Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, 1883:188

Bauer, Aaron M., DeBoer, Jonathan C. & Taylor, Dylan J., 2017, Atlas of the Reptiles of Libya, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64 (8), pp. 155-318 : 178-180

Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, 1883:188

1883 Testudo kleinmanni Lortet, Études zoologiques sur la faune du Lac de Tibériade suivies d’un apercu sur la faune des lacs d’Antioche et de Homs. I. Poissons et Reptiles du Lac de Tibériade et de quelques autres parties de la Syrie. Archives du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle. Lyon 3:99–194, pls. VI–XIX.

LECTOTYPE.— MHNL 42000414 designated by Perälä (2001), “dans les sables de la basse Egypte, surtout dans les environs d’Alexandrie.” A previous lectotype designation ( Mertens 1967) is invalid as it is based on a specimen that was not part of the original type series fide Perälä (2001), which see for a further discussion and a listing of paralectotypes.

Testudo leithii, Le Berre 1989:104 .

Testudo (Pseudotestudo) kleinmanni, Schleich, Kästle, and Kabisch 1996:152 .

Testudo kleinmanni, Sindaco and Jeremčenko 2008:86 .

DISTRIBUTION.— From northwestern Libya across coastal Libya (or with a gap in the Gulf of Sirte, see Comments) and Egypt, through Sinai and Gaza (Palestinian Authority), where it has been extirpated, to southern Israel. Libyan localities fall within coastal and semi-desert regions from Qarabulli to Tobruk, inland of the Jabal al Akhdar in Cyrenaica ( Schleich 1989; Schneider and Schneider 2008). There are historical records almost to the Egyptian border. In 2005 the Tripolitanian and Cyrenaican extents of occurrence/areas of occupancy were estimated at 5500 km 2 / 550 km 2 and 11,100 km 2 / 5025 km 2 ( Perälä 2005) respectively, although Schneider and Schneider (2006a, b, 2008) considered these to be underestimates.

Libyan Records (Map 6): TRIPOLITA-

NIA: JAFARA: 33: SMF 65704, 66773. TRIPOLI:

54: Perälä 2005. 55: NMP6V 72917*; Široký and Fritz 2007. MURQUB: 58: Rohlfs 1881. 60:

Peters 1880, 1881; Werner 1909; Zavattari

1934; Loveridge and Williams 1957. 66: Sindaco, pers. obs. 4/29/2008. 68: ZMH R 00616;

Fritz and Buskirk 1997; Frynta et al 2000;

Perälä 2005; Schneider and Schneider 2006a,

b. 69: Perälä 2005; Schneider and Schneider

2006a, b. MISRATAH: 80: Schneider and Schnei-

der 2006a, b. 85: Hlawtsch 2009. NALUT: 108:

NMP6V 72917*; Široký and Fritz 2007. JABAL

AL GHARBI: 154: Fritz and Buskirk 1997;

Perälä 2005. SIRTE: 173: Schneider and Schnei-

der 2006a, b. 186: MTKD 47391. 188: Schnei-

der and Schneider 2006a, b. “ between Tarhuna and Bin Ghashir”: RMNH RENA 11362; MAP 6. Distribution of Testudo kleinmanni in Libya. Fritz and Buskirk 1997; Perälä 2005. “ Sirtica”: Zavattari 1937; Lambert and Buskirk in Schneider and Schneider 2008. FEZZAN: GHAT: 253: FMNH [no specific number given]; Perälä 2005. CYRENAICA: BENGHAZI: 357: MZUT R3681; Werner 1909; Zavattari 1929, 1934; Andreone et al. 2007; Schneider and Schneider 2008. 367: FMNH [no specific number given]; USNM 139092– 94; Perälä 2001, 2005. MARJ: 385: FMNH [no specific number given]; Zavattari 1937; Perälä 2005.

