A Contribution to the Herpetology of Northern Pakistan

Please note, this book has also been published by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles as A Contribution to the Herpetology of Northern Pakistan (Contributions to Herpetology, Volume 28).

This book on the herpetology of Northern Pakistan is built around an intensive, 7-year-long survey of the Margalla Hills National Park – a 175-square-kilometer reserve that surrounds the country's capital city, Islamabad – together with further surveys of adjacent regions. This overall area, lying near the base of the Himalayan Mountains, contains the headwaters of Pakistan's major river system, the Indus. The habitats in this region range from arid desert-like biomes to monsoonal subtropical forests. Biogeographically, the region is the meeting place between the Palearctic and Oriental zones, as reflected in the diversity of its herpetofauna.

The book covers 16 families of amphibians and reptiles: three of amphibians: Bufonidae (1 genus: 2 species), Microhylidae (2:2), and Ranidae (5:5); and 13 families of reptiles, including two of turtles: Geoemydidae (1:1) and Trionychidae (2:2); six families of lizards: Agamidae (3:3), Eublepharidae (1:1), Gekkonidae (2:3), Lacertidae (2:2), Scincidae (3:3), and Varanidae (1:1); and five of snakes: Leptotyphlopidae (1:1), Typhlopidae (2:2), Colubridae (8:9), Elapidae (2:3), and Viperidae (2:2). In addition, there is a complete checklist of Pakistan's 210 species of amphibians and reptiles.