Guichenot, 1850] (Amphibia: Salamandridae) in Algeria, with a New Elevational Record for the Species
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Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 927-931 (2021) (published online on 24 June 2021) A new provincial record and an updated distribution map for Pleurodeles nebulosus [Guichenot, 1850] (Amphibia: Salamandridae) in Algeria, with a new elevational record for the species Idriss Bouam1,* and Salim Merzougui2 Pleurodeles Michahelles, 1830, commonly known (1885) noted its presence, very probably mistakenly, as ribbed newts, is an endemic genus of the Ibero- from Biskra, which is an arid region located south of the Maghrebian region, with three species described: P. Saharan Atlas and is abiotically unsuitable for this newt nebulosus (Guichenot, 1850), P. poireti (Gervais, species (see Ben Hassine and Escoriza, 2017; Achour 1835), and P. waltl Michahelles, 1830 (Frost, 2021). and Kalboussi, 2020). We here report the presence of a Pleurodeles nebulosus is an Algero-Tunisian endemic seemingly well-established population of P. nebulosus restricted to a very narrow latitudinal range. It is found in the province of Bordj Bou Arreridj and provide (i) throughout the humid, sub-humid and, to a lesser the first record of the species for this province, thereby extent, semi-arid areas of the northern parts of the extending its known geographic distributional range; two countries, excluding the Edough Peninsula and its (ii) the highest-ever reported elevational record for the surrounding lowlands in northeastern Algeria, where species; and (iii) an updated distribution map of this it is replaced by its sister species P. poireti (Carranza species in Algeria. and Wade, 2004; Escoriza and Ben Hassine, 2019). On 28 April 2020, at 15:30 h, S.M. encountered an Until the end of the 20th century, the known localities individual Pleurodeles nebulosus (Fig. 2A) that was of P. nebulosus in Algeria were sparse and scattered. inactive in moist soil underneath a stone, a few meters However, as a result of several studies since the from a forest track, during a wildlife viewing trip in beginning of the current century (e.g., Veith et al., 2004; Djebel Tafertast (municipality of Medjana, province Samraoui et al., 2012; Ferrer et al., 2016; Merabet et of Bordj Bou Arreridj, northern Algeria; 36.1527°N, al., 2016; Ben Hassine and Escoriza, 2017; Tlidjane et 4.5922°E; 1657 m elevation). This specimen was a al., 2019; Soualah Alila et al., 2020), numerous new sub-adult with a total length of about 90 mm as a rough localities have been documented for this species. The estimate. Few months later, on 17 November 2020, currently known geographic range of P. nebulosus in between 15:00–17:00 h, the same author revisited Algeria is restricted to the Tellian Atlas belt (Table 1; Djebel Tafertast and systematically searched for other Fig. 1), ranging west from the Algero-Tunisian borders individuals under stones and logs in the immediate in the provinces of El Tarf and Souk Ahras, to possibly vicinity of wet areas. He was able to find five inactive sub- the province of Mascara (Doumergue, 1911), although adult/adult specimens of varying total lengths ranging Guichenot (1850) reported its presence further west to from 68 to 140 mm (Fig. 2B), in five different localities the inland areas of Oran, yet without an indication of spread within a 1.5-km radius from the first sampling a precise locality. It is also noteworthy that Boettger point. This finding suggests the presence of a well- established population in this area. All the individuals collected showed a U-V intermediate arrangement of vomero-palatine teeth (Fig. 2C). The habitat in which 1 Department of Ecology and Environment, Faculty of Natural all P. nebulosus specimens were observed lies in a and Life Sciences, University of Batna 2, Fesdis 05078, Batna, Algeria. mountainous area dominated by Mediterranean open 2 Avenue de la liberté, El Achir 34006, Bordj Bou Arreridj, scrublands with a grassy understorey and scattered trees, Algeria. mainly prickly juniper and holm oak (Fig. 2D). Several * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] water sources, seasonal wadis, rock ponds (Fig. 2E), and © 2021 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. small, isolated, shallow puddles that dry out completely 928 Idriss Bouam & Salim Merzougui Figure 1. Geographic distribution of Pleurodeles nebulosus (Guichenot, 1850) in Algeria based on available records (see Table 1). Table 1. Province, coordinates, year of record, and source of