ZOBODAT - www.zobodat.at Zoologisch-Botanische Datenbank/Zoological-Botanical Database Digitale Literatur/Digital Literature Zeitschrift/Journal: Herpetozoa Jahr/Year: 2019 Band/Volume: 31_3_4 Autor(en)/Author(s): Broggi Mario F. Artikel/Article: Herpetological notes on Mauremys, Pelophylax and Stellagama from the Cyclades island of Tinos (Greece) 225-229 All_Short_Notes:SHORT_NOTE.qxd 12.02.2019 14:31 Seite 7 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 31 (3/4) Wien, 28. Februar 2019 SHORT NOTE 225 Herpetological notes on Mauremys , time the maximum did not exceed 16 °C, Pelophylax and Stellagama from the while the nights remained below 10 °C. The excursions were centered on the Cyclades island of Tinos (Greece) mouths of streams and their water-bearing upper reaches, which in part were difficult The mountainous island of Tinos (195 to follow or inaccessible. The water was km 2) in the northern Cyclades archipelago searched for Mauremys rivulata (VAlENCi- (Greece) was subject to several herpetolog - ENNES , 1833 ) and Pelophylax kurtmuelleri ical contributions ( BiBRON & B ORy DE (G AyDA , 1940) . Another focus was put on SAiNT ViNCENT 1833; ERBER 1867; B ED- Stellagama stellio stellio (liNNAEuS , 1758) . RiAGA 1882; B OETTGER 1888; B iRD 1935; The map used for the excursion was the WERNER 1937, 1938 a, 1938 b; B uCHHOlZ GPS-compatible 1: 27 000 map no. 10.20 of 1963; C lARk 1969; B EuTlER & G RuBER Tinos by the mapping and publishing com - 1977; B EuTlER & F RöR 1980; B OHlmANN et pany Anavasi (Athens). al. 1981; CATTANEO 1999, 2000; TROiDl & Roughly translated, BEuTlER & F RöR TROiDl 2006). Nonetheless, there are her - (1980) wrote about Tinos: “it has what is petological reports from the 19th century, probably the best preserved wetland in the which have never been confirmed as to sev - Northern Cyclades, the lagoon of koli - eral species allegedly occurring on that bithra. There is another lagoon near Ormos island. These include the Slow Worm, Dice Panormou. Smaller ponds were found Snake, Common Newt, Green Toad, Euro - around Tinos Town, Tripotamos, kardiani pean Tree Frog and Fire-bellied Toad ( An - and isternia.” Regarding the occurrence of guis fragilis , Tropidonotus hydrus , Triton M. rivulata , they reported sightings at Or - taeniatus , Bufo variabilis , Hyla arborea and mos Panormou, in ditches between koni, Bombinator igneus in the terminology used kalloni and kolibithra and in the lagoon at in the corresponding paper by ERBER 1867), kolibithra. BOHlmANN et al. (1981) saw as well as Emys orbicularis (l iNNAEuS , one specimen near Panormos. The World 1758) and Eryx jaculus (l iNNAEuS , 1758) Wide Fund for Nature – Greece compiled an mentioned by BiBRON & B ORy DE SAiNT - inventory of the wetlands of the Greek ViNCENT (1833). Three of these species, the islands in 2004-2013 ( WWF GREECE 2014) Slow Worm, Common Newt and Fire-bel - and allowed the author to access the data. lied Toad are not even known from any This inventory includes four M. rivulata other Cyclades island, whereas there is a habitats on Tinos, namely Panormos, koli - late report on a burrowing, snake-shaped bithra, Agios ioannis and livada Bay. animal observed on Tinos at dusk, which TROiDl & T ROiDl (2006) reported hundreds may have been E. jaculus (BEuTlER & F RöR of these turtles at Panormos. 1980). Heinz Grillitsch (Vienna) offered the The sites identified by the WWF on following explanation in response to the Tinos were visited and presented the follow - author’s enquiry (e-mail of 14.11.2017). ing situations: The Panormos site (with ERBER visited the islands of Tinos and Corfu more than 100 specimens) comprised the on the same trip. With the exception of last 80 meters of a stream before it reached Bombina , all of ERBER ’s (1867) Tinos the sea. The water body bordered the road species are found on Corfu. ERBER may on the edge of the village at Panormos Bay. have confused the two islands, although he The terrapins here seemed to be less shy otherwise provided detailed descriptions of than usual. in the large brackish water the island of Tinos. lagoon of kolibithra (Fig. 2), more than a To approach any of the above ques - hundred specimens were observed along the tions, the author and his companions flat reed beds. Also, about 100 specimens Christian Burri, Peter Goop and Günter were found in the waters of the stream Stadler visited the island of Tinos (Fig. 1) impounded by the barrier beach in livada from April 2-13, 2018. During that period Bay. it was not possible to confirm the the weather conditions were not the best for reports for the degraded wetland near Agios herpetological observations. it was some - ioannis. The same applies to the reports by times windy and