Biostratigraphy of Triassic Marine Reptiles in Southwest Guizhou and Its Adjacent Area

This paper briefly reviews the Triassic marine reptile fossils in Guizhou Province, especially the fossils that have been recently found in the Guanling area. Based on three sections at Guanling and Xingyi, Guizhou Province and Luoping, Yunnan Province, four horizons with vertebrate fossils are recognized in the Middle and Upper Triassic of this area; They are from bottom to top: Member I and Member II of the Guanling Formation, and the Zhuganpo Member and the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Luzon Island,V:The Herpetofauna of Angat Dam Watershed,Bulacan Province,Luzon Island,Philippines

We report amphibian and reptile distribution records based on recent biodiversity surveys conducted at the Angat Watershed Reservation, Bulacan Province, Luzon Island, Philippines. This watershed constitutes the principal water source for Manila, the Philippines＇ largest metropolitan area. As virtually nothing is known of the herpetological diversity of the immediate area and the surrounding Bulacan Province, all species recorded as part of our surveys constitute major geographical records and/or significant range extensions. Our data result in a total of 63 new records of amphibian （19 frogs） and reptile （22 lizards, 2 turtles, and 20 snakes） species for this protected area （and immediate vicinity） that serves as a watershed for the major metropolitan area of Manila and surrounding cities. Together with the few previous literature records, our new records bring the total number of amphibian and reptile species for Bulacan Province to 68. We discuss several strategies for future survey work （focusing on habitat type, seasonal variation, and elevational variability） that we anticipate will result in increased knowledge of diversity within the Angat Watershed Reserve. The impressive level of herpetological diversity within such a small area, so close to Metro Manila, emphasizes that the diversity and distribution patterns of amphibians and reptiles from Luzon are still poorly known and in need of further study.

A Revised Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles in Camiguin Sur,Misamis Oriental,Mindaanao,Philippines

The Philippines is listed as one of the world's megadiverse countries despite its small size.Conversely,it is also on the list of global biodiversity conservation hotspots.With the threat of extinction at an all-time high,better understa nding of the archipelago's biodiversity will provide invalua ble baseline information for proper conservation efforts.Here we provide an upda ted checklist on the herpetological biodiversity of Ca miguin Sur,Misa mis Oriental,Minda nao,Philippines.Field surveys and specimen collection from the municipality of Mambajao resulted in a total of 28 species(13 anurans,11 lizards,and four snakes)-all well represented by voucher specimens.Our data provides seven additional species records,upda ting the island's total amphibian and reptile species count to 57,with about half Philippine endemic.Included in the new records are three invasive alien species of amphibians:The Cane Toad Rhinella marina,the Greenhouse Frog Eleutherodatylus planirstris,and the Asiatic Painted Narrowmouth Toad Kaloula pulchra.

Fossil middle triassic “sea cows” – placodont reptiles as macroalgae feeders along the north-western Tethys coastline with Pangaea and in the Germanic basin

The descriptions of fossil Triassic marine pla- codonts as durophagous reptiles are revised through comparisons with the sirenia and basal proboscidean mammal and palaeoenvironment analyses. The jaws of placodonts are conver- gent with those of Halitherium/Dugong or Mo- eritherium in their general function. Whereas Halitherium possessed a horny oral pad and counterpart and a special rasp-like tongue to grind seagrass, as does the modern Dugong, placodonts had large teeth that covered their jaws to form a similar grinding pad. The sirenia also lost their anterior teeth during many Millions of years and built a horny pad instead and specialized tongue to fed mainly on seagrass, whereas placodonts had only macroalgae availa- ble. Indirect evidence for Triassic macroalgae is provided by benthic palaeocommunities from different layers and extended European regions in the Germanic Basin. Studies of tooth wear stages for Placodus indicate that anterior teeth may have been used in a similar manner to the procumbent front teeth of modern Dugong. Paraplacodus and Placodus seem to have used these teeth as spatulas to dig out seaplants. Cyamodus and other placodonts such as Placochelys had smaller or reduced anterior teeth. The scarcity of highly worn palatine or maxillary and lower jaw dentary Placodus or Cyamodus teeth (less then 0.5%) suggests that they had a relatively soft diet. The seaplants would only have been squeezed in a similar feeding strategy to that of modern Dugong feeding on seagrass without jaw rotation and grinding. The phylogenetic trend in tooth reduction within the placodonts Paraplacodus, Placodus, especially in Cyamodus but also Placochelys, and Henodus within 11 My appears to have been a result of this plant-feeding adaptation and may even explain the origin or at least close relationship of the earliest Upper Triassic turtles as toothless algae and jellyfish feeders, in terms of the long-term convergent development with the sirens.

