License [Attribution 4.0
International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any me-
dium, provided the original author and source are credited. The ofcial and authorized publication credit sources, which will be duly enforced, are as
follows: ofcial journal title Amphibian & Reptile Conservation; ofcial journal website: amphibian-reptile-conservation.org.
Accepted: 5 June 2020; Published: 30 August 2020
Ofcial journal website:
amphibian-reptile-conservation.org
Introduction
Sumatra is the sixth largest island on earth, and it con-
tains rich wildlife biodiversity and is home for several
charismatic species. The island houses various ecosys-
tems and is categorized as one of the most threatened ter-
restrial ecoregions on earth (Olson and Dinerstein 2002;
Mittermeier et al. 2004). Zamrud National Park (ZNP),
located in Riau Province, is the newest national park in
Indonesia and was established on 22 July 2016. ZNP is
dominated by primary peat swamps and peatland forest
ecosystem, which cover areas spanning 31,480 ha, and
includes two major lakes, Pulau Besar Lake and Bawah
Lake.
Sumatra’s forest ecosystem has been continuously
threatened by habitat loss and deforestation. Riau Prov-
ince, in particular, is the top province in Sumatra and
Indonesia for major deforestation problems, due to land
conversion into palm oil plantations, forest res, and il-
legal logging (FWI 2014).
Peat swamp forest is an unusual ecosystem that dif-
fers dramatically from the other ecosystems of the world.
It has extreme conditions of low pH, low nutrients, and
an unstable and spongy substrate of peat that can be 20
m deep or more. The peat swamp forest in Sumatra can
support diverse ora and fauna, including many endemic
and endangered species. Disturbances in peat swamp for-
ests may increase the impact of climate change on the
Correspondence. *sandy.leo@sci.ui.ac.id
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Leo et al.
widely-known endemic and charismatic species, such as
Sumatran Tiger, Asian Arowana, hornbills, and certain
herpetofauna. ZNP once spanned 28,237.95 ha, but was
expanded to 31,480 ha in area after being designated as
a national park in 2016. Currently, ZNP is surrounded
by palm oil and industrial plantations and is threatened
by petroleum mining which occurs inside the national
park area. Spatial management and a precise conserva-
tion action plan are likely needed to protect the biodi-
versity within the national park area (WWF 2006; BLH
Riau 2011).
A purposive sampling method was used to select the
transects, by considering habitat conditions which rep-
resent the different environmental conditions found in
ZNP. The survey sites were divided into seven transects,
i.e., Bron 2 (B2), Shrubs Area (SA) across to Siak Resort
(our basecamp), Besar Island (BI), Idris Well (IW), Sejuk
Kanan Bawah Lake (SKaBL), Sejuk Kiri Bawah Lake
(SKiBL), and Sejuk Atas Pulau Besar Lake (SAPBL)
(Fig. 2). This survey was conducted for 15 days of eld-
work from 28 December 2017 to 18 January 2018.
Methods
The herpetofauna survey used standard Visual Encounter
Survey methods, and the materials included headlamp,
snake hook, grab stick, global positioning system (GPS)
device, thermometer, hygrometer, sample pouch, mea-
suring tape (50 m), pH meter, plastic pouch, notebook,
digital camera, and watch. Specimen preservation ma-
biodiversity (Yule 2010; Posa et al. 2011).
Only limited biodiversity information is available for
the peat swamp forests in the Indo-Malayan region, in-
cluding ZNP, particularly on the amphibians and reptiles
(Yule 2010). Environmental changes and climate change
have become the biggest threats to biodiversity around
the world. These changes can increase global tempera-
tures, causing abnormal and extreme rainfall cycles, and
will affect the metabolism of herpetofauna as they are
ectothermic species. The increased temperatures, re-
duced precipitation and habitat loss could drive herpe-
tofauna populations and species into extinction (Hansen
et al. 2001; Bickford et al. 2010). Therefore, the reptiles
and amphibians is the nest of the key bio-indicators for
measuring the impact of climate change, because their
current distributions and ecological niches closely reect
rainfall and temperature patterns (Bickford et al. 2010).
This work documents the herpetofauna diversity and
community in ZNP.
Material and Methods
Field Surveys
Zamrud National Park (previously named Pulau Be-
sar Lake/Bawah Lake Wildlife Reserve) is part of the
Kampar Peninsula and one of the important conserva-
tion areas in Riau Province. Dominated by peatland and
peat swamp ecosystems (e.g., Fig. 1), ZNP and Kam-
par Peninsula are the habitats occupied by Sumatra’s
Fig. 1. Peat swamp forest in Zamrud National Park.
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Herpetofauna of Zamrud National Park, Indonesia
terials consisted of formaldehyde (10%), ethanol (70%
and 96%), ether, and other standard equipment. Follow-
ing Heyer et al. (1994) and McDiarmid et al. (2012), the
visual encounter survey was used to evaluate species
richness, to compile the species list, and to calculate
relative abundance, and it can be combined with other
methods. The visual encounter survey method assessed
500 m length transects, so that species density could be
measured within each sampling area. In each area, 1–3
transects were used, considering the habitat conditions
and the availability of water sources (streams, swamps,
or ponds). Only one transect was used in SA consider-
ing that it is an open area and lacks a water source, and
2–3 transects were used in other areas. The survey was
conducted during 0700–0900 h and 1800–2100 h during
each day. Passive methods were also used, such as the
glue traps to catch fast and agile individuals like skinks,
and to obtain more efcient estimations and reduce bias
in the calculations. In addition, habitat and environmen-
tal parameters were collected for each transect, i.e., envi-
ronmental temperature, pH, and humidity.
Specimen Collection and Identication
Following the guidelines from Pisani (1973) and Dodd
(2016), specimens were collected as needed. The pres-
ervation process was conducted by following precise
ethical standards and procedures. First, the specimen
was euthanized by ether, then dissected to obtain muscle
or liver tissue samples. The samples were injected with
formaldehyde (10%) and then posed precisely so that all
morphological characters could be shown properly. The
specimen was then labeled, drenched with formaldehyde
(10%) and allowed to set for 2–3 days to allow the shape
to properly form. All formed specimens were then pre-
served in 70% ethanol. All collected specimens (see Ap-
pendix) were then deposited at the Museum Zoologicum
Bogoriense (MZB) LIPI. The identication process was
carried out by comparing the characters of all collected
specimens and photos with the key references following
Kamsi et al. (2017), Das (2010), Frost (2020), and Uetz
and Hallermann (2020).
Data Analysis
All of the statistical data were analyzed using Paleonto-
logical Statistics (PAST) version 2.17c (Hammer et al.
2001). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used
to analyze the species composition according to habitat
preferences.
Results
During the survey in ZNP, 33 herpetofauna species were
identied, which comprised 12 amphibian and 21 reptile
species (see photos of eight of the species in Fig. 3). The
Fig. 2. Locations of the survey sites in Zamrud National Park.
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Leo et al.
A
C
B
D
E F
GH
Fig. 3. Eight of the 33 species found in this survey. (A) Limnonectes malesianus; (B) Leptobrachium nigrops; (C) Chalcorana par-
vaccola; (D) Pulchrana rawa; (E) Gonocephalus liogaster; (F) Cyrtodactylus majulah; (G) Cuora amboinensis; (H) Tropidolaemus
wagleri.
