The Afromontane archipelago of Mozambique is an unexplored, but potentially biologically important area, which has rarely been surveyed. These montane isolates form an important, unexplored linkage between the better-studied Eastern Arc Mountains and the Cape components of the entire Afromontane archipelago. Ad hoc surveys suggest the Mozambican montane sky island forests contain high levels of biodiversity particularly in terms of single site endemics. Because these forests are isolated, less vagile groups (e.g. reptiles and amphibians) are likely to have speciated in situ resulting in a suite of narrow endemics. Therefore, it is expected that rarely- sampled montane forests are under-estimated in terms of their biological diversity. The result is that narrow endemics are at risk of extinction, even before they are discovered, making it critical that these forests receive attention in terms of species documentation and discovery.

Through targeted fieldwork I propose to explore biologically unknown Afromontane isolates (Mt. Inago, Mt. Cucutea, Mt. Njesi, and Mercula) for their herpetofauna, as part of documenting their biological diversity. Along with colleagues I will conduct intensive surveys for target taxa on these mountains across a spectrum of habitats and altitudinal gradients. Data collected will include field identification, point localities for data-basing, plus specimens and DNA samples for verification of identification, which will be followed by barcoding for candidate species within a phylogenetic framework. A species richness analysis will be carried out, which links directly to conservation initiatives driven by a number of stakeholders to assist in evaluation of the need to establish protected areas and/or corridors.