Threatened Herpetofauna: Important Information Towards Establishment of Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in Perak

Abstract

Target 9 in the National Policy on Biological Diversity elaborates on the prevention of known threatened species extinction, and their conservation status needs to be improved by 2025. Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) is a comprehensive approach to conserving globally threatened species, including herpetofauna and their habitats. A site must meet the thresholds for at least one criterion to qualify as Key Biodiversity Area (KBA). This paper aims to demonstrate threatened herpetofauna information in Perak based on published literature according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification. A total of 34 papers were accessed starting from 1977 until 2022. Of these, 14 threatened herpetofauna species were identified: Nanohyla annectens, Cyrtodactylus guakanthanensis, Cyrtodactylus jarakensis, Heosemys grandis, Batagur affinis, Manouria emys, Manouria impressa, Pelochelys cantorii, Cuora amboinensis, Heosemys spinosa, Siebenrockiella crassicollis, Amyda cartilaginea, Pseudocalotes larutensis, and Larutia larutensis. There was only 1.9% (1sp), and 11.4% (13spp) of the total number (166spp) of amphibians (52spp) and reptiles (114spp) were published, respectively. However, coordinates of the exact locations must be gathered to ensure spatial and temporal information can be developed to locate the habitat of threatened species. In short, studies on herpetofauna in Perak is still in need. At least, from this assessment, another step towards identifying KBA in Perak has been initiated and must be continued.