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Herpetofauna of Zamrud National Park, Indonesia
33 species were found during the course of 15 days of
eldwork (Fig. 4). Cyrtodactylus majulah was the most
common species that was found in all transects. Details
for the recorded species are presented in Table 1 and the
following Checklist.
Checklist
All of the species checklist descriptions were checked
against the appropriate global databases, following Uetz
and Hallermann (2020), Frost (2020), and AmphibiaWeb
(2020). For each species, conservation status follows an
assessment from the International Union for Conserva-
tion of Nature (IUCN 2020).
Amphibia
Family Bufonidae
1. Ingerophrynus quadriporcatus (Boulenger, 1887)
Common name: Four-ridged Toad, Greater Malacca
Toad, Swamp Toad.
Distribution and habitat: Peninsular Malaya, Singa-
pore, Borneo, Natuna Island, and Sumatra. This species
commonly lives in peat swamp areas near coastal low-
lands.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
2. Pseudobufo subasper Tschudi, 1838
Common name: False Toad.
Distribution and habitat: Sumatra, Borneo, and Pen-
insular Malaya. This fully aquatic species inhabits peat
swamps or swamp forests.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Dicroglossidae
3. Limnonectes malesianus (Kiew, 1984)
Common name: Singapore Wart Frog, Malesian Frog,
Malaysian Peat Frog, Malaysian River Frog.
Distribution and habitat: Peninsular Malaya, Southern
Peninsular Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, Suma-
tra, Java, Borneo, Kundur Island, Galang Island, Great
Natuna Island, and Singkep Island. This species inhab-
its shallow, gentle streams, and nearby swampy areas
including peat swamps and very at alluvial forests, in-
cluding primary and secondary forests.
Conservation status: Near Threatened.
Family Megophrydae
4. Leptobrachium nigrops Berry and Hendrickson, 1963
Common name: Singapore Spadefoot Toad, Black-eyed
Litter Frog.
Distribution and habitat: Peninsular Malaya, Sin-
gapore, and Sumatra. This species is commonly found
amongst the leaf litter in primary or secondary forest, and
also in suitable wetlands and peat swamp forests.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Ranidae
5. Chalcorana parvaccola (Inger, Stuart, and Iskandar,
2009)
Common name: Kongkang Kecil (Indonesian).
Distribution and habitat: Previously listed as endemic
to Sumatra, known only from West Sumatra, Indonesia.
However, this inventory of ZNP revealed an expansion
of the distribution from West Sumatra to Riau. This spe-
cies occupies a wide altitude range from 30 to 1,500 m
asl. This frog is also commonly found in primary or sec-
ondary forest among small creeks, and also in suitable
peat swamp forest and wetland ecosystems.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
6. Fejervarya limnocharis (Gravenhorst, 1829)
Common name: Indian Cricket Frog, Boie’s Wart Frog,
Grass Frog, Field Frog, Rice Frog, Paddy Frog, Cricket
Frog, Terrestrial Frog, White-lined Frog, Riceeld Frog,
Paddy Field Frog.
Distribution and habitat: This species has a widespread
distribution from South and East Asia to Southeast Asia.
In Indonesia, this species is distributed in Sumatra, Bor-
neo, Java, and Sulawesi, and is highly adapted to many
different kinds of ecosystems. It is commonly found in
forest, grassland, savanna, wetlands, and articial eco-
systems, such as paddy elds and urban areas.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
7. Hylarana erythraea (Schlegel, 1837)
Common name: Red-eared Frog, Golden-lined Frog,
Green Paddy Frog, Common Greenback, Green Lotus
Frog, Green-backed Frog, Common Green Frog.
Distribution and habitat: This species is widely distrib-
uted from South Asia (India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka)
to throughout the Southeast Asia region. In Indonesia, its
distribution includes Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Lesser
Sunda Island. The species has also been reported as intro-
duced to the Philippines and Sulawesi Island (Indonesia).
Fig. 4. Species accumulation curve illustrates the accumulation
of the encountered species during the 15 days of eld sampling.
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Leo et al.
No. Species B2 SA BI IW SKaBL SKiBL SAPBL Outside
Transect
Amphibians
1Chalcorana parvaccola √ √
2Fejervarya limnocharis
3Hylarana erythraea
4Ingerophrynus quadriporcatus √ √ √
5Leptobrachium nigrops
6Limnonectes malesianus √ √ √
7Polypedates colletti √ √
8Polypedates leucomystax
9Polypedates macrotis √ √
10 Pseudobufo subasper √ √
11 Pulchrana baramica √ √
12 Pulchrana rawa √ √ √
Reptiles
13 Ahaetulla prasina
14 Aphaniotis fusca √ √
15 Boiga dendrophila
16 Coelognathus avolineatus
17 Cuora amboinensis
18 Cyrtodactylus majulah √ √ √ √
19 Dasia olivacea
20 Dendrelaphis caudolineatus √ √
21 Dendrelaphis formosus
22 Enhydris enhydris
23 Eutropis multifasciata √ √
24 Gonocephalus liogaster √ √
25 Hemidactylus frenatus
26 Hemiphyllodactylus typus
27 Homalopsis buccata
28 Lycodon subannulatus
29 Lygosoma samajaya
30 Malayopython reticulatus
31 Sphenomorphus cyanolaemus
32 Tropidolaemus wagleri √ √
33 Varanus salvator
Table 1. Herpetofauna species encountered during the survey. Site codes: Bron 2 (B2), Shrubs Area (SA) across to Siak Resort (our
basecamp), Besar Island (BI), Idris Well (IW), Sejuk Kanan Bawah Lake (SKaBL), Sejuk Kiri Bawah Lake (SKiBL), and Sejuk
Atas Pulau Besar Lake (SAPBL).
Common name: Masked Rough-sided Frog, Baram
River Frog, Baram’s Frog, Masked Frog, Brown Marsh
Frog.
Distribution and habitat: Extreme southern peninsular
Thailand and Malaya, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Singapore,
and Bangka Island. This species inhabits alluvial and
peat swamp forests. It is also known to dwell in lowland
It inhabits small ponds, creeks, and streams with oating
marsh vegetation or bushes. This frog is also found in
suitable articial ecosystems, such as paddy elds and
urban areas.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
8. Pulchrana baramica (Boettger, 1900)
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Herpetofauna of Zamrud National Park, Indonesia
oodplains and lowland swampy forests.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
9. Pulchrana rawa (Matsui, Mumpuni, and Hamidy,
2012)
Common name: Kongkang Rawa (Indonesian).
Distribution and habitat: Endemic to Sumatra. So far,
this species is only known from several locations in Riau
and South Sumatra Province. One observation shows
this species also occurs in Sambas Regency, West Kali-
mantan Province. However, its presence in Kalimantan
is in doubt, since it has not been conrmed elsewhere
in Kalimantan. This species specically inhabits the peat
swamp forests.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Rhacophoridae
10. Polypedates colletti (Boulenger, 1890)
Common name: Collett’s Whipping Frog, Black-spot-
ted Tree Frog, Collett’s Tree Frog.
