A rapid herpetofaunal assessment of Nosy Komba Island, northwestern Madagascar, with new locality records for seventeen species

A rapid assessment of the herpetofauna on the offshore island of Nosy Komba, northwestern Madagascar, found six species of amphibian and 26 species of reptile. Seventeen of these species have not previously been recorded on the island, to the best of our knowledge. The list of newly recorded species includes mostly nocturnal animals such as Uroplatus henkeli, Paroedura oviceps, Lycodryas granuliceps and Geckolepis maculata, suggesting that previous surveys on the island were undertaken during the day. Our findings raise the island's currently known herpetofaunal species count to 38, being represented by nine amphibian and 29 reptile species. This paper expands upon the currently modest amount of information available for the small island's herpetological composition and reveals the need for stricter protection of its forests in the future. The aim of this paper is to increase the knowledge on the herpetofauna of Nosy Komba and help future environmental management to protect this unique insular fauna and flora.