SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 27 (3/4) Wien, 30. Jänner 2015 SHORT NOTE 197 Another record of Bou Craa (26°19’ N) and northernmost Lytorhynchus diadema coastal Mauritania (21°18’ N), there is a large gap (over 300,000 km 2) in the known (DuMéRil , B iBRON & D uMéRil , 1854) species’ distribution where observations from Moroccan Atlantic Sahara have never been collected ( BONS & g ENiEZ 1996; SCHlEiCH et al. 1996; gENiEZ et al. it was towards the end of 19th century 2004; TRAPE & M ANé 2006). and early 20th century that first information During the authors’ field-work in the on the reptile fauna of the Moroccan region, the snake was recorded in three lo - Atlantic Sahara or ‘Moroccan Southern Pro - calities new to the species. vinces’ (then the Spanish colony ‘Spanish One is the market gardening farm Sahara’) was collected (e.g., quiROgA 1886; “MSD 1 gleb Jedian“ (23.6667 N, 15.7333 güNTHER 1903; Z uluETA 1909; B OETTgER W), about 20 km west of the city of Dakhla, 1921; l OvERiDgE 1947; M ONTEil 1951). Dur - about 10 km from the Atlantic Ocean and ing this period, the region of Oued Dahab 420 km south of Bou Craa, the hitherto (then ‘Rio de Oro’), in particular, benefited southernmost record of the species in Mo - most from the visit of herpetologists, which rocco. The climate is relatively humid in an helped to shed light on the reptilian commu - otherwise very dry region. The area is sub - nity of this region. However, following ject to mild temperatures with low rainfall Spain’s withdrawal from the region and the that does not exceed 35 mm in the autumn. subsequent war between Morocco and the The site is under oceanic influence which separatists (Polisario), most of the interior offsets the harshness of the Saharan climate remained relatively unexplored for over two of the region. The observations at MSD 1 decades (from the mid-1970s to the 1990s). correspond to three ad ult individuals (Figs. gENiEZ et al. (2004) synthesized the current 2A and 2B) and were made on June 5, 2005, knowledge about “The amphibians and rep - November 10, 2008 and May 1, 2009. The tiles of the Western Sahara (former Spanish habitat is mostly a reg with sand dunes and Sahara) and adjacent regions”, based on clumps of vegetation at some places, locat - previous publications, unpublished and pub - ed in a depression that accumulates the rare lished data from more recent expeditions to rainwater. All three individuals were ob - some of the safest parts of the territory (e.g., served on pieces of abandoned plastic, gENiEZ et al. 1992; gENiEZ & g ENiEZ 1993; which makes us think that the species may HASi et al. 1997; MATEO et al. 1998; gENiEZ benefit from the artificial microclimate in et al. 2000, 2004; PlEguEZuElOS et al. 2004). greenhouses of these farms located in the Since the beginning of the 21st centu - north of the Oued-Dahab-lagouira region. ry, more and more expeditions to the region, These gardening farms are considered a re - including inland and southernmost parts fuge for other species of reptiles, e.g., Spa - adjacent to Mauritania, made new discover - lerosophis diadema (SCHlEgEl , 1837) (ME- ies (e.g., ESCORiZA et al. 2011; qNiNBA et al. DiANi et al. 2013 ) and Chamaeleo chamae - 2013; MEDiANi et al. 2013 ). in this paper, leon (l iNNAEuS , 1758) (TRAPE et al. 2012), the authors present and discuss the southern as well as for other taxonomic groups, distribution limit of Lytorhynchus diadema including dragonflies (authors’ pers. obs.), (DuMéRil , B iBRON & D uMéRil , 1854) in birds ( CHEvAliER & B ERgiER 2011), and Morocco. mammals ( CHEvAliER et al. 2012). in Morocco, this snake is widely dis - A further locality is located near the tributed over a large part of the Saharan area town of Aousserd on National Road N3 and also in a small part of the arid oriental (23.1014 N, 14.9300 W), about 110 km area ( BONS & g ENiEZ 1996; gENiEZ et al. southwest of the previous site and about 210 2004) with Bou Craa ( vAlvERDE 1957) as km from the border with Mauritania, the the southernmost known record locality for nearest southern sites where the species is the species (Fig. 1). in Mauritania, the known to occur ( gENiEZ et al. 2004). The species is known to occur in the northern - observation corresponds to an active adult most coastal region bordering Morocco observed during a cool night on April 7, (villiERS 1950). Between the parallels of 2013 (Figs. 2C and 2D). 