Diversity amphibians and reptiles at Sungai Kerteh mangrove forest, Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract. Zakaria N, Allahudin MIH, Ma’ad SNS, Sulaiman AA, Abdullah NA, Zamri MIM, Mamat MA, Deraman MY. 2022. Diversity amphibians and reptiles at Sungai Kerteh mangrove forest, Terengganu, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 23: 5574-5584. Malaysia has various ecosystems, including mangrove forests, that can support a rich number of amphibians and reptiles. However, amphibians and reptiles remain understudied, especially in mangrove forests. The main objective of this study was to determine the diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the mangrove forest of Sungai Kerteh. The sampling was conducted from 19th until 21st August 2019 by using the Visual Encounter Survey (VES) method along 2 km2 area of Sungai Kerteh. A total of 53 individuals were recorded belonging to 12 species (5 amphibian species and 7 reptile species). For amphibians, three families were recorded, with the family Dicroglossidae being the most abundant, with 13 individuals. For reptiles, eight families were recorded with the family Agamidae being the most abundant with 18 individuals. Fejervarya cancrivora (11 individuals; Family Dicroglossidae) was the most abundant amphibian species, while Leiolepis belliana (14 individuals; Family Agamidae) was the most abundant reptile species. There was no significant difference between the diversity of reptiles (H’: 1.6975) and amphibians (H’: 1.2643) (t: -1.6835, p>0.05). This study provides the first checklist of amphibians and reptiles species that will be helpful in identifying existing herpetofauna species and possible endangered or rare species in the Sungai Kerteh mangrove forest, which will help contribute to the conservation efforts of the herpetofauna in this area.