{"key":"036d77fc-10f0-4a06-acee-6d5dd2c11dd3","installationKey":"b75cac4b-10fd-424f-a4f7-7bae2657bf64","publishingOrganizationKey":"fd515d3a-b237-42de-bba6-760008580da5","doi":"10.15468/p5sgtw","external":false,"numConstituents":0,"type":"OCCURRENCE","subtype":"OBSERVATION","title":"Assessment Of Aquatic Herpetofauna Along Upper River Ewaso Ngiro In Laikipia County, Kenya","description":"\n            One of Kenya’s biodiversity hotspots is Mount Kenya Forest. This biodiversity hotspot is also the source to many rivers. These rivers drain to two main rivers systems in Kenya namely the Tana River and Ewaso Nyiro River Systems. The Mount Kenya biodiversity hotspot is home to many flora and fauna species including some Kenyan endemics. With reference to reptiles and amphibians, some of the Kenyan endemic species in this biodiversity hotspot include, the silver bladder reed frog (Hyperolius cystocandicans), Lönnberg’s earless dwarf toad (Mertensophryne lonnbergi), Mt. Kenya bladeless chameleon (Kinyongia excubitor), Mt. Kenya striped Alpine chameleon (Trioceros schubotzi), Mt. Kenya bush viper (Atheris desaixi) and Kenyan montane viper (Montatheris hindii) among others (Malonza & Bwong 2023). This study targeted the rivers that drain into the Ewaso Nyiro river system. These rivers are found in three counties of Meru (Teleswani, Ontulili and Timau), Nyeri (Burguret and Narumoru) and Laikipia (Nanyuki and Likii).  A consolidated field reports of the first and second surveys of this project conducted in 2024 was published in Research gate (Musila et al., 2025), but the raw date remains largely unavailable. Kenyan endemics amphibians and reptiles species like Kinangop puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus kinangopensis), Gallmann's sand frog, (Tomopterna gallmanni), Elmenteita rock agama (Agama caudospinosa), and Tigoni reed frog (Hyperolius cystocandicans) were recordes during this study.This dataset contains results of field survey undertaken to: (I) establish the species composition, abundance and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in 7 rivers originating from Mount Kenya and emptying into Ewaso Nyiro River. (II) Assess the amphibians and reptiles’ conservation threats and make recommendations for informed conservation and management measures for the rivers (III) Monitor changes in species composition owing to some interventions by Flora and Fauna Kenya (www.fauna-flora.org) in the areas surrounding the rivers. The field data was collected in 20 days covering a dry season (10 days) 23rd to 30th March 2024 and wet season (10 days) 27th August to 3rd September 2024. The dataset contains 927 records of reptiles and amphibians found in the North Ewaso Nyiro Rivers. The data were formatted according to the Darwin Core Standards by Herpetology Section, National Museums of Kenya before publishing through the IPT at the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi.\n        ","language":"eng","logoUrl":"http://ipt.museums.or.ke/ipt/logo.do?r=isoptera_i","citation":{"text":"Muchai V, Atubwa H, Malonza P, Bwong B (2025). Assessment Of Aquatic Herpetofauna Along Upper River Ewaso Ngiro In Laikipia County, Kenya. National Museums of Kenya. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/p5sgtw accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-15.","citationProvidedBySource":false},"contactsCitation":[{"key":6322995,"abbreviatedName":"Muchai V","firstName":"Vincent","lastName":"Muchai","roles":["ORIGINATOR","METADATA_AUTHOR"],"userId":[]},{"key":6322996,"abbreviatedName":"Atubwa H","firstName":"Howard","lastName":"Atubwa","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":[]},{"key":6322997,"abbreviatedName":"Malonza P","firstName":"Patrick","lastName":"Malonza","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":[]},{"key":6322998,"abbreviatedName":"Bwong B","firstName":"Beryl","lastName":"Bwong","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":[]}],"lockedForAutoUpdate":false,"createdBy":"fd515d3a-b237-42de-bba6-760008580da5","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:46:28.286+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.586+00:00","contacts":[{"key":6322995,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":true,"userId":[],"salutation":"Mr.","firstName":"Vincent","lastName":"Muchai","position":["Research Scientist"],"email":["vmuchaiw@gmail.com"],"phone":["+254722279090"],"homepage":[],"organization":"National Museums of Kenya","address":["Museum Hill Road"],"city":"Nairobi","province":"Nairobi","country":"KE","postalCode":"40658 - 00100","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.533+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.533+00:00"},{"key":6322996,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Mr.","firstName":"Howard","lastName":"Atubwa","position":["Research Assistant"],"email":["hatubwa@gmail.com"],"phone":["+254710318140"],"homepage":[],"organization":"National Museums of Kenya","address":["Museum Hil Road"],"city":"Nairobi","province":"Nairobi","country":"KE","postalCode":"40658 - 00100","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.535+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.535+00:00"},{"key":6322997,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Patrick","lastName":"Malonza","position":["Senior Research Scientist"],"email":["malonzapk@gmail.com"],"phone":["+254721296520"],"homepage":[],"organization":"National Museums of Kenya","address":["Museum Hill