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  • Alexandra E. Laking
    Operation Wallacea
  • José M. Solís
    Grupo de Investigación de Reptiles y Anfibios de Honduras
  • Tom Brown
    Operation Wallacea
  • Simon T. Maddock
    Newcastle University
  • Oliver Burdekin
    University of Oxford
  • Peter Taylor
    Operation Wallacea
  • George Lonsdale
    Operation Wallacea
  • Stephen E. W. Green
    Newquay University Centre
  • Thomas E. Martin
  • Josue R. Galdamez
    Kanahau Utila Research and Conservation Facility
  • Jonathan E. Kolby
    James Cook University
  • Jesse Erens
    Operation Wallacea
  • Merlijn Jocque
    Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-62
Number of pages26
JournalNeotropical Biology and Conservation
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jun 2024

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