Distribution and habitat: Peninsular Thailand and Ma-
laya, Sumatra, Borneo, Natuna Islands, various islands in
The South China Sea, and Southern Vietnam. This spe-
cies can be found in lowland primary or secondary forest,
disturbed forest, swampy forest, and peat swamp forest.
The altitude ranges from coastal up to 600 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
11. Polypedates leucomystax (Gravenhorst, 1829)
Common name: Java Whipping Frog, Common Tree
Frog, Brown Tree Frog, Malayan House Frog, Four-lined
Tree Frog, White-lipped Tree Frog, Malayan Tree Frog,
Bamboo Tree Frog, House Tree Frog, Jar Tree Frog,
Stripe Tree Frog, Asia Brown Tree Frog, Golden Tree
Frog.
Distribution and habitat: Eastern India, Nepal, Myan-
mar, Southern China, throughout South East Asia, Phil-
ippines, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda
Islands, and the Mollucas. Introduced to Papua and Japan
(Southern Ryukyus). This species inhabits both wetlands
and forests, is adaptable in urban settings, and can be
found in garden ponds, buildings, and on roads.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
12. Polypedates macrotis (Boulenger, 1891)
Common name: Baram Whipping Frog, Forest Bush
Frog, Dark-eared Tree Frog, Bongao Bubble-nest Frog.
Distribution and habitat: Peninsular Malaya, Thailand,
Sumatra, Mentawai Island, Natuna Islands, Borneo, and
Southwestern Philippines. This species generally inhab-
its primary forest and edge areas, also found in suitable
wetlands and articial habitats, such as canals and drain-
age channels. It has been recorded up to 1,250 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Reptilia
Family Agamidae
13. Aphaniotis fusca (Peters, 1864)
Common name: Dusky Earless Agama, Peninsular Ear-
less Agama.
Distribution and habitat: Southern Thailand, Peninsu-
lar Malaya, West Malaysia, Singapore, Tioman Island,
Johor, Sumatra, Nias, Singkep, Borneo, and Natuna Is-
lands. This species inhabits primary and lightly disturbed
lowland moist forests and mid-hills, including diptero-
carp forests and peat swamp forests.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
14. Gonocephalus liogaster (Günther, 1872)
Common name: Tropical Forest Dragon, Blue-eyed
Angle Head Lizard, Orange-ringed Angle Head Lizard.
Distribution and habitat: West Malaysia, Sumatra, Na-
tuna Islands, and Borneo. This species inhabits lowland
primary forest (up to 400 m asl) and peat swamp forest,
and appears to be encountered more frequently near for-
est streams.
Conservation status: Not known.
Family Colubridae
15. Ahaetulla prasina (Boie, 1827)
Common name: Gunther’s Whip Snake, Oriental Whip
Snake, Asian Vine Snake, Jade Vine Snake.
Distribution and habitat: China (A. p. medioxima),
Philippines (A. p. preocularis), Philippines and Sulu Ar-
chipelago (A. p. suluensis), South Asia (India, Bangla-
desh, Sri Lanka, Andaman, and the Nicobar Islands), and
throughout Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, this species is
widely distributed in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi,
and the Lesser Sunda Islands. This snake inhabits both
primary lowland and montane moist forests, secondary
forests, open and dry forests, disturbed forest, scrub-
lands, plantations, as well as city gardens and urban ar-
eas. Commonly found from sea level up to 1,300 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
16. Boiga dendrophila (Boie, 1827)
Common name: Gold-ringed Cat Snake, Mangrove
Snake, Yellow-ringed Cat Snake.
Distribution and habitat: Throughout Southeast Asia
from Myanmar to Indonesia. In Indonesia, this species
is distributed in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Sulawesi.
It inhabits lowland forests, including mangrove swamps
and peat swamp forests, at elevations from sea level up
to 700 m asl.
Conservation status: Not known.
17. Coelognathus avolineatus (Schlegel, 1837)
Common name: Black Copper Rat Snake, Yellow-
striped Snake, Yellow-striped Trinket Snake.
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Amphib. Reptile Conserv. August 2020 | Volume 14 | Number 2 | e249
Leo et al.
Distribution and habitat: India, Myanmar, Thailand,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Su-
matra, Borneo, Java, Bali, and Sulawesi. This species in-
habits primary and secondary forests, disturbed forests,
and urban areas, at elevations from sea level up to 1,000
m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
18. Dendrelaphis caudolineatus (Gray, 1834)
Common name: Gray Bronze Back, Striped Bronze
Back.
Distribution and habitat: Sri Lanka (D. c. effrenis),
Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Sumatra, and
Borneo. This arboreal species occurs in lowland forests,
open secondary growth vegetation, and scrubland. It also
can be found in urban areas, such as gardens and parks.
Conservation status: Not known.
19. Dendrelaphis formosus (Boie, 1827)
Common name: Elegant Bronze Back, Beautiful Bronze
Back Tree Snake.
Distribution and habitat: Thailand, Peninsular Malaya,
Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Mentawai Archipelago,
Riau Archipelago, and Java. This species occurs in low-
land forest, scrubland, alluvial forest, heath forest, peat
swamp forest, and in gardens within villages. It has been
encountered from sea level up to 600 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
20. Lycodon subannulatus (Duméril, Bibron, and Du-
méril, 1854)
Common name: Malayan Bridal Snake, Southern Bridle
Snake, Half-banded Bridled Snake, Brown-saddled Tree
Snake.
Distribution and habitat: Myanmar, Thailand, Malay-
sia, Philippines, Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo. This
arboreal species is commonly found in lowland forests
and disturbed areas, at altitudes ranging from sea level to
about 900 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Gekkonidae
21. Cyrtodactylus majulah Grismer, Wood, and Lim,
2012
Common name: Singapore Bent-toed Gecko.
Distribution and habitat: Singapore, Bintan Island,
and probably expanded to Riau Province in Sumatra (as
recorded in this survey). This species occurs in lowland
forests, specically freshwater swamp forests, and also
peat swamp forests.
Conservation status: Not known.
22. Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril and Bibron, 1836
Common name: Chichak, Common House Gecko,
South Asian House Gecko, Bridled House Gecko, Asian
House Gecko, Spiny-tailed House Gecko.
Distribution and habitat: This species is distributed
worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. It is native
in Southern and Southeast Asia, and in the Indo-Austra-
lian Archipelago. It inhabits man-made dwellings, cities,
villages, and also forested areas among boulders, trees,
or logs; and at altitudes ranging from sea level to about
1,600 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
23. Hemiphyllodactylus typus Bleeker, 1860
Common name: Tree Gecko, Indopacic Slender
Gecko, Common Dwarf Gecko, Lowland Dwarf Gecko,
Worm Gecko.
Distribution and habitat: China, Taiwan, India, Sri
Lanka, throughout Southeast Asia, Philippines, Sumatra,
Java, Borneo, Lesser Sunda, Sulawesi, New Guinea, and
Oceania, introduced to Japan and Hawaii. This species
inhabits lowland forests and mangroves, up to an altitude
of nearly 1,000 m asl.
Conservation status: Not known.
Family Geoemydidae
24. Cuora amboinensis (Daudin, 1802)
Common name: Amboina Box Turtle, Southeast Asian
Box Turtle, Malayan Box Turtle, Indonesian Box Turtle,
Burmese Box Turtle, Malayan Box Terrapin.