Phenotypic Plasticity in Embryonic Development of Reptiles:Recent Research and Research Opportunities in China

Adaptive developmental plasticity can enable an organism to modify its phenotype rapidly, in response to local （and perhaps, unpredictable） conditions, by altering reaction norms during development. Previous studies on this topic have been dominated by western scientists, employing western study systems and approaches. Recently, the expansion of Chinese ecological research has seen a broadening of studies taxonomically （phylogenetically）. Here, we briefly summarize research that has been conducted on developmental plasticity in Chinese reptiles over the past two decades, and suggest productive directions for future studies in this field. There are exciting research opportunities in this field in China, and we call for increased collaboration between western and eastern scientists to elucidate the role of developmental plasticity in evolutionary responses of organisms to environmental changes. As human activities increase the intensity and frequency of such changes, the need to understand responses of biological systems becomes an increasingly urgent priority.

Availability of Information on Reptile Health and Welfare from Stores Selling Reptiles

The popularity of keeping reptiles such as snakes and lizards is ever increasing. The health and welfare of these animals depends on the knowledge and understanding of their environmental and nutritional needs. But where does a new owner of these species obtain such information? This study aims to investigate what information is available in pet shops and stores for the reptile owning public and how well this information is imparted. Our findings show that there is a lot of excellent advice on the husbandry of reptiles in some shops while others offer less advice. It is hoped that through this study areas of downfall on primary knowledge can be recognized so that all shops can aspire to the highest levels of information.

The first record of dermochelyid turtles in the Eocene of Tierra del Fuego:new insights on the evolution of the Weddellian faunas

The Antarctic Paleogene marine fossil record has been the key to reconstructing the evolution of the Weddellian Sea and final dismemberment of Southern Gondwana.In this context,Eocene marine vertebrates from Seymour(Marambio)Island have provided valuable information.We present the first Eocene record of marine reptiles from the southern Atlantic Coast of South America.This corresponds to several postcranial turtle remains represented by a proximal end of the right humerus,three caudal and one thoracic vertebrae,a fragment of the left pubis,and ten ossicles of the dorsal carapace,coming from the Leticia Formation(late-mid Eocene)at Cabo Tiburones,Tierra del Fuego,Argentina.These materials show severalfeatures such as the size and general morphology of the humerus and vertebrae,and the presence of relatively small,irregular,smooth,and unkeeled ossicles,which allow us to assign them to Dermochelyidae indet.Dermochelyids are a cosmopolitan group ofcryptodiran turtles,registered from the late Cretaceous up to the recent,with some physiological-biological peculiarities(e.g.,endothermy and an exclusive jellyfish-based diet)and characterized by the presence of an osseous carapace formed by ossicles.The new finding from the Leticia Formation is an addition to the scarce and extremely fragmentary record of Eocene dermochelyids from the southern seas like those from the La Meseta and Submeseta formations(Antarctica)and the Waihao and Burnside formations(New Zealand).This new information allows us to discuss the presence of these turtles in such high latitudes in the past and its implication in the evolution of the Weddellian fauna.

Prediction Model of Wax Deposition Rate in Waxy Crude Oil Pipelines by Elman Neural Network Based on Improved Reptile Search Algorithm

A hard problem that hinders the movement of waxy crude oil is wax deposition in oil pipelines.To ensure the safe operation of crude oil pipelines,an accurate model must be developed to predict the rate of wax deposition in crude oil pipelines.Aiming at the shortcomings of the ENN prediction model,which easily falls into the local minimum value and weak generalization ability in the implementation process,an optimized ENN prediction model based on the IRSA is proposed.The validity of the new model was confirmed by the accurate prediction of two sets of experimental data on wax deposition in crude oil pipelines.The two groups of crude oil wax deposition rate case prediction results showed that the average absolute percentage errors of IRSA-ENN prediction models is 0.5476% and 0.7831%,respectively.Additionally,it shows a higher prediction accuracy compared to the ENN prediction model.In fact,the new model established by using the IRSA to optimize ENN can optimize the initial weights and thresholds in the prediction process,which can overcome the shortcomings of the ENN prediction model,such as weak generalization ability and tendency to fall into the local minimum value,so that it has the advantages of strong implementation and high prediction accuracy.

