THE HERPETOFAUNA OF ANYSBERG NATURE RESERVE, CAPE PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

An annotated checklist of the reptiles and amphibians of Anysberg Nature Reserve (ANR) is presented. A total of 52 species and subspecies comprising six amphibians, five chelonians, 27 lizards and 14 snakes were recorded from the reserve. Interesting new distribution records include Homopus femoralis, Pachydactylus namaquensis, Gerrhosaurus typicus, Bradypodion gutturale and Bitis comuta-inomata complex. A list of species likely to occur in ANR is included. The relative composition and richness of the ANR herpetofauna is compared with that of the Karoo National Park (KNP) and the Addo Elephant National Park (AENP). The composition of taxa from ANR and KNP is generally similar with both having a high proportion of lizards, 51.9% and 51.4% respectively, but a relatively low proportion of frogs, 11.5% and 12.9% respectively. Lizards comprise only 28.6% of the AENP herpetofauna, but the proportion of frogs is 32.6%