Herpetofauna of montane areas of Tanzania. 1. Results from two amphibian surveys of Malundwe Mountain, Mikumi National Park

Abstract

As part of a larger survey of flora and fauna of Malundwe, funded by Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, amphibians were collected on three separate surveys of this mountain between 2004 and 2007. These surveys constitute the first surveys for amphibians in this part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot. Samples from these surveys revealed an amphibian fauna with links to the rest of the Eastern Arc Mountains. Only relatively few species were found during these surveys, probably due to a small cumulative sampling effort, lack of a permanent water source, and the very small size of this forest fragment. The amphibian fauna of Malundwe shares an affinity with the Uluguru Mountains, both in terms of species composition of each mountain block and genetic proximity for species with available population level data. I describe the species and associated microhabitat from the available voucher specimens resulting from the Malundwe surveys.