The herpetofauna of Upper Niger National Park, Guinea, West Africa

Abstract

We conducted a preliminary survey of the herpetofauna in Upper Niger National Park at the end of the dry season in 2002. Museum holdings and literature records from localities within the park were combined with our data to obtain an overall picture of the herpetofauna. The park contains a mosaic of forest and savanna that straddles the Niger River. Twenty-two species of amphibians and 34 species of reptiles were recorded from the park; four species of amphibians and two of reptiles are the first records from Guinea. Seven species of reptiles are listed as threatened by the IUCN Red List or CITES, but according to the Global Amphibian Assessment, none of the amphibians is threat- ened. Stomach contents of an arboreal colubrid snake included a species of bat (Mops condylurus), which represents the first confirmed record from Guinea. Conservation of the park is paramount because: 1) it is the only protected area containing dry forest in Guinea; 2) gallery forest provides suitable habitat for amphibian, reptile, and mammal spe- cies otherwise restricted to tropical rainforest elsewhere in West Africa; and 3) several species of threatened reptiles endemic to West Africa are in the park.