Dogania subplana ( Geoffroy, 1809 )

Zijia, Hong, Anuar, Shahrul, Grismer, L. Lee & Quah, Evan S. H., 2021, Preliminary report on the herpetofaunal diversity of Batu Hampar Recreational Forest, Kedah, Malaysia, Check List 17 (3), pp. 791-814 : 804

Dogania subplana ( Geoffroy, 1809)

Figure 6H

Materials examined. MALAYSIA – Kedah • Batu Hampar Recreational Forest ; 05.1966°N, 100.5827°E; 40 m a.s.l.; 24.IX.2018; Evan S. H. Quah, Hong Zijia obs . • same locality; 8.X.2018; Evan S. H. Quah, Hong Zijia obs .

Identification and natural history. Two individuals matched Auliya’s (2007) and Lim and Das’s (1999) diagnosis in having carapace flat and oval with distinctly straight sides; large head with down-turned trunk-like snout; dark olive carapace with dark median stripe and cream plastron. An individual was found in the stream beside the oil palm plantation on 24 September 2018 and

another was observed partially buried in the sand in the stream bed near waterfall on 8 October 2018.

Species diversity of Batu Hampar Recreational Forest. The Simpson’s Index of Diversity (D) and Shannon- Wiener Diversity Index (H) for the herpetofauna at Batu Hampar Recreational Forest are 0.869 and 2.930, respectively, with a total of 103 individuals comprising of 37 species. Simpson’s Index of Diversity (D) ranges from 0 to 1, and higher value indicate higher diversity. Similarly for the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H), higher value indicates a higher diversity. Based on the Shannon- Wiener Diversity Index, species evenness index is calculated. The species evenness of herpetofauna at BHRF is 0.811, and a higher evenness index value shows higher species evenness. Thus, the herpetofaunal diversity in BHRF is considered quite high.

Comparison of herpetofaunal diversity between Batu Hampar Recreational Forest and other nearby locations. Based on published checklists from around the northwestern region of Peninsular Malaysia, Bukit Panchor State Park ( BPSP) has the highest species richness (65 species; Quah et al. 2013), compared to other sampling sites: 37 species at BHRF; 53 species at Lata Bukit Hijau Recreational Forest ( LBHRF) ( Shahriza et al. 2011; Shahriza and Ibrahim 2014b); 30 species at Bukit Perangin Forest Reserve ( BPFR) ( Ibrahim et al. 2012); 21 species at Ulu Paip Recreational Forest ( UPRF) ( Shahriza and Ibrahim 2014a); 26 species at Bubu Permanent Forest Reserve ( BBPFR) ( Ibrahim et al. 2011); 24 species at Bukit Jana (BJ) ( Shahriza and Ibrahim 2012) ( Figs. 7, 8). Of the 14 species of frogs recorded from BHRF, 12 species (85.71%) are in common with BPSP (7.7 km from BHRF) and BJ (55.1 km from BHRF), nine (64.29%) with LBHRF (63.4 km from BHRF), UPRF (48.4 km from BHRF) and BBPFR (79.0 km from BHRF), and six (42.86%) with BPFR (160.0 km from BHRF) ( Fig. 1; Table 1). On the other hand, BHRF shares 17 (77.27%) of reptile species in common with LBHRF, 12 (54.55%) with BPSP, and 7 (31.82%) with BPFR ( Table 2). Batu Hampar Recreational Forest shares the fewest number of species in common with BPFR, possibly due to differ- ences in habitat and/or sampling effort. Based on the per- centage of amphibian and reptile species shared between BHRF and other sites, it can be concluded that the herpetofaunal species composition of BHRF is moderately similar to that of nearby sites in the northwestern region.