Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 663-666 (2019) (published online on 28 June 2019)

First records of Eryx jaculus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Euboea Island, Greece (Squamata: Boidae)

Apostolos Christopoulos1,*, Antonios-Georgios Verikokakis2, Vassilis Detsis3, Iraklis Nikolaides4, Leonidas Tsiokos1, Panayiotis Pafilis1,5, and Grigoris Kapsalas1

The genus Eryx Daudin, 1803 (Squamata: Boidae) km2) with a wide variety of habitats ranging from comprises 12 species of sand boas that occur in Africa, dunes to alpine ecosystems. The island became isolated Asia and Europe (Uetz, et al.). The javelin sand boa from the neighbouring central Greece 5,500 years ago Eryx jaculus (Linnaeus, 1758) has a wide distribution (Mariolakos and Bantekas, 2002) from which it is that ranges from North Africa to the Middle East, nowadays separated by a channel (shortest distance: including southeast Europe and the Caucasus region 29.3 m). The herpetofauna of the island comprises a (Teynié, 1997). In Greece, the species can be found total of 30 amphibians and reptiles (Valakos et al., 2008). throughout the mainland, including the Peloponnese, on Surprisingly, the javelin sand boa was not included in many Aegean Islands and on Corfu in the Ionian Sea this list until today. Although Euboea is located very (Lymberakis et al., 2018). The javelin sand boa may close to the mainland and the Cyclades (Fig. 1), both live from the sea level up to 1,500 m (Chondropoulos, hosting populations of E. jaculus, the species has never 1989; Valakos et al., 2008). It prefers dry habitats (rocky been recorded on the island (Boettger, 1891; Werner or sandy hills), semi-desert coastal areas, dunes, light 1938; Chondropoulos, 1989; Valakos et al., 2008). Here, Mediterranean forests, low vegetation shrublands and we report for the first time the occurrence of E. jaculus meadows, cultivated fields and olive groves (Valakos on Euboea, from six different locations. et al., 2008). Though quite common, E. jaculus is hard We deliberately did not include the exact coordinates to detect because of its cryptic lifestyle: it spends most of each record to prevent incidents of illegal collection of its life foraging underground or in burrows and is and trade. The javelin sand boa is one of the very rarely exposed to the ground surface, except during the few European reptiles listed in the Appendix II of breeding season or during dawn and dusk on warmer CITES catalogues that protect species which become periods (Valakos et al., 2008; Speybroeck et al., 2016). endangered or extinct because of international trade. Euboea is the second-largest island of Greece (3,655 On 21 June 2014, an adult individual was observed by LT in south Euboea at the Platanistos area of Ochi Mountain (altitude 436 m). The snake was photographed after dusk while moving through low Mediterranean shrubland (Fig. 2A). On 18 June 2016, an adult E. jaculus was observed by 1 �������� ������� ��������������������������������������� National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, IN while crossing a road close to the Agia Anna village Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece. area (altitude 3 m). The specimen was photographed 2 ������������������������������������������������������� , before it was released back in the field (Fig. 2B). The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, surrounding habitat includes arable land, coastal dunes Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece. and shrubs. 3 ���������������������������������������������� On 20 June 2016, another adult snake was observed by University, Venizelou 70, 17676 Athens, Greece. PP in a beach house close to the village Marmari in the 4 �������������������������������������������������������� Greece. south part of the island (altitude 63 m) (Fig. 2C). The 5 ���������������������������������������������������������� surrounding habitat consists of typical Mediterranean Athens, Greece, Panepistimioupolis, 15784 Athens, Greece. shrublands (maquis and phrygana) within a semirural * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] anthropogenic environment. 664 Apostolos Christopoulos et al.

Figure 1. Map of Euboea Island. Open circles denote the localities where Eryx jaculus was found. The orange-coloured areas in the map of Greece show the known distribution of the species (Valakos et al., 2008).

