XI B OF THE UNIVERSITY or ILLI NOIS 590.5 FI v-34 BIOLOGY Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. University of Illinois Library DEC L161 O-1096 34 9A FIELDIANA ZOOLOGY Published by CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Volume 34 DECEMBER 30, 1953 No. 24 AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF YEMEN KARL P. SCHMIDT CHIEF CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY The collections of amphibians and reptiles made in the Kingdom of Yemen by the United States Medical Mission in 1951 considerably increase the list of species of these groups on record from this little- known region. Some account of the work of the mission and its itinerary is given in the paper on the mammals and their ectopara- sites by Messrs. Sanborn and Hoogstraal (1953), and Mr. Hoog- straal has published a popular account of his visit to Yemen (1952). Yemen, the Kingdom of the Queen of Sheba in ancient times, has been almost completely closed to foreigners through much of its history. After alternations of Egyptian, Abyssinian, Arab, and Turkish rule, Yemen became an independent kingdom after World War I, in 1918. Diplomatic relations with the United States were not established until 1946. The need for advice concerning matters of public health led to the invitation to foreign medical missions to come to the country. Chicago Natural History Museum is indebted to the United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, in Cairo, Egypt, for this collection and the privilege of reporting on it. The earliest mention of Yemen in herpetological literature ap- pears to be that of Forskal (1775), who had joined Carsten Niebuhr's expedition to the borders of the Red Sea in 1761. Forskal's Des- criptiones animalium includes an appendix on Arabian materia medica, but in this, I am sure, the direction of flow of medical knowledge or, perhaps better, of medical misinformation, was to the western countries and not into Arabia. Forskal describes two species of snakes from Yemen itself, Coluber schokari (= Psammophis schokari) and Coluber dhara (=Telescopus dhara). The first medical mission to Yemen with a by-product of herpe- tological collections was that of Captain Emilio Dubbiosi, of the Medical Corps of the Italian Army. He was stationed at San'a from August to October, 1928, and from March to July, 1929. The reptiles obtained by Captain Dubbiosi were reported upon by Scor- No. 727 253 JAN 1 3 'i DIVERSITY OF HLJNO* 254 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 34 MILES 50 100 - ROUTE OF US. NAVAL MEDICAL PARTY ETHIOPIA^ ;*_. J FRENCH ""* SOUALILAND FIG. 43. Map of Yemen, showing localities mentioned in text. tecci (1932). The only mention of reptiles from Yemen between 1775 and 1932 that has come to my attention is the short description of a specimen of Chamaeleo calyptratus by John Anderson (1896). An entomological party from the British Museum in 1937-38 made important collections, which included a small lot of reptiles reported upon by H. W. Parker (1941). By far the best account of Yemen available is the book In the High Yemen by Hugh Scott, leader of the expedition, with distinguished illustrations from photo- graphs by the author and his companion, Everard B. Britton. SCHMIDT: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF YEMEN 255 The collections of the United States Naval Medical Mission amount to twenty-seven species, of which eighteen are new to the Yemen list. There is little faunal distinction to be expected between Yemen and the Aden Protectorate; but the mountains of Yemen rise to greater heights, with a correspondingly broader temperate zone. Some northern forms might well find their southern limits in these mountains. It is at first puzzling to note the lack of correspondence between Scortecci's list of species and the present one; his list of fourteen species of snakes and one lizard and our list of three amphibians, eighteen lizards, and five snakes overlap only with the sand snake, Psammophis schokari. Captain Dubbiosi collected in spring and fall, and Mr. Hoogstraal and Lieutenant Kuntz were in the country only in January and February. The snakes were evidently largely in hibernation during those months, while the mid-day sun brought out the lizards. The relation between the fauna of Yemen and that of Eritrea, on opposite sides of the southern Red Sea, is not as close as might be expected. In Scortecci's list of the reptiles of Eritrea, amounting to 52 species (1928), only eleven species (six snakes and five lizards) are represented in both countries, usually by distinct subspecies. Even with the inclusion of the Aden fauna only three additional species are added to the list in common. It may well be that the relation of the herpetological fauna of southwestern Arabia is with Somaliland rather than with Eritrea. A critical review of these faunal relations cannot be undertaken in the present paper. Parker (1941) has commented on the complexity of the Arabian fauna. AMPHIBIA Bufo orientalis Werner Bufo ciridis var. orientalis Werner, 1895, Verb. zool. bot. Ges. Wein, 45: 20 Maskat, Arabia. Bufo orientalis Parker, 1941, Brit. Mus. Exped. S. W. Arabia 1937-8, 1: 6. The abundant common toad of the Yemen is represented by 150 specimens from Ta'izz; El