JABAL AL AKHDAR: 451: Schleich 1989; Perälä 2005. 457: FMNH [no specific number given]; Perälä 2005. DARNAH: 466: MTKD D 31598; MZUT R2026; SMF 36124; Zavattari 1929, 1930, 1934; Calabresi 1923; Perälä 2001; Perälä 2005; Andreone et al. 2007; Schneider and Schneider 2008. 468: Perälä 2005. 469: Schneider and Schneider 2006a, b. 470: Schleich 1989. 475: MTKD 47390; Schneider and Schneider 2006a, b. 481: Perälä 2005. 483: Perälä 2005. 484a: Schleich 1989; Perälä 2005. BUTNAN: 489: Perälä 2005. 490: SMF 35406, 37643; Schleich 1989. 492: Perälä 2005. 509: Vinciguerra 1927; Zavattari 1929, 1930, 1934; Gestro and Vinceguerra 1931; Perälä 2005; Schneider and Schneider 2008. 510: Schleich 1989. 515: Vinciguerra 1929; Zavattari 1929; Loveridge and Williams 1957. 521: Iverson 1992; Perälä 2005; Schneider and Schneider 2008. AL WAHAT: 529: Iverson 1992; Perälä 2005; Schneider and Schneider 2008. “ Cyrenaica ”: Werner 1909. “ Northeastern Libya ”: PCHP 4319, 4321, 4323, 4340, 4341, 4438, 4441-43, 4445, 4446, 4484; Perälä 2001. LIBYA: MTKD D 26016, 28287, 29119; NMP 71036, 71070, 72917; RMNH RENA 11364; SMF 35546, 36061, 41201; Perälä 2001.

COMMENTS.— Testudo leithi Günther, 1869 , although a senior synonym of T. kleinmanni , is unavailable as it is also a junior homonym of a nomen applying to another species. Testudo werneri Perälä, 2001 , with its type locality in Israel, was synonymized with T. kleinmanni by Baha El Din (2006) and this action has subsequently been supported by several studies (Široký and Fritz 2007; Attum et al. 2007), although it is retained as subspecifically distinct by some authors (e.g., Wern- er 2016).

Loveridge and Williams (1957) summarized Libyan records known at the time as “Barca; between Bir Sceferzen and Esc-Scegga on the Giarabub to Tobruk road; Sirtica; Wadi Tessina in Kufra Oasis.” The Kufra record noted by Loveridge and Williams (1957) traces to Werner’s (1909) reference to the book title “ Kufra ” in which the specimen was noted by Wilhelm Peters (1880, 1881), and not the locality (see Comments under T. graeca ). Anderson (1898) and Werner (1909) considered this specimen — listed as a T. graeca by Peters — to be T. leithi [= T. kleinmanni ]. Although the specimen is now lost (Schneider and Schneider 2008) and its identity cannot now be confirmed, we consider Peters’ original identification to be correct. We accept the interpretation of Peters’ other Libyan tortoise record, from Bir-Milhra, as T. kleinmanni , as argued by Schneider and Schneider (2008), who investigated all earlier records for T. kleinmanni in Libya.

Arbel (1984) did not include even eastern Libya in the range of T. kleinmanni (fide Fritz and Buskirk 1997), but records from northern Cyrenaica have generally been regarded as valid (e.g., Buskirk 1985; Le Berre 1989; Schleich et al. 1996). However, localities to the west, e.g. “Sirtica” [= Sirte, or perhaps the general region of northern Libya west of the heavily populated areas of Cyrenaica (Schneider and Schneider 2008)] have been controversial (e.g., Perälä 2005). Iverson (1986, 1992) mapped the Sirte locality as well as one (1992) or two (1986) localities in the vicinity of Tripoli. According to Fritz and Buskirk (1997) these localities correspond to “Homs” = Al Khums (ZMH R 00616) and “between Tarhuna and Bin Ghashir” (RMNH 11362) and suggest that the Tripolitanian records for this species are valid. Fritz and Buskirk (1997) also enumerated other vouchered and unvouchered records from Tripolitania and Hlawatch (2009) confirmed the presence of the species near Misratah. Schneider and Schneider (2008) mapped additional localities without providing exact coordinates, these are not included in our list.

Localities listed above with an asterisk (*) are vouchered by specimens NMP6 V 72917/1–4. However, as noted by Široký and Fritz (2007), it is unclear which of the four specimens is associated with which of the two localities .

IUCN THREAT STATUS.— Critically Endangered A2abcd + 3d. Ongoing decline is largely due to agriculture and the pet trade ( Perälä 2003). This species is now extirpated in portions of its range (Gaza, and much of its former Egyptian range).