Response of Distribution Range Against Climate Change and Habitat Preference of Four National Protected Diploderma Species in Tibetan Plateau

Understanding the spatial distribution and habitat preference for rare and endangered species are essential for effective conservation practice.We examined the spatial distribution and habitat preference of four Diploderma species(Diploderma drukdaypo,D.laeviventre,D.batangense,and D.vela),which are endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and are currently under state protection.We used the ensembles of small models(ESM)approach and predicted potential distribution ranges of the species in current and two future climate scenarios(SSP126 and SSP585).The degree of overlap between the predicted distribution ranges and existing natural reserves was further analyzed.Habitat preference was examined using a paired quadrat method.Our results predicted that D.drukdaypo has a current distribution range of 600 km^(2),which would decrease to 50 km^(2)and 55 km^(2)under the SSP126 and SSP585 respectively.For D.laeviventre,the current distribution range is 817 km^(2),with minimum changes in the two future climate scenarios(774 km^(2)and 902 km^(2)).For D.batangense,the current distribution range is 875 km^(2),which would expand to 1522 km^(2)and 3340 km^(2)in the two future climate scenarios.Similarly for D.vela,the current distribution range is 1369 km^(2),which would change to 1825 km^(2)and 2043 km^(2)respectively under the two future climate scenarios.The effect of protection of current nature reserves are likely low for those species;we found no overlap(D.drukdaypo,D.laeviventre)or little overlap(D.batangense 2.04%–3.56%,D.vela 15.52%–16.87%)between the currently designated protection area and distribution range under current and future climate scenarios.For habitat preference,stones appear to be the critical habitat element for those species although different species had different stone requirements.Taken together,we provided critical information on potential distribution ranges and habitat preference for four endangered Diploderma species,and confirmed the inadequacy of current nature reserves.The establishment of new or expansion of existing nature reserves is urgent for the conservation of those species.

Oxygen Availability Affects Behavioural Thermoregulation of Turtle Embryos

Extending recent findings that reptile embryos seek optimal temperatures inside eggs for thermoregulation,our study demonstrates that this thermoregulatory behaviour can be affected by the amount of oxygen available to an embryo.We exposed embryos of a freshwater turtle(Mauremys reevesii)to two heat sources(an optimal temperature of 30°C and a high temperature of 33°C)under three different oxygen levels–hypoxia(12%O2),normoxia(21%O2)and hyperoxia(30%O2)–and quantified the interactive effects of temperature and oxygen availability on embryonic thermoregulatory behaviour.Our results demonstrated that,in both thermal treatments,embryos exposed to hypoxia did not move as close to the heat source and therefore selected lower temperatures than those exposed to normoxia or hyperoxia.Embryos may select low temperatures under hypoxic conditions to decrease oxygen consumption and therefore alleviate the negative impact of hypoxic stress.

Abdominal Grey Color Variation along an Elevation Gradient in a Lizard

Color variation among populations is thought to be either due to genetic variation or phenotype plasticity.In this study,we found that an agamid lizard,Phrynocephalus theobaldi,inhabiting elevations greater than any other reptile,displayed a significantly darker spotted marking on the central ventral abdomen in higher populations than in lower populations.The grey spotted area only occurred in elevations>4200 m,and also increased with increased elevation.The ratio of the size of the dark colored area to the degree of skin luminance/reflectance was used to test whether the lizard has a larger and darker spotted area at higher elevations.This ratio was significantly positively associated with elevation rather than substrate color.The lizard did not display sexual difference in this phenotype.Temperature had a significant influence on the brightness of central abdomen,but temperature-related plasticity of this trait was much smaller than the magnitude of the difference between higher(>4200 m)and lower populations(<4200 m).Common garden experiments showed that genetic inheritance,rather than phenotype plasticity,played a dominant role in this variation.Our research addressed the darkness of a body region that is rarely analyzed because it is shielded from direct insolation.The idea that ventral color could be related to thermoregulation is shown to be worthy of further research.