rather cool, most of the BEuTlER & F RöR (1980) for the “ditches be - All_Short_Notes:SHORT_NOTE.qxd 12.02.2019 14:31 Seite 8 226 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 31 (3/4) Wien, 28. Februar 2019 SHORT NOTE 4 2 3 1 i r e l l e u a t o i m l a l t l r e u t u v i s k r a x s a y l m y a m h g e p r a l l o u l e a e t S P M All_Short_Notes:SHORT_NOTE.qxd 12.02.2019 14:31 Seite 9 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 31 (3/4) Wien, 28. Februar 2019 SHORT NOTE 227 tween koni, kalloni and kolibithra”, where streams and brackish water present in some no open water was found. The wetland of the lower courses of the streams, which areas east of Tinos Town no longer existed are separated from the sea by the barrier either. beach effect. Also, the occurrence of B. On April 6, 2018, a sizeable popula - variabilis can be considered improbable as tion was detected along the stream that runs its tadpoles would have been numerous in from Falatados to livada Bay. Following the water bodies at the time of visit but the stream starting at the hamlet of Plati, were not seen. several groups of terrapins were seen bask - The lower courses of the abovemen - ing (Fig. 3). it was the largest population tioned island streams, which still contained the author ever observed along a water - water in April thanks to the impounding course in the Aegean. effect of the barrier beachs, and the long in addition to these observations, two stretches of their headwaters, are now en - more sightings were made in streams on dangered sites. The construction of reser - Tinos: On April 9, 2018, in a tributary voirs deprives the lowest stream stretches of stream above Agapi, at about 80 m above water, as could be seen in the stream dis - sea level, two adult Mauremys specimens charging east of Tinos Town. All the moun - were found in a small backwater covered tain streams that bore water were used for with duckweed (37° 36.145” N, 25° 10.046” irrigation. Wherever possible, siphon in - E). This is the location of a former water takes with hoses were installed for diversion mill, which suggests that flowing water is of water, in some cases the water was available there frequently. On April 4, pumped and often transported over long dis - 2018, Günter Stadler came across a single tances to open or covered cisterns. Open subadult specimen in the impounded water cisterns can be home to water frogs, depend - of a stream near machera, along the road ing on the construction. from marlas to koumelas (37° 39.987” N, in the Cyclades, the Roughtail Rock 25° 00.799” E). The stream has weirs to Agama, Stellagama stellio (liNNAEuS , hold back the water, and below the observa - 1758), is found in the mykonos archipela - tion point the stream had dried up. This go (islands of mykonos, Delos, Rhineia location appeared to be very isolated, not and Tinos) and more southwards, in the connected to any other water-bearing site in Naxos-Paros-Antiparos-Despotico island the same hydrological system. complex (V AlAkOS et al. 2008). The latest The three sites described in the stream land bridge connecting the Cyclades mouth areas with barrier beach or lagoon islands to the mainland disappeared more formations are thus still home to large than 200,000 years ago, whereas the Mauremys populations. The livada Valley islands themselves formed a continuous with its stream below Falatados is part of land mass until 21,500 years ago ( BRAm- the Natura 2000 area GR 4220031, that also mAH et al. 2010). For this reason there are includes the lagoon of kolibithra. close relationships in terms of their shared in conclusion, while there are still herpetofaunas. Stellagama has been vital populations of M. rivulata on Tinos, known to occur in the Cyclades since long habitats suitable for E. orbicularis were not (PiTTON DE TOuRNEFORT 1717: 373) but found. This species is not likely to occur on only BEuTlER & F RöR (1980) made the that island since it avoids inhabiting first reference to this agama on Tinos ____________________________ Figs. 1-4: Opposite page. Photographs nos. 1, 2 and 4 by the author. Fig. 1: Observed locations of Mauremys rivulata (VAlENCiENNES , 1833 ), Pelophylax kurtmuelleri (G AyDA , 1940) and Stellagama stellio stellio (liNNAEuS , 1758), on the island of Tinos, Cyclades islands (Greece). Fig. 2: The lagoon of kolibithra, the largest wetland in the northern Cyclades islands (Greece). Fig. 3: Groups of Mauremys rivulata (VAlENCiENNES , 1833 ), in a brook in the livada Valley, island of Tinos, Cyclades islands (Greece). Photograph by Peter Goop. Fig. 4: Stellagama stellio stellio (liNNAEuS , 1758), on a stone wall near the water retention basin of Tinos Town, island of Tinos, Cyclades islands (Greece).