Road"],"city":"Nairobi","province":"Nairobi","country":"KE","postalCode":"40658 - 00100","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.535+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.535+00:00"},{"key":6322998,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Beryl","lastName":"Bwong","position":["Senior Research Scientist"],"email":["akothbwong@gmail.com"],"phone":["+254721293095"],"homepage":[],"organization":"National Museums of Kenya","address":["Museum Hill Road"],"city":"Nairobi","province":"Nairobi","country":"KE","postalCode":"40658 - 00100","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.536+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.536+00:00"},{"key":6322999,"type":"METADATA_AUTHOR","primary":true,"userId":[],"salutation":"Mr.","firstName":"Vincent","lastName":"Muchai","position":["Research Scientist"],"email":["vmuchaiw@gmail.com"],"phone":["+254722279090"],"homepage":[],"organization":"National Museums of Kenya","address":["Museum Hill Road"],"city":"Nairobi","province":"Nairobi","country":"KE","postalCode":"40658 - 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00100","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.558+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.558+00:00"},{"key":6323002,"type":"ADMINISTRATIVE_POINT_OF_CONTACT","primary":true,"userId":[],"salutation":"Mr.","firstName":"Vincent","lastName":"Muchai","position":["Research Scientist"],"email":["vmuchaiw@gmail.com"],"phone":["+254722279090"],"homepage":[],"organization":"National Museums of Kenya","address":["Museum Hill Road"],"city":"Nairobi","province":"Nairobi","country":"KE","postalCode":"40658 - 00100","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.560+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.560+00:00"}],"endpoints":[{"key":1161271,"type":"DWC_ARCHIVE","url":"http://ipt.museums.or.ke/ipt/archive.do?r=herps_ewaso","createdBy":"fd515d3a-b237-42de-bba6-760008580da5","modifiedBy":"fd515d3a-b237-42de-bba6-760008580da5","created":"2025-11-12T11:46:29.202+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:46:29.202+00:00","machineTags":[]},{"key":1161270,"type":"EML","url":"http://ipt.museums.or.ke/ipt/eml.do?r=herps_ewaso","createdBy":"fd515d3a-b237-42de-bba6-760008580da5","modifiedBy":"fd515d3a-b237-42de-bba6-760008580da5","created":"2025-11-12T11:46:29.170+00:00","modified":"2025-11-12T11:46:29.170+00:00","machineTags":[]}],"machineTags":[{"key":33143508,"namespace":"crawler.gbif.org","name":"crawl_attempt","value":"43","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-10-12T02:53:27.194+00:00"}],"tags":[],"identifiers":[{"key":458894,"type":"URL","identifier":"http://ipt.museums.or.ke/ipt/resource?r=herps_ewaso","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-12T11:47:40.562+00:00","primary":false}],"comments":[],"bibliographicCitations":[{"text":"Heyer, W.R., Donnelly M.A., McDiarmid R.W., Hayek L.-A. & Foster M.S. (Eds.) (1994).Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity. Standard Methods for Amphibians. Smithsonian Institute, Washington & London","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Malonza, P.K. & Bwong B.A. (2023). A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Kenya. Edition Chimaira. Frankfurt am Mainz","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Kioko, E, Kipyegon, K. J., Njoroge, L, Mutua, M. Bwong, B. Gathua, J., and Musila S. 2024 Assessment of Aquatic Fauna (Invertebrates, Fish and Herpetofuana) Along Ewaso Ngiro/Nyiro River Basin in Laikipia County, Kenya.\nhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/393587488_","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Kioko , E., Njoroge L., Mutua, M., Malonza, P., Bwong, B., Muchai V., Kioko, J., Gathua, J and Musila S.2024. Wet season assessment of aquatic fauna (invertebrates, fish and herpetofuana) along ewaso Ngiro/Nyiro river basin in Laikipia county, Kenya https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393588126","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Karns, D. R. 1986. Field Herpetology: Methods for the study of Amphibians and Reptiles in Minnesota. James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Occasional Paper: No. 18 September.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Sutherland, W. J. (Ed). 1996. Ecological Census Techniques: A handbook. Cambridge University Press.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Rödel, M-O. and R. Ernst. 2004. Measuring and monitoring amphibian diversity in tropical forests. I. An evaluation of methods with recommendations for standardization. Ecotropica, 10(1):1-14.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Veith, M., Lötters, S., Andreone, S. and Rödel, M-O. 2004. Measuring and monitoring amphibian diversity in tropical forests. II. Estimating species richness from standardized transect censing. Ecotropica 10: 85-99.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Spawls, S., Howell, K., Drewes, R. and Ashe. J. 2018. A field guide to the reptiles of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.  Academic Press","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Channing, A. and Howell. K. M. 2006. Amphibians of East Africa. Cornell University Press and Edition Chimaira Press, Ithaca and Frankfurt.