Distribution and habitat: India, Bhutan, Bangladesh,
Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, West Malay-
sia, Singapore, Philippines, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Su-
lawesi, Lesser Sunda, and Mollucas. This species inhab-
its slow-owing water bodies, including rivers, lakes,
marshes, peat swamps, and mangrove swamps, as well
as agricultural areas.
Conservation status: Vulnerable.
Family Homalopsidae
25. Enhydris enhydris (Schneider, 1799)
Common name: Rainbow Mud Snake, Rainbow Water
Snake, Striped Water Snake, Smooth Water Snake.
Distribution and habitat: Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Ma-
laysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Sulawesi.
This species inhabits freshwater habitats, including slow-
moving streams, canals, marshes, riceelds, and some-
times brackish water areas.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
26. Homalopsis buccata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name: Linne’s Water Snake, Puff-faced Water
Snake, Masked Water Snake.
Distribution and habitat: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thai-
land, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore,
Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Sulawesi. This freshwater
species inhabits slow-moving and stagnant waterways,
such as swamps, ponds, and riceelds.
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Amphib. Reptile Conserv. August 2020 | Volume 14 | Number 2 | e249
Herpetofauna of Zamrud National Park, Indonesia
31. Sphenomorphus cyanolaemus Inger and Hosmer, 1965
Common name: Blue-headed Forest Skink, Blue-throat-
ed Litter Skink.
Distribution and habitat: Peninsular Malaya, Suma-
tra, and Borneo. This species inhabits lowland rainfor-
est up to 850 m asl. This slender-bodied skink largely
remains on the forest oor, searching amongst leaf litter
for its prey; but is also known to climb short distances up
tree trunks. It probably feeds on forest oor insects.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Varanidae
32. Varanus salvator (Laurenti, 1768)
Common name: Common Water Monitor.
Distribution and habitat: Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh,
Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra,
Nias, Enggano, Bangka, Kalimantan, Java, Bali, Lom-
bok, Sumbawa, Flores, Wetar, and Sulawesi). This spe-
cies is frequently seen on river banks and in swamps.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Viperidae
33. Tropidolaemus wagleri (Boie, 1827)
Common name: Wagler’s Keeled Green Pit Viper, Wa-
gler’s Palm Pit Viper, Wagler’s Pit Viper, Temple Pit Vi-
per.
Distribution and habitat: Indonesia (Sumatra), Malay-
sia (Peninsular Malaya), Singapore, Thailand, and Viet-
nam. This species is perhaps the commonest pit viper in
Southeast Asia. It occurs in lowland forests, either prima-
ry or secondary, and in some coastal regions it may occur
in mangroves. It occurs at elevations up to 400 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
General Observations
The differences in the environmental conditions of each
survey area may inuence the species distribution and
habitat preferences of herpetofauna in ZNP. Overall, the
air temperature during the survey ranged between 26.2
and 28.9 °C, and the water temperature ranged between
23.4 and 28 °C. The complete set of environmental pa-
rameters is presented in Table 2.
The survey areas were grouped based on the pres-
ence of water bodies, e.g., rivers, streams, or lakes. The
areas of Bron 2, the Shrubs Area, and Idris Well have
drier habitats than Sejuk Kanan Bawah Lake, Sejuk Kiri
Bawah Lake, and Sejuk Atas Pulau Besar Lake, while
Besar Island is isolated and located in the middle of Pu-
lau Besar Lake. Based on the ndings of the survey, the
herpetofauna species were mostly distributed near the
water bodies, such as rivers or streams. Besar Island had
the lowest number of herpetofauna species, which may
be caused by its isolation from the mainland.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Pythonidae
27. Malayopython reticulatus (Schneider, 1801)
Common name: Reticulated Python.
Distribution and habitat: Bangladesh, India (Nicobar
Island), Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,
Philippines, Peninsular Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Borneo,
Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda Islands, and Mollucas. This spe-
cies can be found in various ecosystems such as primary
forests, secondary forests, savannas, wetlands, scrub-
lands, marshes, peat swamp forests, mangrove swamps,
grasslands; and also in disturbed areas, such as agricul-
tural areas and urban areas. It has been found from sea
level to about 1,300 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Family Scincidae
28. Dasia olivacea Gray, 1839
Common name: Olive Dasia, Olive Tree Skink.
Distribution and habitat: India (Nicobar Island),
Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philip-
pines, Peninsular Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and
Bali. This species inhabits coastal, lowland forests, peat
swamp forests, and other forests up to 1,200 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
29. Eutropis multifasciata (Kuhl, 1820)
Common name: Common Mabuya, Many-lined Sun
Skink, East Indian Brown Mabuya, Common Sun Skink,
Javan Sun Skink.
Distribution and habitat: India, Bangladesh, China,
Taiwan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra, Java,
Bali, Komodo Island, Flores, Sulawesi, Halmahera,
Timor-Leste, New Guinea, and the Philippines. This spe-
cies occupies a wide range of habitats including tropi-
cal dry, moist lowland and montane forest, savannah,
woodland, peat swamp forest, eucalyptus forest, coffee
plantations, agricultural land, disturbed riparian habitats,
gardens, and village land. It is found at elevations up to
1,800 m asl.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
30. Lygosoma samajaya Karin, Freitas, Shonleben, Gris-
mer, Bauer, and Das, 2018
Common name: None.
Distribution and habitat: Malaysia (Sarawak) as the
type locality. The current survey revealed a new distribu-
tion record for this species in Riau Province, Sumatra.
This species specically dwells in heath forests, diptero-
carp forests, and peat swamp forests. It is also presumed
as a semi-fossorial species as suggested by its elongate
morphology.
Conservation status: Not known.
259
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Leo et al.
The PCA analysis used the species composition and
the number of individuals encountered in each sampling
point as the variables. That analysis shows that the dis-
tribution of herpetofauna species separated into three
groups related to habitat preferences (Fig. 5). The result-
ing use variance-covariance matrix shows the variance
percentage of the eigenvalue for PC 1 is 91.997%, and
for PC 2 it is 5.336%. Besar Island is an isolated area;
while Sejuk Kiri Bawah Lake, Sejuk Atas Pulau Besar
Lake and Sejuk Kanan Bawah Lake are the areas with
water bodies; and the Shrubs Area, Bron 2, Idris Well and
outlying transects are the areas that are far from water
bodies.
The environmental parameters show the differences
between dry and wet habitat conditions. The data in Ta-
ble 2 show that dry areas have higher air temperatures
(27.6–28.9 °C) than wet areas (26.2–27.2 °C), and dry
areas also have more humidity (91.3 to 95.9%) than wet
areas (87.8 to 92.1%).
This survey found one individual of the recently
described species Lygosoma samajaya Karin, Freitas,
Shonleben, Grismer, Bauer, and Das, 2018 (Fig. 6), so
this observation represents a new record distribution for
Sumatra and for Indonesia. The individual was collected
on the glue trap board and photos were taken immediate-
ly after the specimen was cleaned. While it was described
as a new species in early 2018, thus far it has only been
recorded in Western Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia. The
specimen found in this survey was identied by compar-
ing key characteristics to the holotype description. The
ZNP specimen has uniform brown coloration on the dor-
sal surface of head, body, limbs, and tail; bright yellow
coloration on the ventral surface of the head and body, and
cream coloration on the ventral surface of limbs and tail. A
light brown lateral stripe extends from the nostril through
the eye, and fades in the halfway point between the limbs.
Furthermore, the ZNP specimen has scale counts which
match with the holotype description: quinquecarinate
keeled dorsal and ventral scales; 7 supralabials; 5th below
the eye; and 6 infralabials. The most important character
that distinguishes L. samajaya from the other congeners is
an interparietal scale with pineal eyespot in the posterior
margin. Further measurements can be obtained by exam-
ining the specimen deposited in MZB (see Appendix).
Survey Areas Air Temperature
(°C)
Water Temperature
(°C)
Humidity
(%)
pH
Water Soil
Bron 2 27.6 27.7 95.9 4.3 3.3
Shrubs Area 28.7 28 92.2 4 3.5
Besar Island 28.5 27.9 92.5 4.2 2.8
Idris Well 28.9 - 91.3 - 3
Sejuk Kanan Bawah Lake 26.2 23.4 89 4.6 2.9
Sejuk Kiri Bawah Lake 27.1 24.6 87.8 4.6 3.8
Sejuk Atas Pulau Besar Lake 27.2 25 92.1 4 3.8
Table 2. Environmental parameters for each survey area.
Fig. 5. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the distribution of herpetofauna species.
260
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Herpetofauna of Zamrud National Park, Indonesia
Discussion
Zamrud National Park is one of the nest places which
represent the Sumatra peat swamp ecosystem (Fig. 1)
and its biodiversity, including the herpetofauna diversity.
It is one of the protected areas in Sumatra comprised of
pristine, primary peat swamp forest. The Sumatra peat
swamp ecosystem is the habitat for at least 135 reptiles
and 42 amphibians, and these counts will undoubtedly
increase as more explorations are conducted and new
species are discovered (Das and van Dijk 2013). Howev-
er, the size of the remaining pristine peat swamp forest in
Indonesia has been decreasing dramatically due to many
threats, e.g., illegal logging, drainage, agricultural con-
version, petroleum mining, and development (Yule 2010;
Posa et al. 2011). Despite such threats, the peat swamp
forests are also becoming refuges for globally signicant
species from other lowland forests (Yule 2010).
As part of Kampar Peninsula, most of the biodiver-
sity in ZNP also represents the biodiversity in Kampar
Peninsula that is threatened by concessions, plantations,
petroleum minings, and the widening of rivers. Recent
surveys have recorded 107 species of herpetofauna (22
species of amphibians and 85 species of reptiles) in the
whole area of Kampar Peninsula, and this survey found
33 species (or approximately 30.8% of all herpetofauna
in Kampar Peninsula) within only 15 days of eldwork
(Fig. 4). Some endangered herpetofauna species not
found in this survey have been recorded in Kampar Pen-
insula, i.e., Batagur borneoensis (CR), Heosemys spi-
nosa (EN), Orlitia borneensis (EN), Pelochelys cantorii
(EN), Manouria emys (EN), Tomistoma schlegelii (VU),
Ophiophagus hannah (VU), Cuora amboinensis (VU),
Siebenrockiella crassicollis (VU), and Amyda cartilag-
inea (VU) [RER-FFI 2016].
The L. samajaya holotype was found in Sama Jaya
Forest Reserve that includes heath and peat swamp for-
est ecosystems, surrounded by settlements. In this sur-
vey, the L. samajaya individual was found in peatland
forest, suggesting that habitat is consistent with the new
species habitat preferences. We assume that L. samajaya
can only be found in peat swamp forest, heath forest, and
lowland forest which are widely distributed in Sumatra
and Kalimantan. Specically, L. samajaya seems to se-
lect dense ground leaf litter and closed canopy forest as
its habitat as a semi-fossorial species, and is able to sur-
vive in disturbed forest areas (Karin et al. 2018).
Herpetofauna species communities commonly se-
lect lower temperature and humidity conditions as their
suitable habitat. As ectothermic creatures, herpetofauna
species cannot regulate their own body temperature and
must rely on their surrounding temperature and condi-
tions. When their habitat becomes warmer, only some
species are able to adapt and survive in such conditions.
We assume that once the global temperature rises due to
climate change, most herpetofauna species diversity will
Fig. 6. Photos of specimen of Lygosoma samajaya Karin, Freitas, Shonleben, Grismer, Bauer, and Das, 2018 encountered in Zamrud
National Park, Riau, Indonesia.
261
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Leo et al.
aragaman Hayati Riau. Pemerintah Provinsi Riau,
Pekanbaru, Indonesia. 32 p.
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pacts of climate change on the amphibians and rep-
tiles of Southeast Asia. Biodiversity and Conservation
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ity of the herpetofauna of South and Southeast Asia.
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Hutan Indonesia Periode 20092013. Forest Watch
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tological statistics software package for education and
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LR, Currie DJ, Shafter S, Cook R, Bartlein PJ. 2001.
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munities, and biomes. BioScience 51(9): 765–779.
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Foster MS. 1994. Measuring and Monitoring Bio-
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the Linnean Society 155(1): 123–147.
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Kamsi M, Handayani S, Siregar AJ, Frederiksson G.
2017. Buku Panduan Lapangan: Ambi Reptil Ka-
wasan Hutan Batang Toru. Herpetologer Mania Pub-
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Karin BR, Freitas ES, Shonleben S, Grismer LL, Bauer
AM, Das I. 2018. Unrealized diversity in an urban
rainforest: a new species of Lygosoma (Squamata:
Scincidae) from western Sarawak, Malaysia (Bor-
neo). Zootaxa 4370(4): 345–362.
Matsui M, Mumpuni, Hamidy A. 2012. Description of a
new species of Hylarana from Sumatra (Amphibia,
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McDiarmid RW, Foster MS, Guyer C, Gibbons JW, Cher-
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decrease and some will go to extinction (Bickford et al.
2010).
The presence of water bodies is also signicant for
most amphibian populations to lay their eggs and breed.
Reptile populations will follow amphibian population
uctuations because of their role as predators in the food
chain (Vitt and Caldwell 2009). As an isolated site, Besar
Island was the area with the least species diversity due to
reduced possibilities for migration from Besar Island to
the mainland (Whittaker and Fernandez-Palacios 2007).
Two of the species recorded have high-risk conserva-
tion status, i.e., Limnonectes malesianus (NT, van Dijk
et al. 2004) and Cuora amboinensis (VU, Asian Turtle
Trade Working Group 2000). Furthermore, two Sumatra
endemic species were recorded, i.e., Chalcorana parva-
ccola (Inger et al. 2009) and Pulchrana rawa (Matsui
et al. 2012). Further surveys of herpetofauna diversity,
ecology, and distribution in ZNP are needed consider-
ing that the species accumulation curve (Fig. 4) indicates
this short-term pilot survey was probably not sufcient
to represent the full herpetofaunal diversity in the larger
Sumatra Peat Swamp Forest Ecosystem.
Conclusion
A cursory survey of Zamrud Natonal Park in Indonesia
yielded 33 herpetofauna species, including 12 amphib-
ians and 21 reptiles, with most found near water bodies.
However, these ndings are still insufcient to represent
the herpetofauna communities in the whole area of ZNP.