On 26 June 2016, two dead specimens were found Greek herpetology, since its beginning in the early together in a shallow well by VD, close to the village 19th century, was developed unevenly (Pafilis, 2010): Agios Loukas (ca. 4.4 km N of Aliveri town; altitude the pioneers who shaped the field were fascinated by 168 m). The habitat comprised olive groves and maquis insularity and focused largely on islands (Bedriaga, 1883; shrubland (dominated by Quercus coccifera), Platanus Werner, 1894, 1930; von Wettstein, 1931). Contrary to orientalis clusters, small reedbeds, garrigue and few the insular Greece, the mainland herpetofauna remains almond and walnut trees. The specimens were collected understudied, broad areas have never been surveyed and and deposited at the Natural History Museum of Crete the presence or absence of numerous species therein (NHMC 80.3.114.19, total length: 264 mm; NHMC is merely speculative (Pafilis and Maragou, 2013). 80.3.114.20, total length: 249). Consequently, when distribution maps are designed On 2 August 2017, a juvenile individual was found at based strictly on published literature, the majority the entrance of a house in a shady place by AGV, in the of occurrence-squares remain empty (Valakos et al., settlement Magoula (ca. 4.3 km ENE of Eretria town; 2008; Legakis and Maragou, 2009). Euboea, practically altitude 10 m) (Fig. 2D). The surrounding area had connected to the mainland, followed the fate of the latter few houses built in agricultural land with olive groves, and stayed out of the herpetological radars. As such, gardens and arable land. The specimen was captured, E. jaculus has never been recorded from this “semi- measured (total length: 180 mm) and then released. island”. Finally, on 10 July 2018, one E. jaculus individual was Most interestingly, all the observations reported here found dead on a road by LT at Ochi mountain (altitude have been done within the last five years. More and 678 m), near the location where the first observation more herpetologists, professionals and amateurs, are was made in 2014 (Fig. 2E). covering the “blind spots” in the range of the Greek First records of Eryx jaculus from Euboea Island, Greece 665

Figure 2. The Eryx jaculus individuals that have been detected within the last five years. (A) Adult individual at Ochi Mountain (Photograph by Leonidas Tsiokos). (B) Adult snake at Agia Anna (Photograph by Iraklis Nikolaides). (C) Adult individual at Marmari (Photograph by Panayiotis Pafilis). (D) Juvenile at Magoula (Photograph by Antonios-Georgios Verikokakis). (E) Road killed specimen at Ochi Mountain (Photograph by Leonidas Tsiokos).

mainland herpetofauna. Apart from the lack of mainland new records from Greece (Roussos, 2016; Rosso et surveys, the elusive nature of the javelin sand boa may al., 2018) and other countries within the historical account for the rarity of encounters. Numerous recent distribution of the species (Sahlean et al., 2015; Uhrin 666 Apostolos Christopoulos et al. et al., 2016; Mizsei et al., 2017) corroborate this pattern. Speybroeck, J., Beukema, W., Bok, B., Voort, J.V. (2016): Field The fact that the records reported herein derived from Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Britain and Europe. all around Euboea, lowers the possibility of a recent London, United Kingdom, Bloomsbury. 320 pp. Teynié, A. (1997): Eryx jaculus (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Atlas of anthropogenic introduction. Besides, Euboea is a very Amphibians and Reptiles in Europe. Gasc, J.-P., Cabela, A., young island and in close proximity to the mainland, so Crnobrnja-Isailovic, J., Dolmen, D., Grossenbacher, K., Haffner, it should come as no surprise that it hosts a similar, if P., Lescure, J., Martens, H., Martinez Rica, J.P., Maurin, H., not identical, herpetofauna to that of the neighbouring Oliveira, M.E., Sofianidou, T.S., Veith, M., Zuiderwijk, A., mainland. Eds. Societas Europaea Herpetologica & Museum National Islands were always the “showcase” of the Greek d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Pp. 322–323. herpetofauna. More and focused herpetological surveys Uetz, P., Freed, P., Hošek, J. (eds), 2019: Eryx jaculus. The Reptile Database. Available at: http://www.reptile-database.org. will help to unveil the hidden richness and diversity Accessed on 5 April 2019. of the neglected mainland Greece. 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