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Frost, D. R. 2007. Amphibian species of the world: an online reference. Version 5.0 (10 July 2023). Electronic database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.","citationProvidedBySource":false}],"curatorialUnits":[],"taxonomicCoverages":[{"description":"The study yielded a total of 19 species: 11 amphibians and 9 reptiles. The species recorded occur elsewhere in Kenya and could be found in other areas. However, the study was able to record 4 Kenyan endemics:  Kinangop puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus kinagopensis), Gallmann's sand frog, (Tomopterna gallmanni), Elmenteita rock agama (Agama caudospinosa), and Tigoni reed frog (Hyperolius cystocandicans)","coverages":[{"scientificName":"Phrynobatrachus keniensis","commonName":"Kenya Puddle Frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Ptychadena anchietae","commonName":"Anchieta's ridged frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Ptychadena nilotica","commonName":"Nile ridged frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Sclerophrys kerinyagae","commonName":"Kerinyaga toad","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Tomopoterna gallmanni","commonName":"Gallmann's sand frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Amietia nutti","commonName":"Nutt's river frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Amietia wittei","commonName":"De Witte's river frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Hyperolius glandicolor","commonName":"Peter's reed frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Adolfus kibonotensis","commonName":"Kibonoto forest lizard","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Agama caudospinosa","commonName":"Elmenteita rock agama","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Agama lionotus","commonName":"Kenyan rock agama","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Boaedon fulignosus","commonName":"Common house snake","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Lygodactylus keniensis","commonName":"Kenya dwarf gecko","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Philothamnus battersbyi","commonName":"Battersby's green snake","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Trachylepis striata","commonName":"Striped skink","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Trioceros hoehneli","commonName":"von Hoehnel's chameleon","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Trioceros jacksoni","commonName":"Jackson's three horned chameleon","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Hyperolius cystocandicans","commonName":"Tigoni reed frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}},{"scientificName":"Xenopus borealis","commonName":"Marsabit clawed frog","rank":{"verbatim":"species","interpreted":"SPECIES"}}]}],"geographicCoverages":[{"description":"The study took place at the North of the Ewaso Nyiro River touching systems with their source from Mount Kenya. These rivers are found in three counties of Meru (Teleswani, Ontulili and Timau), Nyeri (Burguret and Narumoru) and Laikipia (Nanyuki and Likii) (Kioko et al. 2025 a&b). The sampling took place at three points of the rivers; the upper point at the source of the river or an uppermost pristine forest point, the mid-part of the river and the lower parts of the river. Included are also the points where the Ewaso Nyiro river enters the Ol Pajeta conservancy and after the exit. Sampling was conducted mostly during the day in all amphibian and reptiles’ habitats not more than 5 m from the river and the data recorded. GPS data (coordinates) for each Tine limited search (TLS) and each specimen encounter site, was captured using an eTrex 20 Garmin receiver.","boundingBox":{"minLatitude":-90.0,"maxLatitude":90.0,"minLongitude":-180.0,"maxLongitude":180.0,"globalCoverage":true}}],"temporalCoverages":[{"@type":"range","start":"2024-03-23T00:00:00.000+00:00","end":"2024-03-30T00:00:00.000+00:00"},{"@type":"range","start":"2024-08-27T00:00:00.000+00:00","end":"2024-09-03T00:00:00.000+00:00"}],"keywordCollections":[{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml","keywords":["Laikipia","Rivers Reptiles","Conservation","Observation","Kenya","Occurrence","Amphibians"]},{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml","keywords":["Observation"]}],"project":{"title":"Monitoring herpetofauna as bio-indicators of environmental change in the Upper Ewaso River systems","contacts":[{"type":"AUTHOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Mr.","firstName":"Vincent","lastName":"Muchai","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]},{"type":"AUTHOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Mr.","firstName":"Howard","lastName":"Atubwa","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]},{"type":"AUTHOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Patrick","lastName":"Malonza","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]},{"type":"AUTHOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Beryl","lastName":"Bwong","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]}],"funding":"Collection of this dataset was done through a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) funding through Fauna and Flora International, Kenya","awards":[],"studyAreaDescription":"The Mount Kenya biodiversity hotspot is also the source to many rivers. These rivers drain to two of the main rivers systems in Kenya namely the Tana and Ewaso Nyiro River Systems. Mount Kenya is a UNESCO World heritage site and Key Biodiversity Area (IBA). The study took place at the North of the Ewaso Nyiro River touching on the sourcing