Schistometopum thomense

Long distance dispersal of animals with low vagility has been treated as an enigma in biogeography. Truly oceanic islands (those which arose without ever having contact with the mainland) are excellent places for these investigations as all flora and fauna must have dispersed over an oceanographic barrier (see le Roux et al 2014; de Queiroz 2014). The island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea turns out to be particularly interesting as it has a number of endemic amphibians, themselves intolerant of sea-water, and for whom a particular form of rafting was postulated by CIB core team member, John Measey.