New Locality Record and Morphological Data of Hemorrhois ravergieri (Ménétries, 1832) (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Turkey

Abstract

The Spotted whip snake, Hemorrhois ravergieri, has been known to be present in the Mediterranean, Central Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Black Sea regions in the literature. Until now, its presence has only been reported in Artvin, Trabzon and Bayburt provinces in the Black Sea region of Turkey, in the literature. The locality record of the H. ravergieri from Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region was provided in the current study. The record extended the distribution of this species in Turkey. The pholidolial and morphometric characters, and color-pattern features of two female specimens are given in detail and compared with the specimens in the literature. The specimens examined were similar to Hemorrhois ravergieri specimens mentioned in the literature. Only a morphological character (the undivided anal plate) was observed to be different from the features given in the literature. The findings show that the Spotted whip snake can be found in other provinces with suitable habitats in the Black Sea region in Turkey. 

Keywords

• Spotted whip snake,Pholidosis,Distibution,Torul

References

1. Afsar, M., Çiçek, K., Dinçarslan, Y. E., Ayaz, D., & Tok, C.V. (2013). New record localities of five snake species in Turkey. Herpetozoa, 25(3/4), 179–183.
2. Akman, B., Yıldız, M. Z., Özcan, A. F., Bozkurt, M. A., İğci, N., & Göçmen, B. (2018). On the herpetofauna of the East Anatolian Province of Bitlis (Turkey) (Amphibia; Reptilia). Herpetozoa, 31(1/2), 69–82.
3. Ananjeva, N. B., Orlov, N. L., Khalikov, R. G., Darevsky, I. S., Ryabov, I. S. & Barabanov, A. V. (2006). An Atlas of the Reptiles of North Eurasia. Taxonomic Diversity, Distribution, Conservation Status. Pensoft Series Faunistica.
4. Baran, İ. & Atatür, M. K. (1998). Türkiye Herpetofaunası (Kurbağa ve Sürüngenler). Ankara (Turkey): T.C. Çevre Bakanlığı. ISBN 975-7347-37-X.
5. Baran, İ., Ilgaz, Ç., Avcı, A., Kumlutaş, Y., & Olgun, K. (2013). Türkiye Amfibi ve Sürüngenleri. Ankara (Turkey): TÜBİTAK Popüler Bilim Kitapları. ISBN 978-975-403-703-6.
6. Başoğlu, M. & Baran, İ. (1998). Türkiye Sürüngenleri. Kısım 2. Yılanlar. Bornova (İzmir, Türkiye): Ege Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Kitaplar Serisi. ISBN 975-483-335-4.
7. Disi, A.M., Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Sadek, R., Werner, Y.L., Bohme, W., Lymberakis, P., Tok, V., Ugurtas, I.H., Sevinc, M., Crochet, P.-A., Li, P., Lau, M., Borkin, L., Milto, K., Golynsky, E., Rustamov, A, Munkhbayar, K., Nuridjanov, D., Shestapol, A. & Dujsebayeva, T. (2017). Hemorrhois ravergieri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T157285A749241. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS. T157285A749241.en. Accessed on 14 June 2019.
8. Fathinia, B., Rastegar-Pouyani, N., Darvishnia H. & Rajabizadeh M. (2010). The snake fauna of Ilam Province, southwestern Iran. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics, 6(1), 9–23.

9. Khan, M.S. 2006. Amphibians and reptiles of Pakistan. Malabar: (Florida, USA). Krieger Publishing Company.
10. Sarıkaya, B., Yıldız, M. Z. & Sezen, G. (2017). The Herpetofauna of Adana Province (Turkey). Commagene Journal of Biology, 1(1), 1–11.
11. Sindaco, R., Venchi, A., Carpaneto, G. M. & Bologna, M. A. (2000). The Reptiles of Anatolia: a checklist and zoogeographical analysis. Biogeographia, 21, 441–554. doi: 10.21426/B6110017.