198 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 27 (3/4) Wien, 30. Jänner 2015 SHORT NOTE Fig. 1: Range of Lytorhynchus diadema (DuMéRil , B iBRON & D uMéRil , 1854) in Morocco and adjacent areas in Mauritania. Solid circles correspond to localities according to BONS & g ENiEZ (1996) and gENiEZ et al. (2004), empty circles to new records reported here. The third record locality (gPS coordi - small-scale pasture activities that involve nates unknown, David OuDJANi pers. com.) camel and goat rising. The soil is loose in is situated near Bir Anzaran, at about 104 general, but stony regs are present in some km from the Atlantic Ocean and 124 km places. from the first site. This site is the northern - in Morocco, the distribution of this most observation of the species in the region colubrid snake in arid and Saharan areas is of Oued Dahab-lagouira. The habitat of the very sparse and is better known in the second and third sites is constituted by a reg region of Tarfaya and Zagora than in the with interspersed savanna-like areas with region south la’youne (Fig. 1 in BONS & Acacia trees, reminiscent of those of the gENiEZ 1996). The new observations sug - Sahel, surrounded by a vast tree-less zone. gest that the species has a much wider dis - The habitats are well preserved, discounting tribution than previously known and that a SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 27 (3/4) Wien, 30. Jänner 2015 SHORT NOTE 199 A B CD Fig. 2: Lytorhynchus diadema (DuMéRil , B iBRON & D uMéRil , 1854) photographed at the region of Oued Dahab-lagouira (Southern Sahara, Morocco). A and B - from 20 km west of the city of Dakhla, C and D - from near the town of Aousserd. continuous population may occur between (2011): Nova cita i aspectes ecològics del varà del Dakhla and Mauritania ( gENiEZ et al. desert Varanus griseus (Sauria: varanidae) al Sahara Occidental.- Butlletí de la Societat Catalana d’Herpeto - 2004). Lytorhynchus diadema was consid - logia, Barcelona; 19: 70-74. gENiEZ , M. & B EAuBRuN , ered a rare species in the south of the P. C. & g ENiEZ , P H. (1992): Nouvelles observations sur Sahara ( BONS & g ENiEZ 1996), but these l’herpétofaune marocaine, 3: le Sahara Occidental.- observations suggest that the species may Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de France, Paris; 63: 7-14. gENiEZ , M. & g ENiEZ , P H. (1993): Nouvelles be relatively abundant in the southern observations sur l’herpétofaune marocaine, 4: le Sahara Moroccan Sahara. Occidental, 2.- Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de France, Paris; 67-68: 1-10. gENiEZ , P H. & M ATEO , REFERENCES: BOETTgER , C. R. (1921): Mei - J. A. & B ONS , J. (2000): Checklist of the amphibians ne Exkursion zur spanischen kolonie Rio de Oro in and reptiles of Western Sahara.- Herpetozoa, Wien; 13: Westafrika.- Berichte der Senckenbergischen Naturfor - 149-163. gENiEZ , P H. & M ATEO , J. A. & g ENiEZ , M. & schenden gesellschaft, Frankfurt, a. M.; 51: 18-31. PETHER , J. (2004): The amphibians and reptiles of the BONS , J. & g ENiEZ , P H. (1996): Amphibiens et reptiles Western Sahara (former Spanish Sahara) and adjacent du Maroc (Sahara Occidental compris). Atlas Biogéo - regions. Frankfurt a. M. (Edition Chimaira) [ Frankfurt graphique. Asociación Herpetológica Española, Bar - Contributions to Natural History vol. 19 ], pp. 228. celona, pp. 319. CHEvAliER , F. & B ERgiER , P. (2011): güNTHER , A. (1903): Reptiles from Rio de Oro, Notes sur quelques oiseaux observés près de Dakhla, Western Sahara.- Novitates Zoologicae, Tring; 10: 298- Oued Ad-Deheb.- go-South Bulletin, Saint Rémy de 299. HASi , M. & l OPEZ -J uRADO , l. F. & M ATEO , J. A. Provence; 8: 114-124. CHEvAliER , F. & T HEvENOT , M. & S AiNT -A NDRiEuX , J. P. & g ENiEZ , P H. (1997): & B ERgiER , P. (2012): Notes sur quelques mammifères Nouvelles observations herpétologiques au Sahara terrestres observés près de Dakhla, Oued Ad-Deheb.- Occidental, 3. Bulletin de la Société Herpétologique de go-South Bulletin, Saint Rémy de Provence; 9: 1-6. France, Paris; 84: 33-38. lOvERiDgE , A. ( 1947): ESCORiZA , D. & F ERRER J. & A MAT , F. & T ARRAgó , A. Revision of the African lizards of the family gekko - 200 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 27 (3/4) Wien, 30. Jänner 2015 SHORT NOTE nidae.- Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoolo- gy, Cambridge; 98: 1-469. MATEO, J. A. & gENiEZ, PH. & lOPEZ-JuRADO, l. F. & BONS, J. (1998): Choro - logical analysis and morphological variations of sauri- ans of the genus Uromastyx (Reptilia, Agamidae) in Western Sahara. Description of two new taxa.- Revista Española de Herpetología, Barcelona; 12: 97-109. MEDiANi, M. & FAHD, S. & CHEvAliER, F. & qNiNBA, A. & SAMlAli, M. S. (2013): New southern limit for the distribution of Clifford’s diadem snake Spalero - sophis diadema (Reptilia: Colubridae) in Morocco.- Herpetology Notes; Braunschweig; 6: 453-456. MON- TEil, v. (1951): Contribution à l’étude de la faune du Sahara Occidental.- Notes et Documents de l’institut des Hautes Etudes Marocaines, Paris; 9: 1-169. PlEguEZuElOS, J. M. & FARiñA, B. & MATEO, J. A. & gENiEZ, PH. (2004): Nuevos datos sobre los anfibios y reptiles de Mauritania y el Sáhara Occidental.- Boletin de la Asociación Herpetológica Española, Madrid; 15 (2): 76-80.