The Herpetofauna of the Island of Kythera (Attica, Greece) (Amphibia; Reptilia)
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Broggi_Kythera April 2014_hErPEToZoA.qxd 08.08.2016 10:20 seite 1 hErPEToZoA 29 (1/2): 37 - 46 37 Wien, 30. Juli 2016 The herpetofauna of the Island of Kythera (Attica, Greece) (Amphibia; reptilia) die herpetofauna der Insel Kythira (Attika, Griechenland) (Amphibia; reptilia) MArIo F. B roGGI KUrZFAssUnG die Insel Kythira ist Teil des südägäischen Inselbogens, der sich vor mehreren Millionen von Jahren bilde - te und von der Peloponnes-halbinsel über Kreta, Karpathos und rhodos nach Anatolien erstreckt. In seiner Pflan - zen- und Tierwelt hat Kythira viel mit dem Peloponnes gemeinsam. Bislang wurden etwa sechzehn Amphibien- und reptilienarten von der Insel beschrieben, die sich durch ihren Wasserreichtum, besonders im norden, aus - zeichnet. die vorliegende Arbeit trägt die verstreute Information zur herpetofauna von Kythira zusammen und erweitert sie durch eigene Beobachtungen. ABsTrACT The Island of Kythera lies in the southern Aegean arc of islands, which formed millions of years ago and extends from the Peloponnese Peninsula, Crete, Karpathos and rhodes to Anatolia. With regard to its flora and fauna, Kythera has much in common with the Peloponnese. To date, about six teen species of amphibians and rep - tiles were reported to occur on the island, which has abundant water resources, in the north especially. In this paper, the scattered information on the island’s herpetofauna is compiled and enriched by author’s observations. KEy Words Amphibia; reptilia; Testudo marginata , Caretta caretta , Algyroides moreoticus , new island record, faunis - tics, Island of Kythera, Greece InTrodUCTIon The Ionian Island of Kythera forms a consists of acid metamorphosed rock, but bridge between the Peloponnese Peninsula for the most part, it is of calcareous origin. and the Island of Crete, thus delineating the Kythera (Fig. 1) has an area of 280 km 2; it south Aegean island arc to the west. The is 29 km long and 16 km wide, most of its Aegean continental land mass is located in coasts are steep. The island’s relief offers an active geological region where subduc - little variety, with a main basement forming tion of the African plate under the Eurasian a plateau at 300-400 m a.s.l. At 506 m a.s.l., plate is at work. The land mass started to Mermigaris is the highest point on the break into islands about 13 million years island. The 6-10 km long ravines and gul - ago. Crete became isolated from Anatolia lies in the north are a significant feature of some 10 million years ago and from the the island’s relief. A comprehensive natural Peloponnese about 5.3 million years ago history of the island was published as early (KAsAPIdIs et al. 2005). as in 1837 by JAMEson . L EonhArd (1899) Kythera lies no more than about eight described the hydrology of Kythera as fol - kilometers south of the little south Pelopon - lows: “Individual streams are fed by major nesian offshore island of Elafonisos and not springs, like those at Mylopotamos and even 20 km from Cape Maleas, the tip of the Karavas, and hence carry water throughout easternmost peninsular promontory of the the year, although they do not reach the sea southern Peloponnese. In geological terms, in the dry season, and they serve a flourish - Kythera is an extension of the Taygetos ing milling industry…. The canyon-shaped Mountain range. The north of the island streams give the monotonous plateau land - Broggi_Kythera April 2014_hErPEToZoA.qxd 08.08.2016 10:20 seite 2 38 M. F. B roGGI scape of the interior a character of its own.” Kythera 1:35,000 and orAMA editions In spring, some of the streams around #339 Kythira 1:50,000, both of which are Potamos, the largest village in the north, GPs-compatible. carry water, which remains longest in the herpetological exploration of rocky pools and can support amphibian re - Kythera.- The earliest, although merely production. Barrier beaches and lagoons at enumerative and unsupported information the mouth of the watercourses that are a typ - on the herpetofauna of Kythera was given ical feature of many Greek islands are less by JAMEson (1837) in his ‘notes on the nat - common on Kythera ( BroGGI 1994) and ural history and statistics of the Island of present only on the east coast near Lagadi Cerigo and its dependencies’ where he below Paleochora, and at Vythoulas near wrote at page 64: “Animals belonging to the Paleopoli where they constitute the island’s class reptilia, although not very abundant, only significant wetland structures, attrac - yet still representatives of the following tive to migrant birds in particular (Figs. 2-7). genera were observed: Testudo graeca , The island’s current human population Emys europaea , Chelonia caretta , Lacerta of about 3,500 inhabitants mirrors a strong agilis , ocellata , viridis , Ascalabotes , decline compared with 15,000 reported for Oligodon natrix , Viperium , Coluber berus , the period of the second World War ( hAdJI- Vipera ammodytes , Rana esculenta , Hyla dIMITrIoU 2013). Agriculture (olives) and arborea , Bufo communis . Every stream and apiculture are the dominant occupations. marsh in spring teems with frogs which domestic Greek tourism is becoming in - make a noise rather grating to the ear.“ In creasingly important, although it is largely succeeding herpetological papers this restricted to the middle of summer. In source was largely neglected except for a Australia alone, the Kytheran diaspora is paper on tortoises on Aegean islands thought to be about 60,000 strong and has (W ATson 1962) . no printed paper focused some influence on the island (returnees, on the herpetofauna of Kythera alone has tourists). Many peripheral villages were been published to date. In 1930, WErnEr abandoned and the buildings left to decay or summarized the knowledge on the distribu - are now used as holiday homes. In the last tion of herpetological species on the Aegean few decades, the phrygana vegetation com - and Ionian Islands and enumerated eight monly found on the island has developed species known to occur on Kythera without into macchia and is gradually being trans - indicating particular sources other than the formed into dense stands of oak in the north. collectors sTorCh and rEIsEr for the Cat In the deep valleys, where water is available snake: Gymnodactylus kotschyi , Hemi - for longer periods of the year, plane trees dactylus turcicus , Lacerta viridis major , (Platanus orientalis ) and oleander ( Nerium Ablepharus pannonicus , Typhlops vermicu - oleander ) grow. laris , Coluber gemonensis , Elaphe leopar - The botany of Kythera is well re - dina and Tarbophis fallax . In fact, corre - searched (e.g., GrEUTEr & r EChInGEr sponding vouchers from that time are stored 1967; d ELForGE 2010). Kythera is the loca - at the natural history Museum in Vienna. tion of the natura 2000 area Gr 3000013 In his 7th report on his expeditions to (Kythira Kai Gyro nisides, Prasonisi, Greece, WErnEr (1937) included a list of dragonera, Antidragonera, Avgo, Kapello, the animal species observed during a week Koufo Lai Fidonisi) covering areas of the spent on Kythera and found that the island northern and eastern coasts and seven rocky fauna and flora has much in common with offshore islets. Kythera is of great impor - the southern Peloponnese, but little with the tance for birdlife and a relevant migration species on the islands of the southern Ionian path to Crete via Antikythera Island. There sea, with which Kythera for a long time is little travel literature on Kythera but there formed an administrative unit. According to is an excellent work by the landscape pho - this author, Kythera represents part of a tographer Tzeli hAdJIdIMITrIoU (2013). In bridge from Maina (= Mani), the central spite of the island’s limited importance for southern peninsular promontory of the tourism, numerous maps are available Peloponnese, to Crete. Kythera, however including the sKAI/TErrAIn map #346 has none of the endemic reptile species of Broggi_Kythera April 2014_hErPEToZoA.qxd 08.08.2016 10:20 seite 3 The herpetofauna of the Island of Kythera 39 (1938: 75) Typhlops vermicularis , although the latter is absent from the summary of the individual islands. From the amphibians he referred to Bufo viridis (1938: 24). To the nine herpetological species reported by WErnEr (1937, 1938) PIEPEr (1970) added Rana ridibunda and Ophiomorus punctatis - simus and speculated that Hyla or Clemmys might be present . C hondroPoULos (1986, 1989) did not contribute new species records, whereas, ArnoLd & B UrTon (1978) added Natrix tessellata to the fauna of Kythera. VALAKos et al. (2008) among others, followed ArnoLd & B UrTon (1978) although the presence of N. tessellata was not confirmed since. BroGGI (1994) added the Grass snake ( Natrix natrix persa ) to the list of species. GAsC et al. (1997) men - tioned Coluber caspius to occur on Kythera, which was adopted by KrEInEr (2007) and VALAKos et al. (2008), although not shown on the distribution map. sILLEro et al. (2014) no longer included this record in their updated distribution atlas of amphib - ians and reptiles in Europe. The caspius report is also doubted by Augusto CATTAnEo Fig. 1: Map of the Ionian Island of Kythera (Greece). (in litt. 1.1.2015) and may be due to Abb 1: Karte der Ionischen Insel Kythira misidentification, since the juveniles of (Griechenland). Dolichophis caspius and Hierophis gemo - nensis are very similar. In the report on a field trip to Kythera undertaken from 28 May to 5 June 2011, sPEyBroECK (2011) refers to nine species the Peloponnese, which he says is because observed: Mediodactylus kotschyi , Able - the southernmost part of the Peloponnese is pharus kitaibelii , Lacerta trilineata and completely barren and too dry even for Hierophis gemonensis were frequently ob - xerophilous lizards. Apart from the Balkan served at almost all sites . Pelophylax ridi - Green Lizard, no lizards are reported from bundus kurtmuelleri was seen in the streams the island in his above work.