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Home , Blida, Chlef, El Taref, Fernand Lataste, Jijel, Pleurodeles

Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 927-931 (2021) (published online on 24 June 2021)

A new provincial record and an updated distribution map for nebulosus [Guichenot, 1850] (Amphibia: ) in , 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 , is an endemic genus of the Ibero- from , which is an arid region located south of the Maghrebian region, with three species described: P. Saharan Atlas and is abiotically unsuitable for this 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 ( 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 , 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 , 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 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 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 ”). BEV: Biogéographie et Écologie des Vertébrés, Montpellier, ; CAS: California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA; EBD: Estación Biológica de Doñana, Sevilla, ; 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) 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) 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) 36.77°N 6.76°E 2010–2017 Ben Hassine and Escoriza (2017) 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 36.79°N 2.95°E n/a Boulenger (1891) 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) 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) 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. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.3566°N 7.8900°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.3117°N 7.8963°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.2990°N 7.9015°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.3174°N 7.9181°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.3133°N 7.9264°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.4276°N 7.9293°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.3097°N 7.9320°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.4219°N 7.9329°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.4020°N 8.0510°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.4172°N 8.2147°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.4282°N 8.2284°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) Souk Ahras 36.4234°N 8.2438°E 2014–2017 Tlidjane et al. (2019) El Tarf 36.814°N 8.45°E n/a Veith et al. (2004) El Tarf 36.91°N 8.56°E n/a Veith et al. (2004) El Tarf 36.8411°N 8.1348°E 1996–2009 Veith et al. (2004); Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8608°N 8.2510°E 1996–2009 Veith et al. (2004); Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.7793°N 8.2677°E 1996–2009 Veith et al. (2004); Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.6166°N 8.4333°E 1996–2009 Veith et al. (2004); Samraoui et al. (2012) El Tarf 36.8373°N 8.4435°E 1996–2009 Veith et al. (2004); Samraoui et al. (2012) Bordj Bou Arreridj 36.1569°N 4.5881°E 2020 Present study Bordj Bou Arreridj 36.1527°N 4.5922°E 2020 Present study Bordj Bou Arreridj 36.1633°N 4.5930°E 2020 Present study Bordj Bou Arreridj 36.1633°N 4.5950°E 2020 Present study Bordj Bou Arreridj 36.1516°N 4.5955°E 2020 Present study Bordj Bou Arreridj 36.1658°N 4.5955°E 2020 Present study

930 Idriss Bouam & Salim Merzougui

Figure 2. (A) The Pleurodeles nebulosus (Guichenot, 1850) individual observed on 28 April 2020 at Djebel Tafertast, province of Bordj Bou Arreridj, northern Algeria. (B) The five P. nebulosus individuals observed on 17 November 2020 in the same area. (C) Inside of the mouth of one of the observed individuals showing a U-V shaped form of vomero-palatine teeth. (D) Panoramic view of the habitat where all the individuals were observed. (E) Human-made rock pond found near one of the occurrence localities. Photos by Salim Merzougui.

in the summer months (see Fig. 2D), are found in the Pleurodeles nebulosus is a legally protected species in area. Climatic data (extracted from WorldClim database Algeria (General Secretariat of Government, 2012), and at ~1 km² resolution; Fick and Hijmans, 2017) for the is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, partly because of locality records suggest that the area is characterised its relatively small area of occupancy (less than 2000 by a sub-humid Mediterranean bioclimate, with mean km²; Donaire-Barroso et al., 2006). This area is prone annual precipitation of 747 mm. to further contraction under future climate change These hitherto unreported specimens represent the scenarios (Achour and Kalboussi, 2020). Thus, the first record of Pleurodeles nebulosus for the province new data presented here are of key importance for the of Bordj Bou Arreridj, representing a range extension of species’ conservation, as they will allow more accurate the species by about 55 km southward from the nearest determination of its conservation status. Additionally, known locality (Fig. 1). Furthermore, of the six localities these data broaden the known elevational amplitude of where the individuals were recorded, the first one P. nebulosus, probably reflecting a wider niche breadth constitutes the highest-ever reported elevational record and a greater extent of occurrence (Bornschein et al., (i.e., 1657 m elevation) for P. nebulosus throughout 2016). Further research is needed to estimate population its entire geographic range, as the previously known size of P. nebulosus and quantify the natural and/or anthropogenic factors that may pose threats to this uppermost elevation record was 1378 m (Escoriza species within this area. and Ben Hassine, 2019). Moreover, it is of paramount importance to point out that this is the first record of Acknowledgments. We thank the following people for their a P. nebulosus population from Algeria having a U-V help: Jihène Ben Hassine for the description of the vomero- intermediate arrangement of vomero-palatine teeth (see palatal configuration, Stephen Spawls for proofreading English Ben Hassine et al., 2013). language, and Daniel Escoriza for providing a pre-peer review. New record and updated distribution map for Pleurodeles nebulosus in Algeria 931

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