Abstract

Fieldwork conducted throughout Timor-Leste in September 2004 and July 2009 resulted in a collection or recording of 263 herpetological specimens (100 amphibians, 163 reptiles), comprising at least seven species of frogs and toads, 20 species of lizards, seven species of snakes, two species of turtles, and one species of crocodile. Among the amphibians, the most frequently encountered species were toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), rice paddy frogs (genus Fejervarya), and rhacophorid treefrogs (Polypedates cf. leucomystax). All three variants of rice paddy frogs encountered represent undescribed species similar to Fejervarya verruculosa from neighboring Wetar Island. Records of Fejervarya cancrivora and Fejervarya limnocharis for Timor Island are apparently errors based on misidentification. We obtained voucher specimens for a total of 147 lizards and voucher photographs only for four specimens of Varanus timorensis. Aside from geckos frequently associated with human habitations (e.g., Gehyra mutilata, Gekko gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, Hemidactylus platyurus), we discovered an as yet undescribed species of bent-toed gecko, genus Cyrtodactylus, in the Same valley. Our specimens of Hemidactylus platyurus are the first record of this species from Timor-Leste. Commonly encountered skinks included four-fingered skinks (genus Carlia), wedge skinks (genus Sphenomorphus), and night skinks (genus Eremiascincus). Notable among the 15 snakes collected was the frequency of pitvipers (Cryptelytrops insularis), which amounted to over 25% of all snakes. Our specimen of the wolfsnake Lycodon subcinctus is the first record of this species for Timor-Leste. Based on these findings, it appears that the biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles in this remote corner of Wallacea is much greater than previously thought, particularly with respect to scincid lizards. The detail we provide in the species accounts is designed to allow the use of this report as a preliminary field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Timor-Leste. However, survey work is ongoing.

Highlights

  • Timor-Leste, known as East Timor or Timor Lorosa’e, became the world’s newest country on 20 May 2002 when its independence was restored after 24 years of Indonesian occupation and three years of United Nations Transitional Administration

  • Even though in the late 1850s some amphibians and reptiles from Timor were sent to the Dutch Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH) by Pieter Bleeker, a medical officer stationed in the Dutch East Indies, the second wave of exploration began in earnest only with the explorations of the Swiss zoologists Paul Benedict Sarasin and Fritz Sarasin, who traveled to the Lesser Sundas in 1893–96 and 1902–03, and continued with the Siboga Expedition (1898–1900) under the leadership of Max Weber (RMNH)

  • During the centuries of colonialism and during over two decades of Indonesian occupation, a neglect of environmental management has led to the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources for short-term gain and to the concomitant indiscriminate destruction of habitats

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Summary

Introduction

Timor-Leste, known as East Timor or Timor Lorosa’e, became the world’s newest country on 20 May 2002 when its independence was restored after 24 years of Indonesian occupation and three years of United Nations Transitional Administration. Even though in the late 1850s some amphibians and reptiles from Timor were sent to the Dutch Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH) by Pieter Bleeker, a medical officer stationed in the Dutch East Indies, the second wave of exploration began in earnest only with the explorations of the Swiss zoologists Paul Benedict Sarasin and Fritz Sarasin, who traveled to the Lesser Sundas in 1893–96 and 1902–03, and continued with the Siboga Expedition (1898–1900) under the leadership of Max Weber (RMNH) This period saw the publication of the only substantial Portuguese herpetological reports on Timor (Bethencourt Ferreira 1897, 1898), the collections of Thomas Barbour (1906–07; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA), the extended museum-based reports by Nelly de Rooij (de Rooij 1915, 1917), as well as the collections of Felix Kopstein (1922–24; RMNH), Malcolm Smith (1924, British Museum of Natural History, London, United Kingdom), Emmett Reid Dunn (1926; American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA), and Robert Mertens (1927; Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany). This report summarizes the results of a survey in 2004 (by SJR) and Phase I of a series of ongoing surveys conducted by the other authors (except CRT and SJR) in July 2009

Materials and methods
15 Lautem area of Lospalos town and surrounds
Findings
Discussion
Full Text
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