New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
Records of foreign reptiles and amphibians accidentally imported to New
Zealand
B. J. GILL
Auckland Museum
Private Bag 92 018
Auckland, New Zealand
D. BEJAKOVICH+
National Plant Pest Reference Laboratory
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
P. O. Box 24
Lincoln, New Zealand
email:
+Author for correspondence.
A. H. WHITAKER
270 Thorpe-Orinoco Road
R. D. 1
Motueka, New Zealand
Abstract Analysis of 189 records of reptiles and amphibians
accidentally imported to New Zealand between 1929 and 2000 showed that 52
species were represented, comprising lizards (65%, mainly geckos), snakes (19%,
mainly colubrids) and anurans (16%, mainly hylid frogs). Three species of
nocturnal, egg-laying, tropical and subtropical "house geckos" from Asia and
the Pacific (especially
Hemidactylus frenatus) made up 35% of all
interceptions. The predominance of
H. frenatus is a new development
since the mid 1980s. Ectoparasitic mites were noted at 17% of gecko
interceptions. Interceptions were nearly always of single animals, and were
evenly spread throughout the year. The main sources of the accidental
importations were Australia (26%), south-east Asia (24%) and the south-west
Pacific (22%). About three-quarters of the intercepted animals were from the
tropics or subtropics. Three-quarters of the animals arrived in cargo shipped
to wharves, and Auckland was the entry point for about half the interceptions.
The main types of cargo involved were personal effects (21%), bananas (16%),
timber (10%), and motor vehicles (9%). Nearly half the intercepted animals
(47%) had passed through border controls and were detected after distribution
of the cargo. Animals were alive when detected in about 86% of cases.
Keywords frogs; toads; lizards; snakes; geckos; skinks;
transportation; accidental importation; ecological threat
Z01007
Received 12 February 2001; accepted 22 May 2001
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2001, Vol. 28: 351-359
0301-4223/01/2803-0351 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New
Zealand 2001
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (595K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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