Further surveys and monitoring are needed to continue
the inventory and to monitor the current communities in
light of future threats, as well as the possibility of record-
ing new ndings in other areas of ZNP.
Acknowledgments.—We would like to thank the Nation-
al Geographic Society for grant funding support (grant
#CP-063EC-17), as well as the Indonesian Institute of
Science (LIPI), Ministry of Environment and Forestry,
Zamrud National Park, and our local partner (the Univer-
sity of Riau) for the support, guidance, and help in car-
rying out this project. We personally thank Habiburrach-
man Alan who helped us design the survey map. Grate-
ful thanks are due to Mr. Ahmad Umar and all members
of the guide team who accompanied us during eldwork
activities.
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Sandy Leo is a young biologist and environmentalist, interested in applying the diversity of terrestrial
fauna (including herpetofauna) and their ecology to environmental studies. He received a grant from the
National Geographic Society and conducted this eldwork as a young explorer grantee. After graduating
from the Department of Biology, the University of Indonesia in 2016, he has worked on various projects
conducting surveys of Indonesian biodiversity (primates, herpetofauna, insects) and restoring peat swamp
forest in Central Kalimantan. Currently, Sandy is in the master’s program at the School of Environmental
Science, the University of Indonesia, with sustainable development as his major.
Muhammad Suherman is a eld researcher with extensive experience with herpetofauna, insects, and
wildlife ecology. Muhammad has conducted many eld studies, including an inventory of butteries and
dragonies in Depok, West Java (ongoing); inventory of butteries in Bawean Island Wildlife Reserve,
East Java (2017); inventories of herpetofauna in Ujung Kulon National Park, Banten (2013); Mount.
Ciremai National Park, West Java (2016); Batu Mentas Natural Recreation Park, Belitung Island (2018);
and research on vector-borne disease reservoirs (bats and rats) in South Sulawesi (2017).
Anggi Permatasari graduated from the Biological Sciences major at Pakuan University (Indonesia)
in 2016. After graduating she became interested in the eld of herpetology. In 2018, she worked as an
administrative staff member at CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity)-LIPI (Indonesian Institute of
Sciences), and now she is active in the association of Ambi Reptil Sumatra.
Darwan Suganda recently graduated from the Department of Forestry, the University of Riau (Indonesia)
in early 2019. Since 2016, Darwan has been involved in many biodiversity surveys in Riau Province and
he was a local volunteer in this Zamrud National Park herpetofauna expedition. He learned many new
things during this project regarding the importance of herpetofauna and ecological survey methods.
263
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Leo et al.
Zulamri recently graduated from the Department of Biology, the University of Riau in early 2019. As
a student, Zulamri participated in several organizations, such as Faculty of Mathematics and Natural
Sciences Student Executive Board, Departement of Biology Student Association, WWF-Earth Hour
Pekanbaru, and River Ambassador. He was a local volunteer in this Zamrud National Park herpetofauna
expedition, and has been an intern in the WWF-Indonesia (WWF-ID) Central Sumatra Program.
Nurul L. Winarni has been working as a eld biologist for years on a wide variety of eld research
projects, from observing game animals to birds, primates, and butteries, particularly in Lampung and
Buton, South-east Sulawesi, Indonesia. Nurul graduated in Biology, FMIPA, University of Indonesia,
obtained a master’s degree from the Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of Georgia (USA),
and nished her Ph.D. at Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom). Her studies have mainly
focused on bird population dynamics, the community ecology of birds and butteries (particularly the
effect of anthropogenic disturbance on bird and buttery communities), as well as evaluating the use of
bird and buttery species as indicators of disturbance. She is also interested in biodiversity monitoring
and survey methodology, research design, and analysis. In the context of climate change, Nurul has
been studying the impact of climate change on phenological patterns of tropical rainforest trees and the
responses of biodiversity to climate change.
Appendix. List of specimens deposited in Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB)
Chalcorana parvaccola: MZB.Amph.31126, MZB.Amph.31127, MZB.Amph.31128, MZB.Amph.31129
Ingerophrynus quadriporcatus: MZB.Amph.31137, MZB.Amph.31138
Leptobrachium nigrops: MZB.Amph.31136
Limnonectes malesianus: MZB.Amph.31130, MZB.Amph.31131, MZB.Amph.31132
Polypedates colletti: MZB.Amph.31141, MZB.Amph.31142, MZB.Amph.31143
Polypedates macrotis: MZB.Amph.31139, MZB.Amph.31140
Pulchrana baramica: MZB.Amph.31133, MZB.Amph.31134, MZB.Amph.31135
Pulchrana rawa: MZB.Amph.31122, MZB.Amph.31123, MZB.Amph.31124, MZB.Amph.31125
Ahaetulla prasina: MZB.Ophi.6163
Aphaniotis fusca: MZB.Lace.14497, MZB.Lace.14498
Cyrtodactylus majulah: MZB.Lace.14494, MZB.Lace.14495, MZB.Lace.14496
Dasia olivacea: MZB.Lace.14489
Dendrelaphis caudolineatus: MZB.Ophi.6162
Eutropis multifasciata: MZB.Lace.14492, MZB.Lace.14493
Gonocephalus liogaster: MZB.Lace.14486, MZB.Lace.14487
Hemiphyllodactylus typus: MZB.Lace.14491
Homalopsis buccata: MZB.Ophi.6161
Lycodon subannulatus: MZB.Ophi.6164 (labeled as Dryocalamus subannulatus)
Lygosoma samajaya (labeled as Lygosoma sp.): MZB.Lace.14488
Sphenomorphus cyanolaemus: MZB.Lace.14490
... Biodiversity is a vital attribute of ecosystems because different species form essential links in the food web and in nutrient cycles, which means that removal of even one species may potentially disrupt the entire ecosystem. Species differ in their sensitivity to environmental stressors, and thus environmental change including climate change has become the biggest global threat to biodiversity (Leo et al. 2020). Biodiversity assessment collects data on community structure, diversity, abundance, distribution, population dynamics and trophic structures, providing valuable information about habitats in vulnerable locations and permitting the identification of species that are in long-term decline. ...
... They differ from other ecosystems in that they accumulate energy, matter and information through geological time (Minayeva et al. 2017). Peatlands in their natural state have exceptional structural and functional integrity that offers an extensive range of habitats (e.g., bog, fen, swamp, marsh, pool and pond), creating specific environmental conditions that determine the uniqueness of their biodiversity (Minayeva & Sirin 2012, Biancalani & Avagyan 2014, Harrison & Rieley 2018, Leo et al. 2020). These ecosystems are important for biodiversity conservation because they support a range of plants and animals that includes many threatened and endemic species as well as migratory birds; and as natural gene banks they preserve potentially useful plant species (UNDP 2006, Jusoff et al. 2007, Parish et al. 2008, Chin et al. 2012. ...
... Heaney et al. (1998) recorded 172 terrestrial mammal species of which 111 were endemic, and these estimates have since increased substantially (Heaney et al. 2016). The challenges presented by climate change, habitat loss and degradation, environmental pollution and introduced invasive species will affect herpetofauna and mammalian diversity; and climate change could even alter the metabolism of herpetofauna, driving them towards extinction, because they are heterothermic (Gibbons et al. 2000, Hansen et al. 2001, Bickford et al. 2010, Leo et al. 2020. ...
