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Three Rwandan Forest Fragments Held Distinct Amphibian and Reptile Communities

African striped skink on volcanic rock in Rwanda
Research · Ecology

A survey of three remnant forests in Rwanda found markedly different amphibian and reptile communities despite the small size and fragmented condition of the sites. Researchers recorded 17 amphibian species and 13 reptile species in Nyagasenyi, Sanza and Ibanda-Makera. The study was published on 20 July 2026 in Discover Environment.

Fieldwork took place during the short rainy period from 19 to 30 January 2026. The researchers established 18 sampling points in each forest and used visual encounters and active searches for reptiles, together with visual, acoustic and dip-net surveys for amphibians. Animals were identified in the field and released.

Different communities across the forest fragments

Nyagasenyi had the highest observed amphibian richness with 12 species, while Ibanda-Makera had the highest reptile richness with 11. The analysis did not support a clear difference among the three forests in the simple number of amphibian or reptile species, but their community composition did differ clearly: the forests tended to hold different sets of species rather than the same community at different richness levels. Only the frog Ptychadena nilotica was recorded in all three forests, while most species occurred at only one site.

Endemic and potentially new records

Several records were especially notable. The amphibians Arthroleptis schubotzi, Leptopelis kivuensis and Hyperolius rwandae are endemic to the Albertine Rift. The survey also recorded the Near Threatened African rock python (Python sebae), a potentially undescribed Sclerophrys toad, and an incompletely identified Trachylepis cf. quinquetaeniata that could represent a new record for Rwanda. Here, “cf.” means that the specimen resembles T. quinquetaeniata but was not identified with full certainty.

African striped skink (Trachylepis striata) was particularly prominent at Ibanda-Makera, where it accounted for 52.8% of reptile records. The speckle-lipped skink (Trachylepis maculilabris) was the next most frequently recorded reptile there at 11.1%. This local dominance is one part of a broader pattern in which different reptile and amphibian species were associated with different microhabitats, including forest edges, swamps, pools, shrubs, rocky areas and fallen logs.

The short survey almost certainly missed additional species

The authors stress that the inventory is a baseline rather than a complete species list. Each forest was surveyed for only three to five days during one rainy-season period. As sampling accumulated, the number of reptile species detected was still rising in all three forests, and amphibian detections at Sanza had not levelled off either. Additional species were therefore likely to remain undetected. They therefore argue that conservation of these forest remnants should retain their varied microhabitats and ecological structure, not focus only on total forest area.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mindje, Twagirayezu & Nsengimana (2026), Discover Environment — Diversity and community composition of herpetofauna from Ibanda-Makera, Sanza, and Nyagasenyi remnant forests, Eastern RwandaPrimary peer-reviewed open-access study published 20 July 2026. Surveys at 18 points in each of three Rwandan remnant forests recorded 17 amphibian and 13 reptile species. Amphibian richness was highest at Nyagasenyi and reptile richness at Ibanda-Makera; richness itself did not differ significantly among forests, but amphibian and reptile community composition did. Notable records included three Albertine Rift endemic amphibians, Near Threatened Python sebae, a potentially undescribed Sclerophrys sp. and Trachylepis cf. quinquetaeniata as a possible new record for Rwanda. African striped skink (Trachylepis striata) made up 52.8% of reptile records at Ibanda-Makera. Short single-season sampling and unsaturated reptile accumulation curves mean the inventory should be treated as a baseline.

Image: marsyd / iNaturalist via Wikimedia Commons — African striped skink (Trachylepis striata) photographed in Rwanda. CC0 1.0. Representative regional image of a study species; not an individual photographed during the January 2026 survey. · CC0 1.0 · Source

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