An Improved Reptile Search Algorithm Based on Cauchy Mutation for Intrusion Detection

With the growth of the discipline of digital communication,the topic has acquiredmore attention in the cybersecuritymedium.The Intrusion Detection(ID)system monitors network traffic to detect malicious activities.The paper introduces a novel Feature Selection(FS)approach for ID.Reptile Search Algorithm(RSA)—is a new optimization algorithm;in this method,each agent searches a new region according to the position of the host,which makes the algorithm suffers from getting stuck in local optima and a slow convergence rate.To overcome these problems,this study introduces an improved RSA approach by integrating Cauchy Mutation(CM)into the RSA’s structure.Thus,the CM can effectively expand search space and enhance the performance of the RSA.The developed RSA-CM is assessed on five publicly available ID datasets:KDD-CUP99,NSL-KDD,UNSW-NB15,CIC-IDS2017,and CIC-IDS2018 and two engineering problems.The RSA-CM is compared with the original RSA,and three other state-of-the-art FS methods,namely particle swarm optimization,grey wolf optimization,and multi-verse optimizer,and quantitatively is evaluated using fitness value,the number of selected optimum features,accuracy,precision,recall,and F1-score evaluationmeasures.The results reveal that the developed RSA-CMgot better results than the other competitive methods applied for FS on the ID datasets and the examined engineering problems.Moreover,the Friedman test results confirm that RSA-CMhas a significant superiority compared to other methods as an FS method for ID.

Determination of AVR System PID Controller Parameters Using Improved Variants of Reptile Search Algorithm and a Novel Objective Function

Two novel improved variants of reptile search algorithm(RSA),RSA with opposition-based learning(ORSA)and hybrid ORSA with pattern search(ORSAPS),are proposed to determine the proportional,integral,and derivative(PID)controller parameters of an automatic voltage regulator(AVR)system using a novel objective function with augmented flexibility.In the proposed algorithms,the opposition-based learning technique improves the global search abilities of the original RSA algorithm,while the hybridization with the pattern search(PS)algorithm improves the local search abilities.Both algorithms are compared with the original RSA algorithm and have shown to be highly effective algorithms for tuning the PID controller parameters of an AVR system by getting superior results.Several analyses such as transient,stability,robustness,disturbance rejection,and trajectory tracking are conducted to test the performance of the proposed algorithms,which have validated the good promise of the proposed methods for controller designs.The performances of the proposed design approaches are also compared with the previously reported PID controller parameter tuning approaches to assess their success.It is shown that both proposed approaches obtain excellent and robust results among all compared ones.That is,with the adjustment of the weight factorα,which is introduced by the proposed objective function,for a system with high bandwitdh(α=1),the proposed ORSAPS-PID system has 2.08%more bandwidth than the proposed ORSA-PID system and 5.1%faster than the fastest algorithm from the literature.On the other hand,for a system where high phase and gain margins are desired(α=10),the proposed ORSA-PID system has 0.53%more phase margin and 2.18%more gain margin than the proposed ORSAPS-PID system and has 0.71%more phase margin and 2.25%more gain margin than the best performing algorithm from the literature.

Guanling Biota: A Marker of Triassic Biotic Recovery from the end-Permian Extinction in the Ancient Guizhou Sea

