A Key to the Frogs of Sarawak.
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
A Key to the Frogs of Sarawak. |
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Author :
Robert F. Inger, Harold K. Voris and Paul Walker |
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Abstract:
At least 90 species of frogs and toads occur in the forests of Sarawak. As a number of these species have been described since the publication of a monograph on the Amphibia of Borneo (Inger 1966, Fieldiana: Zoology. Vol. 52), there exists no published key covering the entire fauna. That is one of the main reasons for the present article. Another is that the keys in the monograph were designed with specialists in mind and, consequently, do not easily serve the purposes of teachers, field biologists other than herpetologists, and interested lay persons. We hope the key that follows will serve a variety of persons. It is designed for use with live or freshly killed frogs. Most ofthe features mentioned in the key can be seen with the naked eye. A few may require a handlens, but no part of the key depends on a microscope. As more than ninety per cent of the known frog fauna of Bornean forests occur in Sarawak, the key can be used throughout the island. The key is divided into two very unequal portions. The first and larger part deals with the species found in the old native, relatively undisturbed forests. Species of amphibians are not uniformly distributed throughout all forest in Sarawak, as some are restricted to flat topography and some to hilly country. Little is known as yet about the ability of the native Bornean species to survive in logged forests or in old secondary growth. It is safe to say, however, that most of these amphibians cannot survive in areas that have been clear felled. Such areas, as well as kampong, towns, padi fields and other cultivated fields, are the province of a small group of frogs that are closely associated with and, indeed, dependenton man’s activities to create suitable environments. These associates of man, which do not penetrate rain forest, are dealt with in the second, smaller part of the key, which can be used throughout Borneo as these species occur in all political divisions.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Inger, R. F., et al. (1985). A Key to the Frogs of Sarawak. The Sarawak Museum Journal, XXXIV (55): 161-182 |
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References
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