North-Western Journal of Zoology Vol. 4, No. 1, 2008, pp.125-128 [Online: Vol.4, 2008: 05]

New locality records of Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri Mertens, 1952 from the area surrounding the river Ipel’, in Slovakia and adjacent Hungary

Zoltán KORSÓS1, Róbert CSEKÉS2 and Eszter TAKÁCS3

1Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u. 13, H-1088 Budapest, Hungary, E-mail: [email protected] 2 U mlékárny 290, 353 01 Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic 3Zoological Institute, Szent István University, Rottenbiller u. 50, H-1078 Budapest, Hungary

Abstract. During a survey in August, 2006, the Ipoly (Ipel’) River region along the Hungarian-Slovakian border was visited for occurrences of the Pannonian Snake-eyed Skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri Mertens, 1952) at the northernmost border of its range. Populations at four localities were found, two of which (one in Slovakia and one in Hungary) proved to be new without previously known records.

Key words: Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri, distribution, new localities, Slovakia, Hungary

The Snake-eyed skink, Ablepharus In the framework of a Hungarian kitaibelii (Bibron & Bory, 1833), is the nationwide project on the origin and only representative of the genus in evolution of the selected faunal Europe, and the northernmost elements of the Carpathian Basin, we European member of the lizard family surveyed the appropriate area of the Scincidae. The species’ subspecific subspecies’ (Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzin- composition is still under discussion geri) range along the Slovakian-Hunga- (Fuhn 1970, Ljubisavljevic et al. 2002, rian border, determined mainly by the Schmidtler 1997), although a successful valley of the Ipoly (Ipel’) river and the attempt was already made on its adjacent slopes. Previous reports on the phylogeography in the southern range occurrence in this region include; (Poulakakis et al. 2005). The north- Kováčovské kopce (Kamenica nad ernmost subspecies, A. k. fitzingeri Hronom: Burda, Baruš & Oliva 1997), Mertens, 1952, is endemic to the Plášťovce (Kočárek & Palochová 1997), Pannonian geographic region. It occurs on the Slovakian, and Nagymaros in Hungary, in the southern part of (Börzsöny Mts: Szabó 1960, excl. Slovakia and in the northern part of personal observations) on the Hunga- Serbia (for general distribution see rian side. Gruber 1981, Gasc et al. 1997, and We proved the existence of Herczeg et al. 2004). Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri in all of

North-West J Zool, 4, 2008 Oradea, Romania 126 Korsós, Z. et al. these places, and found two new brook Kemence (N 47° 59.5’ – E 18° localities in the region (Table 1), 55.9’). Both habitats are warm oak previously only mentioned in the woods (Festuco pseudodalmaticae – literature as personal observations, but Quercetum pubescentis) typical for the without voucher exemplars or reliable occurrences of Ablepharus kitaibelii photographs (Herczeg et al. 2004). This fitzingeri (Fig. 2) at the closest localities locality in Slovakia is at Ipel’ské in Western Cserhát Hills, Hungary (see Predmostie (N 48° 04.8’ – E 19° 00.5’), the biotope characterisations by on the hill named Šomoš (Fig. 1), and, Harmos & Herczeg 2003). The slopes similarly to Plášťovce, belongs to here were southern faced, and the Krupinská planina (Nitrianský kraj, temperatures of the vegetation and the okres Levice). The new Hungarian open rocky surface during captures locality lies in the northern range of were 23 and 35° C, respectively. Mts Börzsöny, in the valley of the

Table 1: Locality data of Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri occurrences in the region of Ipel’ river, Slovakia and Hungary (* - new localities)

Locality GPS-coordinates Date of No. of observation observed/caug ht specimens Slovakia, Ipel’ské Predmostie, N 48° 04.8’ – E 19° 00.5’ 1 Aug. 2006 4/2 Šomoš, 220 m* Slovakia, Plášt’ovce, 241 m N 48° 10.3’ – E 18° 59.2’ 2 Aug. 2006 3/3 Slovakia, Kamenica nad Hronom, N 47° 49.9’ – E 18° 44.2’ 2 Aug. 2006 4/4 Kováčovské kopce, 163 m (incl. 1 juv.) Hungary, Börzsöny Mts, Kemence, N 47° 59.5’ – E 18° 55.9’ 3 Aug. 2006 1/1 valley of Kemence brook, Hegyhát, 346 m*

The specimens caught were adults, early for Slovakia (see e.g., Barus & with snout-vent lengths (SVL) of 40-51 Oliva 1997), but it is maybe due to the mm. We also found a juvenile, exceptionally warm weather in the newborn specimen at Kováčovské previous weeks of 2006. kopce, its total length was only 42 mm, We believe that further surveys in SVL 23 mm. It had obviously hatched detail on the appropriate habitats in the from the egg only some days ago, still region may yield the discovery of more showing the peculiar red-tailed occurrences and still viable populations juvenile colour pattern (Koncz 1998). A of this rare and protected skink hatching at this time of the year (end of subspecies at its northernmost distri- July) can be considered as a little too bution range.

North-West J Zool, 4, 2008 Locality records of Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri 127

Acknowledgements. The research was the fauna of the Carpathian Basin: diversity, supported by the Hungarian National R&D biogeographical hotspots and nature conser- Programme, entitled „The origin and genezis of vation significance”; Contract No. 3B023-04.

Figure 1: Habitat of Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri at the new locality of Šomoš, Slovakia

Figure 2: Pannonian Snake-eyed skink (Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri) from Šomoš, Slovakia

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