Short Communication |
Corresponding author: Daniel Jablonski ( daniel.jablonski@uniba.sk ) Academic editor: Silke Schweiger
© 2024 Daniel Jablonski, Soran H. Ahmed.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Jablonski D, Ahmed SH (2024) The first record of the rarely observed rat snake, Elaphe urartica Jablonski et al., 2019 (Squamata, Colubridae) for Iraq. Herpetozoa 37: 73-76. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e117207
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The Urartian rat snake, Elaphe urartica Jablonski, Kukushkin, Avcı, Bunyatova, Ilgaz, Tuniyev & Jandzik, 2019, is a recently described species within the genus Elaphe, found in eastern Anatolia, Caucasian region and the northern Middle East. It stands as one of the rarely observed snake species, with its distribution and other aspects of natural history largely unexplored. This is particularly true for the territories of Iraq and Iran. Therefore, we report on the presence of the species in Iraq, the first documented evidence of the species’ distribution within the country. In conjunction with this record, we provide initial data regarding the species’ habitat and ecology in the region. The distribution record presented here is further supplemented by a new species record from the border regions between Iraq and Iran, encouraging further herpetological exploration within the Zagros Mountains.
Colubridae, distribution, Elaphe quatuorlineata group, Iran, Kurdistan, rat snake
The Urartian rat snake, Elaphe urartica, was described in 2019 following molecular and biogeographic analyses that revealed its differentiation from the closely related species E. sauromates (Pallas, 1814), both belonging to the E. quatuorlineata group (
We here report the first record of E. urartica in Iraq, discovered in the easternmost mountain part of Iraqi Kurdistan. The species was found and killed by a local man who alerted us about the presence of big snakes living in his yard. The observations came from Laradar village (35.7339°N, 46.2065°E, 1984 m a. s. l.) of the Penjween area in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate approximately 1 km from the Iranian border (Fig.
A. Depicts the physical map of northern Iraq (delineating Iraqi Kurdistan with a solid line) with the first record of Elaphe urartica in Iraqi Kurdistan (1) and the record from Iran (2), positioned three kilometers away from the Iraqi border. The question mark indicates potential areas where further field research is necessary to ascertain the species’ presence. The orange shading represents the anticipated distribution range within the southern region of Turkey and western Iran; B. Depicts the distribution range of the species based on the combination of
To search for this species and see the habitat, we visited the location on 6 September 2023. We spent several hours searching in the environment where snakes had been previously sighted. Unfortunately, we did not come across any individuals. Interestingly, a local resident mentioned observing this species for the first time in this area what indicates the rarity of species. Local people are active in the wild mostly during spring months when they collect herbs and mushrooms. According to their information, they killed snakes because they believe that “due to their size, they are venomous and pose a threat to humans.” Regrettably, encounters with snakes in Iraqi Kurdistan often result in the killing of nearly all individuals, a common occurrence. This trend significantly impacts the conservation of local reptiles, emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced education among local people about the snake fauna of Iraqi Kurdistan. The presence of the large and highly venomous Macrovipera lebetinus (Linnaeus, 1758) frequently prompts locals to proactively eliminate any sizable snakes. We made efforts to explain that this snake species is exceedingly rare and poses no threat. Fortunately, the locals assured us that they would take measures to protect E. urartica in the future. The habitat where these individuals were observed lies near the timberline zone at an elevation of nearly 2,000 meters. It primarily consists of a mixed oak forest dominated by Quercus lebani, Q. infectoria, Q. aegilops, Pistacia eurycarpa, and Acer monspessulanum. Additionally, agricultural lands are also present in the area (see Fig.
As E. urartica is currently considered a rarely observed species of the snake fauna of the Western Palearctic (
To highlight the importance of distribution of E. urartica in Iran and Iraq and place the Iraqi record in context, we also report on two observations of the species from the border area on the Iranian side. The species was observed on 14 May 2015 and 30 May 2023 at 11:07 am in Qandil Mountains (36.5323°N, 45.0577°E, 2,580 m a.s.l.). The observations were provided and photographed by local mountaineer Azad Shamsi. The first observations possess one individual sitting and basking in mountain vegetation (Fig.
As is evident, the range of E. urartica in Iraq has a peripheral character (Fig.
We would like to express our gratitude to Hemn Penjweeny and Azad Shamsi for their detailed information and photos of E. urartica and their kind permissions to be cited in this note. This work was supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Slovak Republic VEGA 1/0242/21.