The Amphibians, Reptiles and Fishes of the 2012 Bukit Pagon Expedition, Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

Abstract In July 2012, 22 people representing eight institutions from six countries conducted a six-day expedition to the submontane heath forest near Bukit Pagon in Brunei Darussalam. Base camp was located at an elevation of 862 masl about 200 m from the Brunei-Sarawak border and 9 km from the peak of Bukit Pagon. The herpetology and ichthyology portion of the survey resulted in the collection of 61 specimens, representing 30 species, with 4 additional species documented by photograph but not collected. One additional taxon, Tropidophorus brookei, was seen but neither collected nor photographed. Nearly half of the species found are endemic to Borneo. The findings of this brief expedition shed light on the distribution of many endemic taxa in one of the world's greatest biodiversity hot spots. Despite its small size, Brunei supports a rich vertebrate fauna that is understudied compared with neighboring Sarawak and nearby Sabah.