Introduction The amphibians and reptiles of Madagascar are extremely diverse and display a high level of endemism (Glaw and Vences, 2007). Although the amount of information regarding Malagasy herpetofauna has increased dramatically over the past decade further detailed surveys focused on Malagasy amphibians and reptiles are still required (D’Cruze et al., in press). The majority of herpetological survey work in Madagascar has focused on long established protected areas (D’Cruze et al., in press). Current information regarding non-protected areas and secondary habitats is extremely Herpetology Notes, volume 2: 31-44 (2009) (published online on 07 April 2009) A comprehensive survey of amphibians and reptiles in the extreme north of Madagascar Steven Megson 1 , Polly Mitchell 1 , Jörn Köhler 2 , Charles Marsh 3 , Michael Franzen 4 , Frank Glaw 4 , Neil D’Cruze* 5 1 Frontier, The Society for Environmental Exploration, 50-52 Rivington Street, London, EC2A3QP, UK; e-mail: stevie_meg@hotmail.com 2 Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Department of Natural History – Zoology, Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Ger- many; e-mail: joern.koehler@hlmd.de 3 Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, United Kingdom; e-mail: charles.marsh07@imperial.ac.uk 4 Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Münchhausenstr. 21, 81247 München, Germany; e-mail MF: Michael.Franzen@zsm.mwn.de; e-mail FG: Frank.Glaw@zsm.mwn.de 5 The World Society for the Protection of Animals, 89 Albert Embankment, London, WE1 7TP, United Kingdom; e-mail: cruzecontrol@gmail.com * corresponding author Abstract. We surveyed the western dry forest and coastal forest of the Ampombofofo area in the extreme north of Madagascar for its herpetofauna. We recorded a total of nine amphibian and 46 reptile species via opportunistic searching and pitfall trapping. This is the irst such survey and consequently providing new records for the area for all of the species found. For those species endemic to Madagascar, these records also represent the northernmost limit of their known range. We also surveyed the coastal forest of Orangea and recorded a total of three amphibian and 22 reptile species. Furthermore, we provide new additions to the species list for Montagne des Français. We discovered several species in this massif during our relatively short surveys that were not previously known from this site: Reptiles include Gehyra mutilata, Leioheterodon modestus, and Paracontias hildebrandti. Amphibians include an unidentiied speces of Cophylinae and two additional species of Stumpfia. The results of this and other surveys in surrounding areas have now demonstrated that many of the species previously considered to be endemic to Montagne des Français are in fact regionally endemic to the north of Madagascar. However, the forested areas located in the extreme north are subject to numerous human induced environmental problems resulting in habitat destruction and remain a high conservation management priority. Therefore we strongly recommend that Montagne des Français should be granted full-protected status so that it is able to function as a biological refuge. Herein, we provide additional conservation and development recommendations for the other terrestrial ecosystems surveyed. Keywords. Amphibia, Antsiranana region, Ampombofofo, conservation, Orangea, Madagascar, Montagne des Français, Reptilia. Figure 1. Map of study area in northern Madagascar.