Lista anotada de la herpetofauna del departamento del Quindío, Colombia

Abstract

The increasing uncertainty about the conservation status of the different biological groups emphasizes the importance of concentrating efforts on gathering diversity records. In Colombia, biological explorations have revealed priority areas for conservation, but the lack of information about topics as species distribution, restricts both the emphasis and efficiency of conservation efforts. In particular, Quindio department represents an important area of faunal interest due to its geographical position and climatic conditions. However, still lacks of basic information for an comprehensive discussion of local diversity. This works aims to summarize the information on richness, geographic distribution and diversity of the herpetofauna in the department. Published information from different bibliographic resources indicates that about 108 species of amphibians and reptiles (48 and 57 spp. respectively) coexist within the political boundaries. Among these, the genus Anolis and Pristimantis recorded the highest species diversity. Despite the reduced department’s size, the species that have been recorded exhibit remarkable ecological importance and also act as a reservoir of diversity regarding surrounding areas.