Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 809-812 (2019) (published online on 01 August 2019) A fortuitous encounter with the Vulnerable Vipera latastei: a new locality record from Algeria and distributional range extension Idriss Bouam1,*, Elalmi Benmokhtar2, and Raouf Guechi3 The Lataste’s viper, Vipera latastei Boscá, 1878, species (General Secretariat of Government, 2012). is a western Mediterranean true viper that belongs, Its distribution in the country is disjunctive and, to from a systematic point of view, to the Vipera latastei/ date, it is known from about 19 northern localities, all monticola group, a species complex that has yet to be of which are restricted to the Tellian Atlas (Table 1). taxonomically solved (Velo-Antón et al., 2012; Freitas However, it should be pointed out that a considerable et al., 2018). The species has low detectability and is part of these observations was based on century-old characterised by extremely “slow” life-history traits museum specimens and literature records. Herein, we and particular ecological requirements (e.g., naturally present a new locality record of V. latastei that extends low population densities, delayed sexual maturation, its geographic distributional range in Algeria; moreover, low dispersal rate, feeding specialisation), hence its we provide an updated distribution map of this species secretive nature (Santos et al., 2006; Pleguezuelos et al., in the country. 2007; Freitas et al., 2018). Moreover, due to habitat loss, On October 26th, 2018 at 11:35 A.M. during a forest fires, direct persecution, and accidental mortality, birdwatching trip in Djebel Chélia (north-eastern its population has been decreased and it is listed as Algeria), E.B spotted and photographed an individual Vulnerable by the IUCN (Mateo et al., 2009). V. latastei (Fig. 1A) that was sheltered under an Atlas Vipera latastei occurs in the Iberian Peninsula and cedar (Cedrus atlantica) log, close to a seasonal northern Maghreb. In the latter region, it ranges from watercourse known as Oued Tidder (35.3069°N, the Rif and the Atlas Mountains complex of Morocco 6.6222°E; elevation: 1821 m). The habitat in which the through northern Algeria to the north-west corner viper was observed is dominated by Atlas cedar trees, of Tunisia (Freitas et al., 2018). It is noteworthy, with the understorey plants mainly included Asphodelus however, that it has been listed as possibly extinct in ramosus and Bupleurum spinosum (Fig. 1B). This Tunisia (Mateo et al., 2009), partly because of the observation represents a range extension of about 180 failure to record any individuals since the early 1950s km from the nearest known locality (i.e., Col of El (Chpakowsky and Chnéour, 1953), despite intensive Aouana in the province of Jijel; Trabut, 1919) (Fig. 2). and targeted surveys (e.g., Brito et al., 2008; Freitas Furthermore, it now constitutes the south-easternmost et al., 2018). In Algeria, the Lataste’s viper is a legally known occurrence locality of the species along its global protected species under the Executive Decree No. 12- distributional range. 235 fixing the list of protected non-domesticated animal Actually, the presence of Lataste’s viper in Djebel Chélia is not a complete surprise, given that Freitas et al. (2018) suggested that the Aurès mountain chain contains potentially suitable habitats for this species, but with a low probability of occurrence. Djebel Chélia seems to offer favourable abiotic conditions for V. 1 Department of Ecology and Environment, Faculty of Natural latastei, which tend to occur in habitats with steep slopes and Life Sciences, University of Batna 2, 05078 Fesdis, and relatively high annual precipitation, at moderate- Batna, Algeria. high altitudes (Santos et al., 2006; Brito et al., 2011; 2 41, Rue “W”, Bouakal 3, 05000, Batna, Algeria. 3 Cité 1020, Block N°6, appartement N°48, 05000, Batna, Freitas et al., 2018). Djebel Chélia is the highest peak Algeria. in northern Algeria, reaching 2328 m above sea level * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (Saoudi et al., 2017). Climatic data (from WorldClim 810 Idriss Bouam et al. Table 1. Coordinates, locality, year of record, and source of available literature and museum collections’ records of Vipera latastei in Algeria. Record codes refer to Figure 2; Lat: latitude; Long: longitude; n/a: not available; NHMUK: Natural History Museum, London.Table 1. Coordinates, locality, year of record, and source of available literature and museum collections’ records of Vipera latastei in Algeria. Record codes refer to Figure 2; Lat: latitude; Long: longitude; n/a: not available; NHMUK: Natural History Museum, London. Record code Lat Long Locality Municipality Province Year of record Source 1 34.71 -1.51 Beni Bahdel Beni Bahdel Tlemcen 1990 Freitas et al. (2018) 2 34.67 -1.33 Sebdou Sebdou Tlemcen 1986 Freitas et al. (2018) 3 36.66 2.86 