02083nas a2200193   4500008004100000245010200041210006900143260001600212300001200228490000700240520147400247100002401721700002101745700002801766700002101794700001801815700002101833856003501854       2007                        eng d00aThe amphibians of the Lokoli Forest, a permanently inundated rainforest in the Dahomey Gap, Benin0 aamphibians of the Lokoli Forest a permanently inundated rainfore  cNov 20 2007  a231-2380 v433 aWe present the first amphibian species list for a forest remnant, the Lokoli Forest, in the Dahomey Gap, a natural gap in West African’s coastal rainforest belt. The forest studied is of special interest due to its geographic position between the Upper and the Lower Guinean biodiversity hotspots and its peculiar forest type, being permanently inundated. From Lokoli forest we recorded eight frog species as new for Benin (Afrixalus dorsalis, Hyperolius guttulatus, H. sylvaticus, Arthroleptis sp., Leptopelis spiritusnoctis, Hydrophylax albolabris, Aubria subsigillata, Ptychadena mascareniensis-complex. Phrynobatrachus calcaratus from the neighbouring Lama forest was a new country record as well. However, with 17 recorded anurans, species diversity was relatively low compared to other West African forests. None of the recorded species is threatened or endemic to the region. All species are either widespread or have closer affinities to the Upper Guinean Forest Region than to the Lower Guinean one. Low species richness and low level of endemicity might be due to (a) particular habitat (inundated forest, excluding particular frog guilds, i.e. leaf litter species), (b) small size of the forest (500 ha; species area relation; edge effects), (c) location outside the range of presumed Pleistocene forest refugia. Nevertheless, due to the presence of the exceptional habitat type, Lokoli Forest deserves much more conservation actions than given at present.1 aRödel, Mark-Oliver1 aBrede, Christian1 aSchiefenhoevel, Philipp1 aPenner, Johannes1 aSinsin, Brice1 aNago, Gilles, A.  u<Go to ISI>://PREV200800106901