Ecological studies on diversity of Herpetofauna in Asir region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. | ||
| Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology | ||
| Article 15, Volume 4, Issue 1, December 2012, Pages 143-163 PDF (305.28 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/eajbsz.2012.14295 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Mostafa Fathy Masood1; Ahmed Ali Asiry2 | ||
| 11-Department of biology, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al Azhar University (Assiut-Egypt) | ||
| 2Department of biology, Faculty of Science, Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Conservation of the biological diversity and sustainable use of the resources of earth are enshrined in Islamic low and principles. It is therefore fitting that in 2001 the kingdom of Saudi Arabia became a signatory to the Convention of Conservation on Biological Diversity that seeks to ensure the conservation of species and their habitats for all time. The study was carried out in Asir region, located in the southwest of the country. Topography and biotic elements of the environment were described. The study area is one of the richest regions of the Kingdom in the diversity of animals, where the region is characterized by the presence of a large group of wild animals belonging to different animal families. In this work, diversity of herpetofauna which found in the region was studied. Seven species of tailless amphibians (Anura) were recorded, belonging to three families, firstly Bufonidae which include four species, Bufo tihamicus, B. dhufarensis, B. arabicus and B. viridis, secondly Hylidae represented by only one species, a tree frog Hyla savignyi, and finally Ranidae represented by two species, Rana ridibunda and Euphlyctis ehrenbergii. The results showed that there are 38 species of reptiles; 23 species of lizards belonging to the families Gekkonidae, Lacertidae, Scincidae, Agamidae, Varanidae, and Chamaeleontidae and 14 species of snakes belonging to 5 families: Typholopidae, Leptotypholopidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, and Viperidae. Only one species ofTurtles, belongs to family Testudinidae, was recorded. This work was suggested to throw light on the diversity of herpetofauna in Asir region as an important part of the ecosystem that has to be maintained, and to determine species composition of amphibian and reptile communities in different ecosystems as indicators of biodiversity in the study area. It came also to suggest strategies and techniques to determine the abundance of these species. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| diversity; Survey; Ecology; conservation; Herpetofauna; Reptiles; Amphibians; Asir; Saudi Arabia | ||
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