Squamata Family Agamidae

Agama tassiliensis Geniez, Padial and Crochet, 2011: 32 , figs. 2, 3, 4, 6a ( FIGS . 10–11)

2011 Agama tassiliensis Geniez, Padial and Crochet, Systematics of North African Agama ( Reptilia: Agamidae ): a new species from the central Saharan mountains. Zootaxa, 3098:26–46.

HOLOTYPE.— MNHN 2010 .0632; “ Tassili n’Ajjer (south-eastern Algeria), 5 km south-south-west from Iherir [WGS84 25.3500°N / 8.3911°E / 1428m a.s.l.].”

Agama impalearis [part], Le Berre 1989:120.

Agama impalearis [part], Schleich, Kästle, and Kabisch 1996:285.

Agama impalearis [part], Sindaco and Jeremčenko 2008:143.

Agama tassiliensis, Trape, Trape and Chirio 2012:154 .

DISTRIBUTION.— The central Sahara, in the highland areas surrounding the Tassili n’Ajjer and Ahaggar (Hoggar), Algeria, Aïr Mountains, Niger, Adjar des Ifhoras, Mali, and Tibesti, Chad. In Libya it occurs in the southwest of the country in the region of the Akakus Mountains (Tadrart Acacus) and Messak Settafet Plateau (Sindaco and Jeremčenko 2008; Trape et al. 2012).

Libyan records (Map 7): FEZZAN:

GHAT: 230: PGe.860; Geniez et al. 2011. 231:

PGe.999; Geniez et al. 2011. 234: Essghaier et al. 2015. 237: Sindaco, pers. obs. 4/20/2008.

238: Sindaco, pers. obs. 4/21/2008. 240: Sindaco, pers. obs. 4/21/2008. 241: Sindaco, pers.

obs. 4/21/2008. 242: CUP R 139 ; Frynta et al .

2000. 246: Kratochvíl et al. 2002; Essghaier et al. 2015. 248: ZCT 2006.73; Ibrahim 2008a.

249: MCSN 1855; Zavattari 1937. 256: MCSN

1786, 1828; Scortecci 1934, 1937b. 257: Sindaco, pers. obs. 4/21/2008. 258: CUP R 134;

Frynta et al. 2000. 260: Sindaco, pers. obs.

4/22/2008. 261: PGe.854; Geniez et al. 2011 .

263: CUP R 132; Frynta et al. 2000. WADI AL

HAYAA: 266: PGe.920; Geniez et al. 2011. 267:

Sindaco pers. comm. 4/24/2008. SABHA : 281:

MCSN 1773. MURZUQ: 265: CUP R 135; Fryn- MAP 7. Distribution of Agama tassiliensis in Libya.

ta et al. 2000; NMBA-REPT 17812; ZFMK 63669; Geniez et al. 2011; Sindaco pers. comm. 4/24/2008. 292: PGe.867; Geniez et al. 2011. “ Sahara tripolitain ”: Angel and Lhote 1938. COMMENTS.— Geniez et al. (2011) recently described this central Saharan endemic from the Agama impalearis complex. Agama impalearis sensu stricto is now restricted to Western Sahara, Morocco, and adjacent areas of northwestern Algeria ( Gonçalves et al. 2012). Trape et al. (2012) plotted the records of Geniez et al. (2011) at a 1° scale. Agama tassiliensis is the only member of its genus occurring in Libya and we have assumed that all pre-2011 references to A. impalearis are referable to it. MCSN 1787 is purportedly from near coastal town of Misratah (not mapped), and this is certainly in error. Although most earlier authors suggested a Libyan distribution similar to that depicted here, Le Berre (1989) included all but the far southeastern portion of the country within the distribution of A. impalearis .

IUCN THREAT STATUS.— Least Concern.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Agama tassiliensis male from Tadrart Akakus, Ghat, Fezzan, Libya, 2008. Photo © Roberto Sindaco.

FIGURE 11. Agama tassiliensis female from Adadh area, Tadrart Akakus, Ghat, Fezzan, Libya, 2008. Photo © Roberto Sindaco.