Assessment Of Aquatic Herpetofauna Along Upper River Ewaso Ngiro In Laikipia County, Kenya

Kenya striped Alpine chameleon (Trioceros schubotzi), Mt. Kenya bush viper (Atheris desaixi) and Kenyan montane viper (Montatheris hindii) among others (Malonza & Bwong 2023). This study targeted the rivers that drain into the Ewaso Nyiro river system.

These rivers are found in three counties of Meru (Teleswani, Ontulili and Timau), Nyeri (Burguret and Narumoru) and Laikipia (Nanyuki and Likii). A consolidated field reports of the first and second surveys of this project conducted in 2024 was published in Research gate (Musila et al., 2025), but the raw date remains largely unavailable. Kenyan endemics amphibians and reptiles species like Kinangop puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus kinangopensis), Gallmann's sand frog, (Tomopterna gallmanni), Elmenteita rock agama (Agama caudospinosa), and Tigoni reed frog (Hyperolius cystocandicans) were recordes during this study.This dataset contains results of field survey undertaken to: (I) establish the species composition, abundance and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in 7 rivers originating from Mount Kenya and emptying into Ewaso Nyiro River.

(II) Assess the amphibians and reptiles’ conservation threats and make recommendations for informed conservation and management measures for the rivers (III) Monitor changes in species composition owing to some interventions by Flora and Fauna Kenya (www.fauna-flora.org) in the areas surrounding the rivers. The field data was collected in 20 days covering a dry season (10 days) 23rd to 30th March 2024 and wet season (10 days) 27th August to 3rd September 2024.

The dataset contains 927 records of reptiles and amphibians found in the North Ewaso Nyiro Rivers. The data were formatted according to the Darwin Core Standards by Herpetology Section, National Museums of Kenya before publishing through the IPT at the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi.