The Current Geographic Faunal Pattern of Reptiles and Amphibians of the Ryukyu Archipelago and Adjacent Regions.

Abstract

The Ryukyu Archipelago accomrhodates 52 native species/subspecies (26 genera belonging to ten families) of tenestrial reptiles and 22native species/subspecies (ten genera belonging to six families) of amphibians. This paper reviews the geographic similarity and diversity pattemJoflhe current herpetofauna of the Ryukyus and adjacent regions, and discusses factors influencing the formation of it in this archipelago. Cluster analyses of similarity indices for both reptiles and amphibians indicate that the Ryukyu herpetofauna is strongly influenced by geohistory ofthis archipelago involving long isolation especially in its north-cenhal part (i.e., southem Tokara, Amami, anA Oiinawa Groupsf Correlation analyses suggest that the faunal diversity on each island is significantly influenced by iis habitat diversity as reflected by the island area (for reptiles) or height (amphibians).