After a slow recovery from the end-Permian extinction during the Early Triassic and rapid radiation in the Middle Triassic, evolution of organisms reached a new peak phase in the Late Triassic. The Guanling Biota from the Wayao Member （conodont Paragondolella polygnathiformis Zone）, Falang Formation, Xinpu, Guanling County, Guizhou Province, southwestern China corresponds to this peak that marks the full recovery from the end-Permian extinction of marine ecosystems. The biota is of high diversity, containing well preserved and completely articulated skeletons of vertebrates comprising marine reptiles, fishes, and invertebrates including crinoids, ammonites, bivalves, and other fossils, and is one of the best examples of marine ecosystem records in life history. The fossil marine reptiles and crinoids are most significant in this biota, especially the marine reptiles, which provide an important link between the Triassic Pacific and Tethys, and between Triassic basal forms and the Jurassic-Cretaceous marine top predators. The most remarkable fossils are the large completely articulated ichthyosaur skeletons up to and more than 10 m, and the first recorded thalattosaurs and placodonts in China. Following our review, of the 17 named reptilian taxa the eight listed here are considered to be valid： three ichthyosaurs （Qianichthyosaurus zhoui Li, 1999; Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae Cao and Luo in Yin et al., 2000, Guanlingsaurus liangae Yin in Yin et al., 2000）, three thalattosaurs （Anshunsaurus huangguoshuensis Liu, 1999, Xinpusaurus suni Yin in Yin et al., 2000, Xinpusaurus kohi Jiang et al., 2004）, and two placodonts （Sinocyamodus xinpuensis Li, 2000, Psephochelys polyosteoderma Li and Rieppel, 2002）. Mixosaurus guanlingensis Cao in Yin et al., 2000 might be a junior synonym of Qianichthyosaurus zhoui Li, 1999, and Cymbospondylus asiaticus Li and You, 2002 and Panjiangsaurus epicharis Chen and Cheng, 2003 might be junior synonyms of Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae Cao and Luo in Yin et al., 2000. It needs to re-describe the holotypes after a complete preparation for clarifying the taxonomic status of Typicusichthyosaurus tsaihuae Yu in Yin et al., 2000, Xinpusaurus bamaolinensis Cheng, 2003, Neosinosaurus hoangi （Zhou in Yin et al., 2000）, Wayaosaurus geei Zhou in Yin et al., 2000, Wayaosaurus bellus Zhou in Yin et al., 2000 and Placochelys ？ minutus Yin and Luo in Yin et al., 2000.

Cretaceous-Paleogene Transition of Reptilian Tetrapods across Deccan Volcanism in India

Eruptions of lava flows of Deccan large igneous province straddled the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary (K-Pg). Sediments associated at different stratigraphic levels within the lava piles of Deccan volcanic sequences (DVS) are mainly terrestrial. We studied the sediments of Eastern and Central Deccan Volcanic Province, and the Malwa Plateau for tracking changes in reptilian tetrapods across the volcanism. The reptiles are mainly represented by abelisaurid-titanosaurid dinosaurs, Alethinophidia madtsoiia snakes, Notosuchian crocodylomorph Simosuchus, bothremydid Kurmademydinae turtles and Anguimorph and Scincomorphs lizards. The evidences suggest that the non-avian dinosaurs were adversely affected by the arrival of the first volcanic flows locally in the province either within C30N or C29R Maastrichtian. The abelisaurid theropods became extinct whereas a single or two species of titanosauriforme dinosaurs survived but eventually became extinct at least 350 ky before the K-Pg boundary with increasing volcanism. The madtsooid snakes and crocodylimorphs were also adversely affected with decline in their diversity and abundance, whereas the Bothremydid turtles survived the initial onslaught of Deccan volcanism and continued across the K-Pg boundary.

The Herpetofauna of Iran: Checklist of Taxonomy, Distribution and Conservation Status

We present an annotated checklist for a total 241 reptiles and 22 amphibians including 5 frogs, 9 toads, 7 newts and salamanders, 1 crocodile, 1 worm lizard, 148 lizards, 79 snakes and 12 turtles and tortoises, includes the most scientific literature up to August 2014 and also based on several field surveys conducted in different Provinces of Iran from 2009 to 2014. We present an up-to-dated checklist of reptiles and amphibians in Iran. We provide a comprehensive listing of taxonomy, names, distribution and conservation status of all amphibians and reptiles of Iran. This checklist includes all recognized named taxa, English names for classes, orders, families, species, subspecies along with Persian names for species, including indication of native and introduced species. For the first time we report two non-native introduced reptiles from natural habitats of Iran. Of the total 22 species of amphibians in Iran, 6（27.2%） are endemic and of the total 241 species of reptiles, 55（22.8%） are endemic. Of the 22 amphibians species in Iran, 3（13%） are Critically Endangered, 2（9%） are Vulnerable and of the 241 reptile species 3（1.2%） are Critically Endangered, 4（1.6%） are Endangered and 10（4.1%） are Vulnerable. Accordingly, this paper combines significant aspects of taxonomy, common names, conservation status and distribution of the Iranian herpetofauna.

