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First Report on the Reptile Diversity of Wadi El Gemal National Park, Eastern Desert, Egypt

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First Report on the Reptile Diversity of Wadi El Gemal National Park, Eastern Desert, Egypt Russian Journal of Herpetology Vol. 26, No. 3, 2019, pp. 175 – 184 DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2019-26-3-175-184 FIRST REPORT ON THE REPTILE DIVERSITY OF WADI EL GEMAL NATIONAL PARK, EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT Konstantin D. Milto,1 Samy A. Saber,2 Abdullah M. Nagy,3 Roman A. Nazarov,4 Daniel A. Melnikov,1 and Natalia B. Ananjeva1 Submitted February 26, 2019 The herpetofauna of Wadi El Gemal National Park, Eastern Desert, Egypt currently includes 28 reptile species. Three large wadies, Wadi El Gemal, Wadi Abu Ghusoun and Wadi Sartout, were observed as a model of the spe- cies composition within the national park. Species assemblages, taxonomic and ecological diversity, and the biogeographical affinities of reptiles in the specific environment of the hyperarid desert are discussed. Keywords: reptiles; herpetofauna; biodiversity; zoogeography; Egypt; Eastern Desert. INTRODUCTION pies the south-western corner of the park. It is a hyperarid desert zone characterized by a monthly mean temperature of 30°C in the summer and no lower than 10°C in the The Eastern Desert is a hyperarid desert, located winter. Annual precipitation does not exceed 50 mm between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coast. Orologi- (Babayev et al., 1986). cally, the Eastern Desert is a medium elevated plateau. The huge territory of this national park is a medium The wadies that bisect the mountains and the plateau of elevated plateau, dissected by a dense system of wadies. the Eastern Desert provide natural routes between the The largest wadi in the park is Wadi El Gemal, which well-drained landscapes of the Nile Valley and the Red originates in the Red Sea mountainous terrain and ex- Sea coastal zone. The Eastern Desert is divided geologi- tends easterly to the Red Sea coast. This wadi is bound on cally into three distinctive terrains: the North Eastern both sides by elements of these high ridges of igneous Desert, the Central Eastern Desert, and the South Eastern rocks, which, due to frequent changes in their orientation, Desert. The Central Eastern Desert occupies the central result in a meandering course. The bed of the Wadi is part of the Eastern Desert and is characterized by the low- lined with clastic rocks, sand or pebbles. Depending on est concentration of granitic rocks and the greatest con- the substrate and hydro-regime, different plant communi- centration of rocks with strong oceanic affinities (Stern ties are formed in the wadies. Two different types of plant and Hedge, 1985). communities are usually recognized in the Wadi El Ge- Wadi Ghemal National Park is located in the south- mal. The main part of the wadi bed is occupied by a com- eastern part of the Central Eastern Desert and its territory munity of xerophytic vegetation with the next most dom- 2 of 4770 km spreads from the Hamata mountains to the inant species: Senna italica, Zilla spinosa, Pulicaria un- Red Sea coastal islands. The high mountain region occu- dulata, and Panicum turgidum. Another vegetation com- 1 Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya munity, composed of Zygophyllum coccineum, Limonium nab. 1, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia; e-mails: [email protected], axillare, and Tamarix aphylla, is distributed in the deltaic [email protected], [email protected] part of the wadi, which is characterized by relatively 2 Zoology Department, Faculty of Science Al-Azhar University, Nasr moist soils (El-Sharkawi et al., 1982; Mahmoud, 2010). City, Cairo, 11884, Egypt; e-mail: [email protected] 3 Zoology Department, Faculty of Science Al-Azhar University, Nasr Wadies contain vegetation that is richer than that of City, Cairo, 11884, Egypt; e-mail: [email protected] other types of desert landforms and habitats that are ac- 4 Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, B. Nikitskaya ul. 6, cessible to many terrestrial vertebrate species, and firstly, Moscow, 125009, Russia; e-mail: [email protected] reptiles. At present, 51 reptile species have been docu- 1026-2296/2019/2603-0175 © 2019 Folium Publishing Company 176 Konstantin D. Milto et al. mented in the Eastern Desert and 27 species have been et Ananjeva, Uromastyx ocellata Lichtenstein, Acantho- documented in the Central Eastern Desert (Baha El Din, dactylus boskianus (Daudin), Mesalina guttulata (Lich- 2006; Milto, 2017). tenstein), Mesalina rubropunctata (Lichtenstein), Ophis- Despite the well-studied flora of the Eastern Desert ops elbaensis Schmidt et Marx, Varanus griseus (Dau- and Wadi El Gemal National Park (El-Sharkawi et al., din), Spalerosophis diadema (Schlegel), Psamm- 1982; Mahmoud, 2010; Galal, 2011; Galal and Fahmy, ophis aegyptius Marx, Cerastes cerastes (Linnaeus), see 2012; Mahmoud and Gairola, 2013), zoological studies Figs. 2 and 3). Herein, we provide three new species re- have been relatively infrequent (Frazier and Salas, 1984; cords for Wadi El Gemal National Park (Ophisops elba- Baha El Din, 2006; Attum et al., 2009). In fact, there have ensis, Varanus griseus, and Spalerosophis diadema) and been no vertebrate diversity studies in the territory of two new species records for the Central Eastern Desert Wadi El Gemal National Park. Data on herpetofauna is (Ophisops elbaensis and Spalerosophis diadema). Range not complete and only documented in Baha El Din extensions into the Eastern Desert for two reptile species (2006). In this paper, we discuss the diversity and biogeo- (Tropiocolotes bisharicus and Ophisops elbaensis) were graphy of reptiles in this national park and the Central also recorded (Milto et al., 2018). According to an analy- Eastern Desert of Egypt. sis of our data and literature sources, 28 reptile species belonging to 22 genera and 11 families were documented in Wadi El Gemal National Park (Table 1). MATERIAL AND METHODS Species assemblages — á Diversity We conducted herpetological surveys in Wadi El Gemal National Park in September – October 2014, May The total and component compositions of the three 2015, January 2017 and March – April 2018. Nine typical wadi herpetofaunas are summarized here. These wadies in protected area were observed: Wadi Lahmi, three wadies, Wadi El Gemal, Wadi Abu Ghusoun and Wadi El Gemal, Wadi Abu Ghusoun, Wadi El Abyad, Wadi Sartout, were observed as a model of species com- Wadi Sartout, Wadi Huluz, Wadi Nugruz, Wadi Skeet, position in the national park. Wadi El Gemal extends in and Wadi Al Mokhatatah (Fig. 1). the west-east direction and is characterized by the most The inventory techniques included random quadrat diverse environmental conditions, such as soil type, plant searches, cruise collecting along transects, and general communities and animal species assemblages. The re- random collecting. All suitable habitats — sand and maining wadies were less-intensely surveyed and, as ex- gravel wadi beds, wadi sides, rocky slopes, small gorges pected, their species counts were lower. Thus, these her- and rocky wadies, sandy areas, bushes, trunks of trees petofaunas serve as touchstones for the less-thoroughly (Acacia, Balanites), sand dunes and building walls — inventoried sites. were observed. The following information was recorded 1.1. The upper stream of Wadi El Gemal for each specimen: date, locality, approximate time of (24°33¢31.5¢¢ N 34°48¢22.6¢¢ E – 24°32¢15.0¢¢ N collection, microhabitat, elevation, age and sex. Photo- 34°44¢39.8¢¢ E) is an enlarged sandy valley, passing into a graphs of animals and biotopes was taken in situ, and all plain. Woody perennials are represented here by the records were tied to GPS coordinates. The preliminary sparse trees of Acacia tortilis and Balanites aegypthia- description of vegetation included dominant species and cus, and the sporadic distributed bush species Leptadenia was based on field observations along transects in the pyrotechnica. Ground vegetation is well-developed and most typical reptile habitats. composed mainly of Zilla spinosa and sporadically of Cotula cinerea and Citrullus colocynthis. A number of RESULTS AND DISCUSSION reptile species were recorded here: Agama spinosa, Uro- mastyx ocellata, Acanthodactylus boskianus, Mesalina guttulata, Ptyodactylus hasselquistii, P. siphonorhinus, Checklist Stenodactylus sthenodactylus, Psammophis aegypthius, Our survey of field work in the park resulted in 111 and Cerastes cerastes. A dominance of the terrestrial records of 20 reptile species (Hemidactylus robustus ground dwelling species and a small portion of the petro- Heyden, Pristurus flavipunctatus Rüppell, Ptyodactylus philous species, such as Agama spinosa, Ptyodactylus hasselquistii (Donndorff), Ptyodactylus siphonorhinus hasselquistii, P. siphonorhinus, recorded mainly on the Anderson, Stenodactylus sthenodactylus (Lichtenstein), high rock habitats, are typical for this area (Table 1). Tropiocolotes bisharicus Baha El Din, Tropiocolotes 1.2. In the middle stream of Wadi El Gemal, our steudneri (Peters), Agama spinosa Gray, Pseudotrapelus study area was located near the confluence with Wadi Al chlodnickii Melnikov, Œmie³owski, Melnikova, Nazarov Mokhatatah (24°33¢45.9¢¢ N 34°51¢21.1¢¢ E). There are Reptile Diversity of Wadi El Gemal, Eastern Desert, Egypt 177 Fig. 1. Typical landscapes of Wadi El Gemal National Park: a, Wadi El Gemal, middle stream; b, Wadi Sartout. 178 Konstantin D. Milto et al. Fig. 2. Gekkonid, phyllodactylid and sphaerodactylid lizards from Wadi El Gemal National Park: a, Stenodactylus sthenodactylus, Wadi El Ge- mal; b, Tropiocolotes bisharicus, Wadi Sartout; c, Tropiocolotes steudneri, Wadi El Ghusoun; d, Tropiocolotes steudneri, Wadi El Gemal; e, Ptyodactylus hasselquistii, Wadi Sartout; f, Ptyodactylus siphonorhinus, Wadi El Gemal; g, Tarentola annularis, near southern border of national park; h, Pristurus flavipunctatus, Wadi El Gemal. Reptile Diversity of Wadi El Gemal, Eastern Desert, Egypt 179 Fig. 3. Agamid and lacertid lizards and snakes from Wadi El Gemal National Park: a, Agama spinosa, Wadi El Gemal; b, Pseudotrapelus chlodnickii, Wadi Sartout; c, Uromastix ocellata, Wadi Sartout; d, Acanthodactylus boskianus, Wadi El Gemal; e, Mesalina guttulata, Wadi El Gemal; f, Psammophis aegyptius, Wadi Abu Ghusoun; g, Cerastes cerastes, near southern border of national park; h, Echis coloratus, near southern border of national park. 180 Konstantin D. Milto et al.
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