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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Simon MaddockORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© Alexandra E. Laking et al.Mesoamerican cloud forests support a rich and unique biodiversity but face severe threats from increasing habitat degradation and climate change. Here, we present an updated overview of the amphibians and reptiles of Cusuco National Park (CNP), an isolated cloud forest in the Sierra de Omoa, Northwest Honduras. Based on surveys conducted over a 17-year period, we report the presence of 105 confirmed species of amphibians (30) and reptiles (75) within the reserve. This includes numerous threatened and regionally endemic amphibian species, as well as several reptile species previously unrecorded within the park. Given that it harbours approximately 26% of all recorded Honduran herpetofauna, our study highlights CNP as the most diverse forest region in Honduras with respect to the reptile and amphibian diversity documented to date. Our findings reinforce the plea to actively protect CNP as a globally valuable biodiversity hotspot and a centre of herpetofaunal endemicity. Furthermore, in the face of rapid deforestation across Mesoamerica, our findings highlight the need for expanded biodiversity studies across extant forest regions in Honduras to refine species distribution ranges and facilitate timely and effective conservation measures.
Author(s): Laking AE, Solis JM, Brown T, Maddock ST, Burdekin O, Taylor P, Lonsdale G, Green SEW, Martin TE, Galdamez JR, Kolby JE, Erens J, Jocque M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Neotropical Biology and Conservation
Year: 2024
Volume: 19
Issue: 2
Pages: 87-112
Online publication date: 28/06/2024
Acceptance date: 13/04/2024
Date deposited: 24/07/2024
ISSN (print): 1809-9939
ISSN (electronic): 2236-3777
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
URL: https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.19.e120902
DOI: 10.3897/neotropical.19.e120902
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