available occurrence localities of Pleurodeles nebulosus (Guichenot, 1850) in Algeria. Only data with confident taxonomic identification along with GPS coordinates or precise locality indication were included, while avoiding the inclusion of museum records that are georeferenced from locality info (e.g., Bône “presently Annaba”). BEV: Biogéographie et Écologie des Vertébrés, Montpellier, France; CAS: California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA; EBD: Estación Biológica de Doñana, Sevilla, Spain; GBIF: Global Biodiversity Information Facility; MNHN: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; NHMUK: Natural History Museum, London, UK; SMF: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, Germany; n/a: not available. Province Latitude Longitude Year of record Source Aïn Defla 36.36°N 2.69°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Chlef 36.36°N 1.42°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Chlef 36.50°N 1.60°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) El Tarf 36.82°N 8.16°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) El Tarf 36.75°N 8.40°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) El Tarf 36.88°N 8.59°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Jijel 36.81°N 6.19°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Jijel 36.74°N 6.30°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Skikda 36.77°N 6.76°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Tissemsilt 35.95°N 1.96°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Tissemsilt 35.82°N 2.00°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Tizi-Ouzou 36.78°N 4.34°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Tizi-Ouzou 36.71°N 4.61°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Tizi-Ouzou 36.64°N 4.63°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) Tizi-Ouzou 36.74°N 4.30°E 2014 BEV.13215–13217 El Tarf 36.7819°N 8.1216°E 1979 BEV.590 Algiers 36.79°N 2.95°E n/a Boulenger (1891) Blida 36.39°N 2.66°E 1974 CAS 138781–138787 Jijel 36.84°N 6.15°E 1981 CAS 153738–153742 Mascara 35.44°N 0.17°E 1911 Doumergue (1911) Béjaïa 36.61°N 4.63°E 1977 EBD_HERP 8634 Aïn Defla 35.86°N 1.97°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) El Tarf 36.83°N 8.02°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) El Tarf 36.77°N 8.37°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) El Tarf 36.87°N 8.58°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) Jijel 36.80°N 6.13°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) Médéa 36.36°N 2.69°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) Skikda 36.79°N 6.95°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) Skikda 36.76°N 7.05°E 2008–2015 Escoriza et al. (2016) New record and updated distribution map for Pleurodeles nebulosus in Algeria 929 Table 1. Continued. Province Latitude Longitude Year of record Source Chlef 36.4008°N 1.4006°E 2014 Ferrer et al. (2016) Tissemsilt 35.8496°N 1.9844°E 2014 Ferrer et al. (2016) Tissemsilt 35.8495°N 1.9846°E 2014 Ferrer et al. (2016) Jijel 36.5044°N 5.9222°E 2018 GBIF Tizi-Ouzou 36.7764°N 4.5108°E 2018 GBIF Boumerdès 36.88°N 3.85°E n/a Lallemant (1867) Médéa 36.3677°N 2.6929°E 2014 Merabet et al. (2016); BEV.13246 Tizi-Ouzou 36.6281°N 4.5679°E 2016 Merabet et al. (2017) Algiers 36.7497°N 2.9667°E 1927 MNHN-RA-1927.17 / MNHN-RA-1991.1715–1718 Tissemsilt 35.84°N 1.98°E n/a NHMUK 1920.1.20. 1529 / 2539 Blida 36.57°N 3.19°E n/a NHMUK 1920.1.20.1085 / 1089 / 1511 / 3824 / 1882.7.17.1-7 Constantine 36.40°N 6.66°E n/a NHMUK 1920.1.20.1504 El Tarf 36.8479°N 8.0746°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8524°N 8.0767°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8344°N 8.1113°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8351°N 8.1113°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8432°N 8.1597°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8472°N 8.1798°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.7893°N 8.2256°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8608°N 8.2510°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.9171°N 8.3436°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8501°N 8.3466°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8501°N 8.3466°E 1996–2009 Samraoui et al. (2012) Algiers 36.71°N 3.13°E n/a SMF 73973–73974 Souk Ahras 36.4585°N 7.9721°E 2018-2019 Soualah Alila et al. (2020) Algiers 36.79°N 3.03°E n/a Strauch (1862) Souk Ahras 36.3598°N 7.8718°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.3778°N 7.8804°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al.