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Distribution of the forest nocturnal reptiles of Anjouan Island, their main habitats significances and conservation status

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Research Paper 01/07/2016
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Distribution of the forest nocturnal reptiles of Anjouan Island, their main habitats significances and conservation status

Ali Mohamed El-Yamine, Hamada Chakira, Nadjim Ahmed Mohamed, Ouledi Ahmed, Anllaoudine Abou, Cheng Xiao Hu, Hantanirina Rasamimanana
J. Bio. Env. Sci.9( 1), 159-176, July 2016.
Certificate: JBES 2016 [Generate Certificate]
Key: CathemeralDeforestationEcologyIslandNocturnal reptiles

Abstract

Comoros contains a unique diverse fauna and flora such terrestrial as marine. One of the 4 islands of the archipelago, Anjouan has fragmented forests surely inhabited by endemic animals and plants. The preliminary information from diverse authors on the reptilian biology and ecology is spread away. The data on the nocturnal reptiles’ distribution and habitats are rare because the studies done on them are not published. So, to determine the features, the distribution, the density, and the conservation status of the nocturnal reptiles of Anjouan Island, field researches have been conducted there from March to June 2011 in 17 sites. By means of different methods such as method of transect surveyed and point mark of the reptile location with GPS in the forests, the following results are obtained. One hundred and fifty eight individuals of nocturnal reptiles have been identified. They belong to 2 families and 5 genuses. One species of one genus belongs to one family Colubridae which is Lycodryas sanctijohannis. And all 4 remaining genus belong to the family of Gekkonidae with 6 species which are Hemidactylus platycephalus, H. mercatorius, H. brooki, Geckolepis maculata, Paroedura sanctijohannis and Ebenavia inunguis. They are nocturnal, cathemeral and diurnal. They are distributed all over the 17 sites in a heterogeneous way, dwelling in different altitudes and habitats. On the 21 indigenous Comorian reptiles, 6 unknown species and 8 identified ones have been found in Anjouan. Among these last only 2 are endemic in the Comoros. Nocturnal Comorian reptiles are threaten by deforestation.

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