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Reliable biodiversity baseline data are needed to support the monitoring of faunal responses to human activities and the development of species conservation strategies in the Leyte Sab-a Basin Peatland (LSBP). We conducted a ten-day Rapid Biodiversity Assessment (RBA), the first survey of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals to focus specifically on the LSBP. We recorded 24 herpetofauna (17 reptile, seven amphibian) and eight mammal species. Four reptiles were Vulnerable and Near Threatened species according to the IUCN Red List, and another five were classified as Other Threatened species at national level. A possible new location record for Leyte Island was the Indo-Pacific tree gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus typus Bleeker 1860). Four of the mammal species we recorded also belonged to the IUCN and national Vulnerable, Endangered or Near Threatened categories. Our results showed that the LSBP is an important area for biodiversity conservation, hosting endemic and globally threatened species. Creating a Local Conservation Area (LCA) within or near the LSBP could substantially support the survival of threatened species that depend mostly on the peatland as their habitat. Nonetheless, further scientific studies are needed to better understand the value of the LSBP and how to conserve its natural resources.
... The ecosystem in the project area is dominated by peat swamp forest and placed in production forest which faces a serious threat if the KMP has not initiated to protect and restore the forest resources and its biodiversity. The threats that commonly happened in the peat swamp forest mostly come from agricultural conversion, illegal logging, drainage, petroleum mining, and development, otherwise, the peat swamp forest is crucial as a sanctuary for endangered species that come from other lowland forest ecosystems [18]- [21]. A model that calculated the release of CO2 emissions if a peat swamp forest is converted into a palm oil plantation will reach 70-110 t CO2eq ha-1 yr-1 [22]. ...
... Biodiversity, such as 1) By removing causes of forest degradation and deforestation, the project zone's faunal and floral species have been stabilized and kept healthy and sustained; 2) Improved natural habitats, an ecological role, and ecosystem restoration as an approach to ensuring sustainability [14], [15], [18], [22], [24], [25], [27]. Following these roles and benefits, it can be summarized that the ecosystem restoration company has provided a sustainable business and proved that the company could share benefits to climate, community, and biodiversity, and also obtain a huge profit from implementing the carbon pricing scheme. ...
Conference Paper
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Climate change is becoming a major threat that massively increases the negative impacts on ecosystemdegradation, and biodiversity loss, and will affect socio-economic systems around the world. Indonesia is among one ofthe top emitters of global greenhouse gases (GHG) and CO2 emissions that mainly come from the forestry and energysectors. The carbon pricing scheme is related to the ecosystem restoration business that is managed by the landconcession holder in a form of a company. This study is aimed to identify the role of an ecosystem restoration companyto reduce carbon emissions and how the company implemented a carbon pricing scheme in their business. Weinterviewed and assessed the Katingan Mentaya Project (KMP), organized by PT. Rimba Makmur Utama (PT. RMU) isone of the ecosystem restoration companies that has implemented carbon pricing activities in Indonesia. We interviewedThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PT. RMU and disseminated questionnaire that was responded by 12 staff ofPT.RMU. The result shows that the KMP activities have share benefits to the community, climate, and biodiversity. Theproject help to conserve and restore the degraded peat-swamp forest, influence the local economy, and help to support thetraditional livelihoods to use the forest resources sustainably. To gain profit, PT. RMU has sold the carbon certificate in acarbon voluntary market in business to business scheme. The carbon value in the KMP project area is worth from USD152 million to USD 228 million.
... As poikilothermic animals, snakes are very sensitive to environmental changes. Snake distribution is affected by rainfall and temperature changes (Leo et al. 2020). ...
... Several studies related to the diversity of snake species in peat swamp forests have been carried out. At Tanjungpura University, Pontianak, 10 snake species were found (Rambosius et al. 2019), and in Zamrud National Park, Riau, 10 snake species were identified (Leo et al. 2020). In the peat swamp forest of the Kampar Peninsula, which includes three concession areas, the RER (PT SMN, PT TBOT, and PT GCN) identified 39 species of snake (Geonarto and Iqbal 2020). ...
Article
PT Global Alam Nusantara (GAN) is one of ecosystem restoration concessions in Kampar Peninsula managed by Riau Ecosystem Restoration (RER). Unlike other companies under RER, information on the diversity of snake species in PT GAN is not yet available. Therefore, this study aims to determine the diversity and conservation status of snake species in PT GAN. There are 4 transects are placed systematically based on habitat conditions. Two transects are located near the river (transect 1 and transect 2), the other two transects are far from the river and are located around the peat dome (transect 3 and transect 4). Observations were made using the Visual Encounter Survey (VES) method on four observation transects. Data analysis used the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H') and the Sorensen Index (IS). The snakes found were 16 individuals, belonging to three families and 11 species, namely: Ahaetulla prasina, Boiga jaspidae, Boiga cynodon, Boiga drapiezii, Coelognathus flavolineatus, Dendrelaphis caudolineatus, Dryocalamus subannulatus, Lycodon subcintus, Sibynophis melanochepalus, Tripodolaemus wagleri, and Calliophis bivirgatus. The diversity of snakes in PT GAN was moderate with a low Sorensen similarity index. All snake species found are unprotected, with low-risk IUCN status, and have not been included in the CITES appendix.
... Several studies on herpetofauna species diversity in the south-east Asian region have already been completed, including works in the Philippines (Diesmos et al. 2015;Gojo-Cruz et al. 2019;Clores et al. 2021), Malaysia (Shahrudin et al. 2011;Munisamy et al. 2020;Onn and Ahmad 2021), Indo-china (Bain and Hurley 2011), and Indonesia (Noberio et al. 2015;Cahyadi and Arifin 2019;Dharma and Meitiyani 2019;Irwanto et al. 2019;Leo et al. 2020;Milto and Lukin 2020;Nurhayat et al. 2020;Amarasinghe et al. 2021;Riyanto and Rahmadi 2021). These past studies only focused on herpetofauna distribution and diversity in the Indonesian rainforest area. ...
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Conservation planning is very important to preserve nature and ecosystems. Based on this, exploration and species inventory in nature need to be carried out. Group of animals that have an important role in the environment is herpetofauna. This study aims to reveal the abundance, evenness, and richness of herpetofauna in Brantas River's streams connection. This study uses the Visual Encounter Surveys (VES) sampling method at 8 points located in Blitar, Tulungagung, Malang, Mojokerto, Kediri, and Batu City, East Java, Indonesia. The results showed that the diversity index (H') 1 < 2, 3959 < 3, with the criteria for the diversity index being moderate. The value of e is 0.74 > 0.6, which means high species uniformity. Specific richness has a value of 4.53 which means in the moderate category. There were 12 species of amphibians and 14 reptile species. Five species are of low-risk status with decreasing population in nature and two species is of vulnerable status. Species in the declining category are Odorrana hosii, Limnonectes microdiscus Wijayarana masonii, Leptobrachium hasseltii, and Philautus aurifasciatus. Species in the vulnerable category are Microhyla orientalis and Gonocephalus kuhlii. Species in the declining category require attention from conservation efforts because their presence is important in various aspects of the ecosystem, such as the food chain, bioindicators, and natural enemies.