Description of two new species of Hemiphyllodactylus(Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from karst landscapes in Yunnan, China, highlights complex conservation needs

Karst habitats are hotspots of diversity and endemism. Their naturally fragmented distributions across broad geographic landscapes have led to the complex array of smaller evolutionary ecosystems that present unique challenges from a conservation perspective.Comprehensivebiodiversity assessments of karst habitats have revealed that these ecosystems contain an almost unparalleled level of endemism, and many site-restricted species remain undescribed, thus posing considerable challenges for effective conservation management.Small rock-dwelling species, such as geckos, may be particularly prone to such isolation. In this paper, we discuss one such genus, i.e.,Hemiphyllodactylus, and explore its diversity across karst landforms in Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Based on morphological and genetic data, we describe two new species of Hemiphyllodactylus from karst habitats in Simao District and Yanshan County. A phylogenetic tree for Hemiphyllodactylus was constructed using 1?039 base pairs(bp) of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene(ND2). The Simao and Yanshan specimens can be distinguished from all other congeners within their respective subclades based on uncorrected genetic pairwise distances greater than 6.3% and 4.3%respectively, as well as significant morphological differences. The discovery and description of these two new species brings the total number of described Hemiphyllodactylus species in China to 14and indicates many more undescribed species from unsurveyed karst regions await discovery.Our findings suggest that karst ecosystems in Yunnan support a higher diversity of Hemiphyllodactylus than previously known.This study also highlights the importance of karst ecosystems as refugia for sitespecific endemic species and the need for heightened conservation efforts.

Behavior of Phrynocephalus frontalis to Avoid Traps

Previous studies have shown that reptiles are capable of spatial learning and learn to locate important environmental resources so that they can return to those locations at a future time, when needed. Lizards improve their adaptability and survival by learning the position of their shelter in a complex environment. This behavior raises the question, whether lizards can sense danger, such as a trap, in their surroundings, by determining the location of the trap and avoiding it. In the present study, we used a pitfall trap to test if steppe toad-headed agama, Phrynocephalus frontalis, can learn to recognize the position of the trap and avoid it. Our results revealed that the percentage of activity time in the trap area was significantly reduced （P 〈 0.001） and the time of drop trap was also significantly reduced （P = 0.00631）. The number of burrows dug by lizards distributed in the trap area was the least. Reduced activity time in the trap area was observed to have no obvious relationship with the drop in the number of burrows. The present study, therefore, demonstrates that P. frontalis are capable of learning the avoidance of a trap by locating its position. The findings offer significant insight in the understanding of reptilian behavior, which is important in the study of the role of reptiles in global ecology, especially because they are often very sensitive to environmental changes.

Diversity of reptile sex chromosome evolution revealed by cytogenetic and linked-read sequencing

Reptile sex determination is attracting much attention because the great diversity of sex-determination and dosage compensation mechanisms permits us to approach fundamental questions about mechanisms of sex chromosome turnover. Recent studies have made significant progress in better understanding diversity and conservation of reptile sex chromosomes, with however no reptile master sex determination genes identified. Here we describe an integrated genomics and cytogenetics pipeline,combining probes generated from the microdissected sex chromosomes with transcriptome and genome sequencing to explore the sex chromosome diversity in non-model Australian reptiles. We tested our pipeline on a turtle, two species of geckos, and a monitor lizard. Genes identified on sex chromosomes were compared to the chicken genome to identify homologous regions among the four species. We identified candidate sex determining genes within these regions, including conserved vertebrate sex-determining genes pdgfa,pdgfra amh and wt1, and demonstrated their testis or ovary-specific expression. All four species showed gene-by-gene rather than chromosome-wide dosage compensation. Our results imply that reptile sex chromosomes originated by independent acquisition of sex-determining genes on different autosomes,as well as translocations between different ancestral macro-and microchromosomes.We discuss the evolutionary drivers of the slow differentiation and turnover of reptile sex chromosomes.

Persistence of herpetofauna in the urbanized rouge river ecosystem

Over 100 years, urbanization has taken place along the Rouge River watershed of southeast Michigan, USA. To determine the impact(s) of urbanization on herpetofauna, species richness and distribution in 122 wetlands along 13.0 km of the urbanized Rouge River watershed were monitored from early spring to late fall 2003. Data were mapped using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Both amphibian and reptile species richness were associated with wetland size and hydroperiod. The invasive plants Alliaria petiolata and Rhamnus cathartica were coincident with lower than average amphibian species richness. In spite of the number of herpetofauna being relatively low, this study identified hydroperiod and wetland size as important features that may contribute to amphibian and reptile species sustainability in this highly disturbed and fragmented urban landscape.