from Mount Kenya. These rivers are found in three counties of Meru (Teleswani, Ontulili and Timau), Nyeri (Burguret and Narumoru) and Laikipia (Nanyuki and Likii). (Kioko et al. 2025 a&b). The sampling took place at three points of the rivers, that is the upper point at the source of the river or an upper pristine forest point, the mid-part of the river and the lower parts of the river.","designDescription":"The data was captured using standardised amphibians and reptiles namely time limited searches, Visual encounter surveys and audio encounter survey (Heyer et al. 1994). Tools used in the ground-truthing included a GPS for recording ground data points, torches for providing light at night, jembe for overturning rocks and digging out areas hidden, cameras for photography and notebooks for recording pertinent information. Local administrators and community members guided the teams to access the sampling points. GPS data (coordinates) for each Tine limited search (TLS) and each specimen encounter site, was determined using an eTrex 20 Garmin receiver.","relatedProjects":[]},"samplingDescription":{"studyExtent":"The study took place at the North of the Ewaso Nyiro River touching on the sourcing from Mount Kenya. These rivers are found in three counties of Meru (Teleswani, Ontulili and Timau), Nyeri (Burguret and Narumoru) and Laikipia (Nanyuki and Likii).","sampling":"The data was captured using standardised amphibians and reptiles namely time limited searches, Visual encounter surveys and audio encounter survey. GPS data (coordinates) for each Tine limited search (TLS) and each specimen encounter site, was determined using an eTrex 20 Garmin receiver.","qualityControl":"Species identification was done on site and a few in the laboratory by the herpetology Section staff, National Museums of Kenya. ","methodSteps":["i)\tTimed limited searches (TLS) \nIn each sampling point, Time limited searches (TLS) by two observers lasting 30 minutes each equivalent to one man-hour effort was used (Karns, 1986; Heyer et al., 1994; Sutherland, 1996). The searches were carried out within each sampling point without setting boundaries. Searches were done in all possible reptile and amphibian micro-habitats such as tree barks, under stones, decomposing logs, tree stumps, holes, shrubs, bushes and digging within loose soils. All the different species and number of reptiles and amphibians found were recorded. The Time limited searches (TLS) were carried out during the day and at night. \n\nii)\tVisual encounter surveys (VES)\nAdditionally, VES was used to supplement TLS data. This is a non-standardized method used only for qualitative and semi-quantitative data mainly for presence or absence of species (Rödel & Ernst, 2004; Veith et.al., 2004). Due to its flexibility and being opportunistic, it is mostly recommended for supplementing species inventories. Opportunistic records e.g. observations by other researchers of different taxa contributed to collection or observation of herpetofauna. \niii)\tNight sampling\nAt night a combination visual (VES) and audio encounter survey (AES) were employed. It involved using a strong spotlight to search and spot species as the majority of herpetofauna such as chameleons and frogs among others are normally reflective and thus easily recognized. It involved listening to frog calls and identifying them from their unique calls and where species cannot be immediately identified, were recorded with a digital voice recorder for later comparison with amphibian calls database. This method recorded only amphibians during this survey. At night a maximum of an hour was used to sample a site and all species recorded in every 30 minutes were recorded as a complete time limited search. \n\niv)\tSpecies identification \nIdentification of the species was made using published taxonomic keys (Spawls et al., 2018; Channing and Howell, 2006) and taxonomy for amphibians was done according to Frost et al., 2007. GPS data (coordinates) for each Tine limited search (TLS) and each specimen encounter site, was determined using an eTrex 20 Garmin receiver. The ground-truthing also forms a basis for noting the bio-geographical boundaries of the species. \nv)\tDataset preparation\nData collected was transformed to conform to the Darwin Core standards. The dataset was then validated using GBIF’s data validator to identify any misalignment with the Darwin Core guidelines. The team worked on the identified errors and the dataset was submitted to the GBIF Kenya team for upload to the GBIF platform through the integrated publishing toolkit."]},"countryCoverage":[],"collections":[],"dataDescriptions":[],"dataLanguage":"eng","purpose":"Information regarding the herpetofauna of Ewaso Nyiro has been scanty and scattered making it difficult to clearly understand their status. This study was carried out to obtain baseline data to be used in the monitoring of amphibian and reptiles found in the Ewaso Nyiro river systems sourcing from the Mount Kenya. The data will also help the management authorities to make decisions on the steps to take in the rivers’ environment management plan.","pubDate":"2025-11-12T00:00:00.000+00:00","maintenanceUpdateFrequency":"UNKNOWN","maintenanceDescription":"","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode","dwca":{"coreType":"http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence","extensions":[],"modified":"2026-07-09T22:33:33.652+00:00"},"approximateCounts":{"occurrenceCount":927}}