Amphibian Fauna of Quezon Protected Landscape

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study Considered as one of the Earth’s greatest archipelago, the Philippines rests within the Asian-Australian faunal zone interface, where the sharpest biotic demarcation on the planet lies. This complex archipelago of more than 7100 islands is situated near colliding tectonic plates, giving it a highly complex geological history. Enclosed in this historical background are ancient land movements, environmental gradients along steep volcanic slopes and sea level-induced alterations of connectivity between neighboring islands, which presumably gave rise to in situ evolutionary diversification on a scale notable in only few other island systems. The outcome is a magnificent array of biodiversity, high levels of vertebrate endemism and some of the Earth’s most spectacular life forms found on islands. The country is a powerhouse in biodiversity, believed to possess one of the greatest concentrations of vertebrate life on the planet (Brown & Diesmos, 2009). The Philippine islands are home to a diverse line of herpetofauna. For nearly 200 years, it has caught the attention of multiple systematists and biogeographers. Although previously thought of as having insignificant herpetofauna, the archipelago is now one of the focal points in amphibian and reptilian diversity in Southeast Asia (Diesmos, et. al., 2012). The amphibian fauna of the Philippines includes caecilians (Apoda), represented by two genera and frogs & toads (Anura), represented by some 23 genera. There are currently a total of 107 described species of amphibians, 3 caecilians and 104 frogs. All of the described genera are considered non-endemic. However, species-level endemicity is quite high, with eighty four species, accounted for 78.5 % of the 107 species, endemic to the Philippines (Alcala et. al., 2012).

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UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS This high level of endemicity exists mostly in lowland forests, but several recently...