... Geckos (family Gekkonidae) have skin characteristics that look soft even though they remain scaly, are active at night (nocturnal) and can sever the tip of their tail (autotomy) as a form of self-defense and avoid predators (Barton, 2007;Leo et al., 2020;Novianti et al., 2019;Rakhmiyati and Jaâ, 2018) Cosymbotus platyurus is a species of common house gecko that is commonly found in Indonesia. This species has a wide range of distribution including India, Southeast Asia, to Australia. ...
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Common house gecko (Cosymbotus platyurus) is the most abundant house gecko species in Indonesia. The geckos live in home yard, garden, and in homes. It is part of food chain in its habitat, as its preys include cockroaches, flies, and termites. Previous studies found that this gecko are not found in mountainous area in West Java. In this study, the researchers observe population density of common house geckos in various types of habitats (houses and parks) with their home territory. The methods used were direct survey methods followed by literature study. The study is conducted in Java island (Jakarta, Tangerang, Bandung, Bogor, Sleman). Preliminary result of this study is house geckos are very active at night, because of the effect of light produced by lights that attract the attention of insects, gecko food.
Article
Given Singapore’s location at the confluence of important maritime trading routes, and that it was established as a British East India Company trading post in 1819, it is unsurprising that Singapore has become one of the centres of natural history collecting and research in Southeast Asia. Despite its small size, Singapore is home to a diverse herpetofauna assemblage and boasts a rich herpetological history. The first systematic studies of Singapore’s herpetofauna (within the Linnaean binomial framework) date back to Stamford Raffles and the naturalists hired by him who first came to the island in 1819. Specimens that were collected during and after this time were deposited in museums worldwide. Over time, 39 species from Singapore were described as new to science. Due to the entrepôt nature of Singapore with its associated purchasing and trading of specimens (both alive and dead), poor record-keeping, and human introductions, numerous extraneous species from outside of Singapore were reported to occur on the island. Such issues have left a complicated legacy of ambiguous records and taxonomic complications concerning the identity of Singapore’s species-rich herpetofauna, many of which were only resolved in the past 30–40 years. By compiling a comprehensive collection of records and publications relating to the herpetofauna of Singapore, we construct an updated and more accurate listing of the herpetofauna of Singapore. Our investigation culminated in the evaluation of 309 species, in which we compiled a final species checklist recognising 166 species (149 native and 17 non-native established species). Among the 149 native species are two caecilians, 24 frogs, one crocodilian, 13 turtles (three visitors), 34 lizards, and 75 snakes. Of the 17 non-native species are five frogs, four turtles, six lizards, and two snakes. The remaining 143 species represent species to be excluded from Singapore’s herpetofauna species checklist. For each of the 309 species examined, we provide species accounts and explanatory annotations. Furthermore, we discuss Singapore’s herpetofauna from a historical and conservation perspective. Immediate deforestation and nationwide urbanisation following colonisation completely eliminated many species from throughout much of the country and restricted them to small, degraded forest patches. We hope this publication highlights the importance of publishing observations and serves as a valuable resource to future researchers, naturalists, biological consultants, and policy makers in initiating studies on species ecology, distribution, status, and promoting conservation efforts to safeguard Singapore’s herpetofauna.
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Penurunan kelimpahan dan kehilangan jenis pada komunitas burung dan herpetofauna dilaporkan terjadi di area perkotaan. Salah satu upaya yang dilakukan untuk mendukung upaya konservasi burung dan herpetofauna di perkotaan adalah membangun ruang terbuka hijau (RTH), seperti di lingkungan pabrik PT Polytama Propindo, Kabupaten Indramayu. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis keanekaragaman jenis burung dan herpetofauna, dan menganalisis penggunaan habitatnya di RTH PT Polytama Propindo. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada Juli 2020 di kawasan pabrik PT Polytama Propindo. Pengumpulan data komunitas burung dilakukan dengan metode point count dan pada komunitas herpetofauna secara Visual Encounter Survey dikombinasikan dengan transek. Analisis data dilakukan secara kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, indeks keanekaragaman jenis, kemerataan jenis, dan kekayaan jenis pada komunitas burung masing-masing sebesar 2,26; 0,74; 2,73, sedangkan pada komunitas herpetofauna masing-masing sebesar 1,47; 0,70; 1,72. Berdasarkan penggunaan ruang secara vertikal, burung menggunakan strata E, D, dan C, sedangkan pada komunitas herpetofauna terdiri atas kelompok akuatik, arboreal, dan terestrial. Berdasarkan penggunaan ruang secara horizontal, seluruh area pabrik digunakan oleh satwa liar. Berdasarkan penggunaan makanan pada burung, kelompok insektivora dan granivora mendominasi. Sementara itu, penggunaan makanan pada herpetofauna menunjukkan bahwa umumnya pakan tersedia di RTH ini. Implikasi penelitian ini 1) perlu dilakukan monitoring satwa berkala, 2) perlu pengelolaan menyeluruh area pabrik sebagai satu kesatuan habitat, 3) perlu pengayaan vegetasi agar stratifikasi lebih beragam.
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Tropical peat swamp forest is a unique ecosystem that is most extensive in Southeast Asia, where it is under enormous threat from logging, fire, and land conversion. Recent research has shown this ecosystem's significance as a global carbon store, but its value for biodiversity remains poorly understood. We review the current status and biological knowledge of tropical peat swamp forests, as well as the impacts of human disturbances. We demonstrate that these forests have distinct floral compositions, provide habitat for a considerable proportion of the region's fauna, and are important for the conservation of threatened taxa, particularly specialized freshwater fishes. However, we estimate that only 36% of the historical peat swamp forest area remains, with only 9% currently in designated protected areas. Given that peat swamp forests are more vulnerable to synergies between human disturbances than other forest ecosystems, their protection and restoration are conservation priorities that require urgent action.
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The tropical peat swamp forests of Indonesia and Malaysia are unusual ecosystems that are rich in endemic species of flora, fauna and microbes despite their extreme acidic, anaerobic, nutrient poor conditions. They are an important refuge for many endangered species including orang utans. Ecosystem functioning is unusual: microbial decomposition is inhibited because the leaves are sclerophyllous and toxic to deter herbivory in the nutrient poor environment, yet bacteria are abundant and active in the surface layers of the peat, where they respire DOC leached from newly fallen leaves. The bacteria are subsequently consumed by aquatic invertebrates that are eaten by fish, and bacterially respired CO2 is assimilated by algae, so bacteria are thus vital to carbon and nutrient cycling. Peat swamp forests are highly sensitive to the impacts of logging, drainage and fire, due to the interdependence of the vegetation with the peat substrate, which relies on the maintenance of adequate water, canopy cover and leaf litter inputs. Even minor disturbances can increase the likelihood of fire, which is the major cause of CO2 emissions from regional peat swamp forests and which impact ecosystems worldwide by contributing to climate change. Indo-Malayan peat swamps affect the hydrology of surrounding ecosystems due to their large water storage capacity which slows the passage of floodwaters in wet seasons and maintains stream base flows during dry seasons. These forests are of global importance yet they are inadequately protected and vanishing rapidly, particularly due to agricultural conversion to oil palm, logging, drainage and annual fires.
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The Reptile Database
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Limnonectes malesianus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
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Proposed Expansion of the Peninsula's Existing Conservation Areas
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