Lower vertebrates of Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho

Five snake, four lizard, nine amphibian (all anurans) and three fish species were recorded in the Apline grasslands of the Sehlabathebe National Park, South-Eastern Lesotho, Southern Africa. They include rare, threatened and endemic species, some of which are restricted to the Drakensberg / Maloti region. The following species were recorded: snakes Lamprophis aurora, L. fuscus, Hemachatus haemachatus, Bitis arietans, B. atropos; lizards Trachylepsis punctatissima, Tropidosaura montana, Pseudocordylus melanotus, Afroedura nivaria; amphibians (anurans) Xenopus laevis laevis, Bufo gariepensis nubicolus, Cacosternum striatum, Amietia dracomontana, A. angloensis, A. fuscigula, A. umbraculata, Strongylopus fasciatus, Semnodactylus wealii; fishes Labeobarbus aeneus, Pseudobarbus quathlambae and Oncorhynchus mykiss. Species with high conservation priorities include: Lamprophis fuscus, Tropidosaura cottrelli, Pseudocordylus spinosus, Amietia umbraculata, A. drakomontana, Strongylopus fasciatus and Pseudobarbus quathlambae.