Abstract
This study surveyed 205 wetland sites in the Southwestern Saudi Arabia. We found seven species of amphibians (Anura), which belong to four families: Bufonidae; which includes four species,
Sclerophrys tihamica; S. Arabica
,
Duttaphrynus dhufarensis,
and
Bufotes viridis;
Hylidae
,
represented by only one species, the tree frog
Hyla savignyi;
Ranidae, which represented by one species,
Pelophylax ridibundus
and finally the Dicroglossidae, represented by one species,
Euphlyctis ehrenbergii
. The reasonable amount of rain received in southwest Arabia, and habitat diversity contribute to the relative abundance of amphibians in the region. Five types of wetland habitats were found in the study area. Valley streams, irrigated farms, seasonal ponds, dam reservoir and lagoons of treated sewage water. The current study revealed the wide spread of amphibians in southwestern Saudi Arabia than what had been reported earlier and confirmed the presence of the
Bufotes viridis
at three new sites in Asir Heights. It also showed the wide spread of
S. arabica
in all types of habitats in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia. Habitat degradation was evident in the region, which might lead to species loss.