Herpetological Research in Tanzania, 1980-2022: Trends and Gaps

291 studies on Tanzanian amphibians and reptiles published between 1980 and 2022 were analyzed in this review. The dataset, a 4.6 MB PDF authored by Felix Mkonyi, was last updated in May 2026. It reveals a four-fold increase in publication output after 1999 and a strong geographical bias in research focus.

Use Cases

• Analyzing publication trends and research focus over time based on the review of 291 studies.
• Identifying taxonomic and geographical research gaps for herpetofauna based on the synthesis of peer-reviewed and grey literature.
• Informing conservation priority setting based on the reported threat levels for amphibians (33.9%) versus reptiles (13.2%).
• Studying patterns of international research collaboration based on the reported proportion of locally-led studies (22.1%).

Strengths

• Synthesizes 291 studies from a 42-year period (1980-2022), providing a longitudinal view.
• Explicitly quantifies research output, thematic focus (e.g., 23% systematics), and threat levels for different taxa.
• Includes both peer-reviewed and grey literature, potentially offering a broader perspective than standard reviews.

Limitations

• The underlying data is presented as a synthesized review in a PDF; raw data tables or column-level documentation are absent.
• Row count for the compiled study database is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for quantitative meta-analysis.
• Data may reflect geographic and source bias inherent to the literature review methodology.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Literature review sourced from databases including Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, and Web of Science.

Time Range

1980 to 2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-26 11:20:06; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Tanzania