The Shimba Hills ecosystem along the south coast of Kenya is a key East African biodiversity hotspot. Historically, it is biogeographically assignable to the East African coastal biome. We examined the current Shimba Hills herpetofauna and their zoogeographical affinities to the coastal forests and nearby Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspots. The key studied sites included the Shimba Hills National Reserve, forest reserves, Kaya forests, and adjacent private land. Data on herpetofaunal richness were obtained from recent field surveys, literature, and specimens held at the National Museums of Kenya, Herpetology Section Collection, Nairobi. The Makadara, Mwele, and Longo-Mwagandi forests within the Shimba Hills National Reserve hosted the highest number of unique and rare species. Generally, the forest reserves and Kaya forests were important refuges for forest-associated species. On private land, Mukurumudzi Dam riparian areas were the best amphibian habitat and were host to three IUCN (Red List) Endangered-EN amphibian species, namely, Boulengerula changamwensis, Hyperolius rubrovermiculatus, and Afrixalus sylvaticus, as well as one snake species Elapsoidea nigra. Using herpetofauna as zoogeographic indicators, the Shimba Hills were determined to be at a crossroads between the coastal forests (13 endemic species) and the Eastern Arc Mountains (seven endemic species). Most of the Eastern Arc Mountains endemic species were from recent records, and thus more are likely to be found in the future. This ‘hybrid’ species richness pattern is attributable to the hilly topography of the Shimba Hills and their proximity to the Indian Ocean. This has contributed to the Shimba Hills being the richest herpetofauna area in Kenya, with a total of 89 and 38 reptile and amphibian species, respectively. Because of its unique zoogeography, the Shimba Hills ecosystem is undoubtedly a key biodiversity area for conservation investment.
Table S1: List of samples used in the DNA (16S) analysis, including voucher numbers, locality information and their GenBank Accession.
Clade column represents lineage membership based onFig. 2, 1 -H. cf. mitchelli, 2 -H. rubrovermiculatus, S1-H. mitchelli sensu stricto Subclade I, S2 -H. mitchelli sensu stricto Subclade II, S3 -H. mitchelli sensu stricto Subclade III, S4 -H. mitchelli sensu stricto Subclade IV, 3 -H. stictus. GenBank accession IDs for new sequences generated for this study are indicated with an asterisk.
We describe a new species of chameleon, Trioceros kinangopensis sp. nov., from Kinangop Peak in the Aberdare moun-tains, central highlands of Kenya. The proposed new species is morphologically and genetically distinct from other mem-ber of the bitaeniatus-group. It is morphologically most similar to T. schubotzi but differs in the lack of sexual sizedimorphism, smaller-sized females, smoother, less angular canthus rostrales, smaller scales on the temporal region and abright orange gular crest in males. Mitochondrial DNA indicates that the proposed new taxon is a distinct lineage that isclosely related to T. nyirit and T. schubotzi. The distribution of T. kinangopensis sp. nov. appears to be restricted to the afroalpine zone in vicintiy of Kinangop Peak and fires may pose a serious threat to the long-term survival of this species.
The frog Arthroleptides dutoiti Loveridge, 1935, endemic to Mount Elgon, East Africa was last collected in 1962 and has not been observed since. The species is regarded as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List and is a priority species on the Zoological Society of London's EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct, Globally Endangered) project given its Red List status and phylogenetic distinctiveness. We analyse temporal patterns of abundance of A. dutoiti and the remainder of the Mount Elgon amphibian assemblage to infer the probability of re-encountering A. dutoiti and assess whether declines are species-specific to A. dutoiti, or if they are an assemblagewide phenomenon. Our results show that for localities where surveys have been repeatedly conducted, A. dutoiti is likely to be locally extinct. Declines are observed in other Mount Elgon amphibians, encompassing both specialists and generalists. Causal factors for declines are unknown but habitat change might be important given the high degree of forest loss in the area, especially since the turn of the 20 th century. Urgent sampling of preferred micro-habitats of A. dutoiti at the type locality and surrounding areas beyond those included in our study are required to determine whether or not the species is extinct. Impacts on other taxonomic groups would also be useful to understand so that it can be determined how broad the changes are for the Mount Elgon biota.
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