ANURAN DISTRIBUTION, DIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION IN SOUTH-AFRICA, LESOTHO AND SWAZILAND

The distributions of 96 anuran species in South Africa were mapped usi ng published locality records, and the collections of the South Africa n and Port Elizabeth museums. Centres of richness, endemism and Red Da ta Book (RDB) richness were identified, and compared with currently pr otected areas, using a geographical information system (GIS). Maputala nd and the Kwazulu/Natal coast were identified as centres of species r ichness. Endemic 'hotspots' occur in the vicinity of Pietermaritzburg, Durban and the fynbos region of the Western Cape. The Western Cape wa s also identified as a centre of RDB species richness. A large portion (95,8%) of South African anuran species are found in protected areas. The effective long-term viability of populations of many of these spe cies within these areas, must be assessed. Currently four South Africa n frog species are not found within protected areas. The Karoo biomes were identified as being under-represented, both in the species databa se and in the proportion of conserved areas. While a large proportion of the fynbos biome is contained in reserve areas, the low-lying fynbo s habitats have almost disappeared as a result of urbanization and agr iculture. Remnants of the sandy coastal fynbos and renosterveld veld t ypes require urgent conservation. Several areas in the Western and Eas tern Cape were identified as requiring additional research and conserv ation measures. A GIS proves a useful tool in the analysis of species distributions and the prioritization of areas and species for conserva tion. The importance of accurate collection data, for incorporation in to species databases, and the regular publication of reserve species l ists is emphasized.