Cemetery of Zaatria Mahelma Algiers n/a Trabut (1919); Sergent (1921) 4 36.80 2.96 Aïn Benian El Hammamet Algiers n/a Strauch (1862) 5 36.75 3.38 Réghaïa forest Réghaïa Algiers n/a Trabut (1919) 6 36.47 4.04 Djebel Heïdzer Assi Youcef Tizi Ouzou 2005 Brito et al. (2011) 7 36.46 4.06 Tamda Ouguelmim Haizer Bouira 1920 Sergent (1921) 8 36.45 4.13 Tikjda El Asnam Bouira 2004 Brito et al. (2011) 2006 Freitas et al. (2018) 9 36.49 4.26 Darna Iboudraren Tizi Ouzou 2004; 2005 Brito et al. (2011) 10 36.48 4.31 Ait-Ouabane Akbil Tizi Ouzou 2005 Brito et al. (2011) 11 36.49 4.36 Tirurda Iferhounène Tizi Ouzou n/a Trabut (1919) 12 36.78 4.43 Aït Aïssi Yakouren Tizi Ouzou 2012 Freitas et al. (2018) 13 36.52 4.46 Col of Chellata Illoula Oumalou Tizi Ouzou n/a Trabut (1919) 14 36.74 4.49 Yakouren – Zekri Yakouren Tizi Ouzou 2014 Freitas et al. (2018) 15 36.67 4.61 Akfadou Akfadou Béjaïa 2006 Brito et al. (2011) 16 36.65 4.66 Hengued Tifra Béjaïa 2005 Freitas et al. (2018) 17 36.71 5.63 Col of El Aouana El Aouana Jijel n/a Trabut (1919) 18 36.99 6.47 Bessombourg (presently Zitouna Skikda n/a Trabut (1919) Zitouna) 19 36.92 7.70 Edough Seraïdi Annaba 1893 Olivier (1894) n/a Tourneville (1881) n/a NHMUK (1885.4.20.15 / 1889.12.7.5 / 1920.1.20) 20 35.3069 6.6222 Djebel Chélia Inoughissen Batna 2018 Present study database at ~1 km² resolution; Fick and Hijmans, 2017) is characterised by a sub-humid Mediterranean climate, and slope variation (derived from the Shuttle Radar with mean annual precipitation of 545 mm, and highly Topographic Mission dataset at ~30 m resolution; Farr sloping terrain (20.2 – 21.6%). et al., 2007) for the locality record suggest that the area According to Freitas et al. (2018), a very significant Figure 1. (A) The Vipera latastei individual observed at Djebel Chélia, province of Batna, north-eastern Algeria; (B) general view of the habitat where V. latastei was observed. Photos by Elalmi Benmokhtar. A fortuitous encounter with the Vulnerable Vipera latastei 811 Figure 2. Geographic distribution of Vipera latastei in Algeria based on available literature and museum collections’ records (see Table 1 for record codes). proportion of the potentially suitable areas for V. latastei Chpakowsky, N., Chnéour, A. (1953): Les serpents de Tunisie. in Algeria occurs outside protected areas. This is also Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de Tunisie 6: the case for the present record, where Djebel Chélia 125–146. Cox, R.L., Underwood, E.C. (2011): The importance of conserving does not benefit from any protection status, despite its biodiversity outside of protected areas in Mediterranean identification as an Important Plant Area (Yahi et al., ecosystems. PLoS ONE 6(1): e14508. 2012). It is therefore necessary to improve management Farr, T.G., Rosen, P.A., Caro, E., Crippen, R., Duren, R., Hensley, of these non-protected areas in a way that allows for S., Kobrick, M., Paller, M., Rodriguez, E., Roth, L., Seal, D., persistence of this species by developing and applying Shaffer, S., Shimada, J., Umland, J., Werner, M., Oskin, M., a range of conservation strategies (e.g., raising public Burbank, D., Alsdorf, D. (2007): The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Reviews of Geophysics 45(2): RG2004. awareness about the legal status of the species along Fick, S.E., Hijmans, R.J. (2017): WorldClim 2: new 1-km spatial with effective law enforcement) (Cox and Underwood, resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. International 2011). These conservation programs must prioritise Journal of Climatology 37(12): 4302–4315. the humid and sub-humid Mediterranean habitats of Freitas, I., Fahd, S., Velo-Antón, G., Martínez-Freiría, F. (2018): the main northern mountain ranges (Brito et al., 2011; Chasing the phantom: biogeography and conservation of Vipera Freitas et al., 2018), and more particularly Atlas cedar latastei-monticola in the Maghreb (North Africa). Amphibia- Reptilia 39(2): 145–161. forests as they may constitute important climatic refugia General Secretariat of Government (2012): Official Journal of (Cheddadi et al., 2009) for V. latastei. the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria of 10 June 2012. Algiers, p. 5–11. Available at: https://www.joradp.dz/ftp/jo- References francais/2012/f2012035.pdf?znjo=35. Accessed on 8 April 2019. Brito, J.C., Fahd, S., Martínez-Freiría, F., Tarroso, P., Larbes, S., Mateo, J.A., Cheylan, M., Nouira, S., Joger, U., Sá-Sousa, Pleguezuelos, J.M., Santos, X. (2011): Climate change and P., Pérez-Mellado, V., Martínez-Solano, I. (2009): Vipera peripheral populations: predictions for a relict Mediterranean latastei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: viper. Acta Herpetologica 6(1): 105–118. e.T61592A12503848. Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Brito, J.C., Feriche, M., Herrera, T., Kaliontzopoulou, A., Martínez- species/61592/12503848.