Bhutan sits within the Eastern Himalayas, one of the world’s great biodiversity regions, and supports a remarkable range of habitats from subtropical forests to alpine landscapes. Amphibians and reptiles play important ecological roles there, helping regulate prey populations and reflecting environmental health. Yet compared with mammals, birds, and plants, these animals have long received less scientific attention. Historical limits on research access, difficult terrain, sparse infrastructure, and a lack of herpetological specialization all contributed to slow progress. Even with strong national conservation commitments, important questions about species diversity, distribution, threats, and long-term population trends remain unresolved. Based on these challenges, deeper research on Bhutan’s amphibians and reptiles is urgently needed.
Researchers from the University of New England and Bhutanese institutions published (DOI: 10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2025.0003) the review online on February 5, 2026, in Asian Herpetological Research. Drawing on literature published between 1972 and 2022, the team examined 63 studies to understand how Bhutan’s amphibian and reptile research has developed over time, where it has been concentrated, and which scientific questions remain poorly addressed. Their goal was not simply to count papers, but to show how current knowledge can better support future conservation and management.
The review found that 45% of studies focused on reptiles, 32% on amphibians, and only 23% examined both groups together. Most were field-based studies, and ecology and natural history dominated the literature, accounting for 35 publications. Conservation-related work followed with 22 studies, while only one study each addressed disease and genetics, and none focused on anatomy or physiology. Research effort also showed strong geographic bias, with southern Bhutan receiving the most attention and northern areas remaining largely understudied. The numbers reveal both progress and imbalance: publications rose sharply after 2009, and species records increased alongside them, suggesting that more research directly expands what is known. The review also highlights the conservation stakes. Bhutan is estimated to host about 83 amphibian species and 138 reptile species, but turtles emerged as the most threatened reptile group, with 86% falling into a threat category.
“This review makes one point especially clear: Bhutan’s amphibians and reptiles are not lacking in importance, only in attention. The field has moved forward, but the next leap will depend on going beyond species checklists and into deeper work on genetics, disease, physiology, and long-term conservation. In a country already celebrated for protecting nature, these overlooked animals may become one of the most important tests of how science can guide the next chapter of biodiversity stewardship.”
The implications extend beyond Bhutan. Because the country lies between major biodiversity regions and holds high species density relative to its land area, better knowledge of its herpetofauna could strengthen conservation across the Eastern Himalayas. The review calls for more interdisciplinary research, stronger scientific infrastructure, wider surveys in remote districts, and closer collaboration among scientists, conservation agencies, policymakers, and local communities. It also points to the value of combining modern science with traditional knowledge. Together, those efforts could turn Bhutan from a place rich in underdocumented herpetological diversity into a model for evidence-based conservation in mountain ecosystems.
###
References
DOI
10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2025.0003
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2025.0003
About Asian Herpetological Research
Asian Herpetological Research (AHR), an international English language journal, is published quarterly by the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CIB), and the Science Press of China, cooperated with the Asiatic Herpetological Research Society (AHRS), with its registered numbers：CN 51-1735/Q and ISSN 2095-0357. The scope of the journal includes all contemporary herpetological research areas including taxonomy, fauna, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, evolution, zoogeography, physiology, ecology, toxicology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles.