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Home , Chalcides, Chalcides ocellatus, Kea (island), Kos (regional unit), Kythnos, Piperi (island)

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98 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 29 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli 2016 SHORT NOTE

A new island record for tail length (Tl) 83.2 mm, mass 24.6 g]. ocellatus (FORSkål , 1775) Another specimen, dead and in very poor condition, was found later that day (17:20 h) from , under a wooden plate in an a dried agricul - tural field near the village of driapis (37° The Chalcides lAuRENTi , 22’47.5”N; 24°25’42.1”E). 1768, comprises 31 that are found in The live female lizard was transferred Africa (mainly in the Maghreb), the Canary to the laboratory facilities of the biology islands, west Asia and Europe ( uETZ & H O- department at the university of . SEk 2014). Europe hosts four species that Two weeks later it gave birth to five juve - occur exclusively in the south of the conti - niles (juvenile #1: SVl 31 mm, Tl 20 mm, nent ( SCHNEidER 1997; SiNdACO & JEREM - mass 0.32 g, #2: SVl 36 mm, Tl 35 mm, čENkO 2008). Among them, the Ocellated mass 0.66 g, #3: SVl 36 mm, Tl 35 mm, Skink, (FORSkål , mass 0.77 g, #4: SVl 37 mm, Tl 39 mm, 1775), is by far the most widespread mass 0.79 g, #5: SVl 43 mm, Tl 42 mm, (SiNdACO & JEREMčENkO 2008). its range mass 0.84 g). The lightest juveniles (#1 and includes Asia (from to and #2) died within 24 hours while the other ) and Africa (from Egypt and kenya to three survived and continued to grow. Morocco and Mauritania). European popu - New island records of the Ocellated lations are located in italy (Sardinia, , Skink in the Aegean ( bElASEN et al. 2012 lampedusa island, Naples area), and and this report) raise the possibility that the Greece ( uETZ & H OSEk 2014). Recently, it species is present in some of the has also been introduced to the uSA ( GuNN and perhaps in other island clusters that were et al . 2012). in Greece, the distribution of connected by landmasses until the near geo - the species is discontinuous. it occurs in logical past, e.g., the and dodeca - northeastern , in in a re- nese islands were connected to mainland stricted area of the western Greek mainland Greece and Asia Minor, respectively, until (coastal Etolia and Akarnania) and on very the Middle Pleistocene ( dERMiTZAkiS 1990). few islands, namely some Argo-Saronic Alternatively, the present finding could be islands ( [ WETT STEiN -W ESTERS- the result of a re cent introduction of this HEiMb 1968], [ ClARk 1967], Makro - species to kythnos. As in other cases of the nisios [ WERNER 1937], Metopi [bOETTGER Aegean herpetofauna, further genetic inves - 1888], [ ClARk 1967] and Salamina tigation is required to clarify the origin of [bRiNGSOE 1985]), ( ANdERSON 1898, unexpected and not well explained albeit never recorded since), ( bOETT - populations on the islands ( bROGGi et al. GER 1888), ( WETTSTEiN 1953), Evvoia 2014). (bOETTGER 1888), ( WETTSTEiN The gap in our knowledge, regarding 1953), ( lAMbERT 1970), ( CAT - the distribution of C. ocellatus , can be at - TANEO 2006), Pentanisios ( WETT STEiN -W ES- tributed to its particular life pattern. The TERSHEiMb 1965) and ( ERbER 1868). Ocellated Skink is an inconspicuous species in the Cyclades, the island group to which that spends most of its life within burrows kythnos belongs, the species was recorded or under stones and emerges only when from ( bOETTGER 1888), Spanopoula preying on its invertebrate food ( lO CASCiO (GRilliTSCH & TiEdE MANN 1984) and, re - et al. 2008; CiçEk & GöçMEN 2013, authors’ cently, ( bElASEN et al. 2012) (Fig. 1). personal observation). during summer it during field work on June 21, 2014, adopts nocturnal activity, making observa - some of the authors (Yi, RS and AS) visited tions even harder. Furthermore, it prefers kythnos island in the Cyclades Archipela - soft or sandy substrates (dunes, farmlands, go. At the side of the road leading from meadows) where it can dive into the soil to Merichas to Episkopi (37°23’31.6”N, 24° avoid its enemies ( MERMER 1996; authors’ 23’51.7”E), a specimen of C. ocellatus was personal observation). indeed, on some is- detected under a flat stone at about 08:20 lands (e.g., kea, Rhodes, Crete), the sandy a.m. The individual was a large, gravid, coastal regions are densely populated by female [snout-vent length (SVl) 107 mm, Ocellated . However, in the mostly All_Short_Notes_SHORT_NOTE.qxd 08.08.2016 11:09 Seite 23

SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 29 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli 2016 SHORT NOTE 99

Fig. 1: known distribution of Chalcides ocellatus (FORSkål , 1775) in Greece (species range in black, Greece in dark gray). An arrow points to the new record on kythnos island (in white with black coastline).

stony and steep such habitats this highly disjunct Aegean range was are uncommon; thereby limiting successful ascribed to human introductions ( kORNiliOS colonization events . For all the above rea - et al. 2010; lYMbERA kiS & POulAkAkiS sons, while it is frequently found in regions 2010). Chalcides ocellatus is indeed known with more favorable habitats (e.g., in israel; to be translocated by humans ( SCHNEidER pers. obs. of the authors), it requires patient 1981 ; CAPuTO et al. 1997) and supposedly fieldwork to encounter C. ocellatus in the reached the east Mediterranean region as a Aegean islands. For instance, Augusto CAT- hitchhiker ( kORNiliOS et al. 2010). if more TANEO , an experienced researcher of the records from other Aegean islands come to Greek herpetofauna, did not encounter this enhance the range list, one may need to skink while surveying kythnos for snakes reconsider the distributional model of the (CATTANEO 1990). However, he may not species. Along with its well-proven stow - have found C. ocellatus individuals simply away skills ( kORNiliOS et al . 2010), com - because they were not present on kythnos plementary biogeographical scenarios could when he surveyed the island 25 years ago. imply vicariance or dispersal from mainland Though the herpetofauna of the Greek Greece and Asia Minor. A phylogeographi - islands is quite well known, thanks to 180 cal an alysis of the insular populations would years of extended research ( PAFiliS 2010), shed light on this biogeographic conundrum. new records constantly enhance the body of ACkNOWlEdGMENTS : The authors thank literature ( bROGGi 2008; 2010; bElASEN et Anat Feldman for help with designing Figure 1. al. 2012; P AFiliS & SkEllA 2012; SPANEli & REFERENCES: ANdERSON , J. (1898): Zoology lYMbERAkiS 2014). of Egypt. Vol 1: Reptilia and batrachia. london (bern- The new reports on the distribution of ard Quaritch), pp. 572. bElASEN , A. & li, b. & FOu- FOPOulOS , J. (2012): Chalcides ocellatus (Ocellated C. ocellatus raise interesting biogeographi - Skink). Greece: Cyclades, Naxos island.- Herpetolo- cal questions. The Aegean range area of the gical Review, Clovis; 43: 102. bOETTGER , O. (1888): Ocellated Skink is largely restricted to land - Verzeichniss der von Hrn. E. VON OERTZEN aus Grie - bridge islands close to both sides of the chenland und aus kleinasien mitgebrachten batrachier und Reptilien.- Sitzungsberichte der königlich Preussi- and the arc islands schen Akademie der Wissenschaften, berlin; 5: 139- of Crete and karpathos (VAlAkOS et al. 2008; 186. bRiNGSOE , H. (1985): A check-list of Pelopon- kORNiliOS et al. 2010) . by several authors, nesian amphibians and , including new records All_Short_Notes_SHORT_NOTE.qxd 08.08.2016 11:09 Seite 24

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(1996): biological and taxo - < [email protected] >; Rachel SCHWARZ nomical investigations on Chalci des ocellatus (Sauria: < [email protected] >; Shai MEiRi Scincidae) in .- Turkish Journal of Zoology, < [email protected] >, department of Zoology, Ankara; 20: 77-93. PAFiliS , P. (2010): A brief history Tel Aviv university, 6997801, Tel Aviv, israel; of Greek herpetology.- bonn Zoological bulletin, Panayiotis PAFiliS , university of Athens, department bonn; 57: 329-345. PAFiliS , P. & SkEllA , A. (2012): of Zoology, School of biology, Greece < ppafil@ Southernmost island record of Malpolon insignitus biol.uoa.gr >.