Amra (10 km. north of Ta'izz) ; 48 km. east of 'Obal; Wadi Siham (64 km. east of 'Obal); 8 km. west of Ma'bar; Wadi Mal-el-Ghail, 13 km. west of Ma'bar; and San'a. I find no differences between the toads of Ta'izz (4,100 ft. alt.) and San'a (7,100 ft. alt.). The flattened and relatively obscure parotoid gland 256 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 34 distinguishes orientalis from Bufo regularis, which is to be expected in Yemen but was not obtained by the Hoogstraal party. Hyla arborea savignyi Audouin Hyla savignyi Audouin, 1827, Descr. Egypte, Kept., Suppl., pi. 2, fig. 13 Syria. Hyla arborea savignyi Mertens, 1924, Abh. Ber. Mus. Magdeburg, 3: 356. Forty-two specimens, from San'a and from 8 km. west of Ma'bar. Rana cyanophlyctis ehrenbergi Peters Rana ehrenbergi Peters, 1863, Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1863: 79 Arabia. Rana cyanophlyctis ehrenbergi Parker, 1941, Brit. Mus. Exped. S. W. Arabia 1937-8, 1: 5. Sixty specimens from Wadi Siham, near 'Obal; Wadi Rissian, below Hagda; Tai'zz (in the King's swimming pool); Ma'bar; about 13 km. west of Ma'bar, at the Wadi Mal-el-Ghail; and at Birket-el- Thalama. REPTILIA Stenodactylus pulcher Anderson Stenodactylus (Ceramodactylus) pulcher Anderson, 1896, Contr. Herpet. Arabia, p. 19 the Hadramut. A single specimen, from a locality 8 km. east of Hodeida, near sea level. Caught among hummocks at night. Pristurus crucifer Valenciennes Gymnodactylus crucifer Valenciennes, 1861, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 52: 433 Abyssinia. Pristurus crucifer Boulenger, 1885, Cat. Lizards Brit. Mus., 1: 55. Three specimens from Hodeida, among sand hummocks in the coastal desert. Pristurus rupestris rupestris Blanford Pristurus rupestris Blanford, 1874, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (4), 13: 454 Muscat and Island of Karrack near Busheer, Persian Gulf. Sixty-eight specimens from San'a; Ma'bar; 8 km. west of Ma'bar; Wadi Mal-el-Ghail; and Ta'izz. My supposition, in distinguishing the Iranian rupestris as sub- species iranicus, that the rupestris of the Arabian coast had unspotted SCHMIDT: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF YEMEN 257 throats was based on Blanford's description of his Muscat specimens. This is wholly erroneous so far as the present specimens from the southwestern corner of Arabia are concerned. This series, however, is readily distinguished from iranicus in that the throat maculation consists of more or less transverse lines or bars, the throat spots of iranicus being round, with none confluent even into short bars. Ptyodactylus hasselquisti hasselquisti Donndorff Lacerta hasselquistii Donndorff, 1789, Zool. Beytr., 3: 133 Palestine (restr. to Jerusalem). Ptyodactylus hasselquistii hasselquistii Schmidt, 1939, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser., 24: 56. One specimen from about 48 km. east of 'Obal, taken on the side of a cliff near a river. Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus Linnaeus Lacerta turcica Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 202 Turkey. Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus Mertens, 1925, Abh. Senck. Naturf. Ges., 39: 60. Four specimens from San 'a, one from a house, three from be- neath rocks in fields. Hemidactylus flaviviridis Riippell Hemidactylus flaviviridis Riippell, 1835, Neue Wirbelthiere Abyssiniens, Amph., p. 18, pi. 6, fig. 2 Massaua Island, Eritrea. Two specimens collected at Ta'izz, in a rest house. Hemidactylus yerburyi Anderson Hemidactylus yerburyi Anderson, 1895, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1895: 630, 640, pi. 36, fig. 1 Lahej and Haithalhim. Thirteen specimens, eleven collected at Ta'izz and two at Hodeida. Agama adramitana Anderson Agama adramitana Anderson, 1896, Contr. Herpet. Arabia, p. 31 between Makalla and the Hadramut Valley. Seventy-one specimens, all collected at Ta'izz except two, which are from San 'a, where the common large agama is cyanogaster. Agama cyanogaster Riippell StelUo cyanogaster Riippell, Neue Wirbelthiere Abyssiniens, Rept., p. 10 Massaua, Abyssinia. 258 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 34 Twenty-one specimens, all from San'a except three, which are from Ta'izz. Agama isolepis Boulenger Agama isolepis Boulenger, 1885, Cat. Lizards Brit. Mus., 1: 342 "From Egypt to Sind." Here restricted to Deh Bid, north of Shiraz, Iran. Three specimens from Ta'izz, taken on rock walls in town. Acanthodactylus boskianus asper Audouin Lacerta aspera Audouin, 1827, Descr. Egypte, Kept., Suppl., p. 173, pi. 1, fig. 9 Egypt. Acanthodactylus boskianus var. asper Lataste, 1885, Ann. Mus. Geneva, (2), 2: 496. Ninety-four specimens, from Ta'izz and Hodeida. Eremias guttulata guttulata Lichtenstein Lacerta guttulata Lichtenstein, 1823, Verz. Doubl. Mus. Berlin, p. 101 Egypt. Eremias guttulata guttulata Wettstein, 1928, Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. Wien (math.- natur.), 137, Abt.. I, p. 782. Seventy-one specimens, from Ta'izz, San'a, and Ma'bar. Latastia longicaudata andersoni Boulenger Latostia longicaudata var. andersonii Boulenger, 1921, Monogr. Lacertidae, p. 30 southwestern Arabia. A single specimen was taken in a field at Ma'bar. Philochortus neunianni Matschie Philochortus neumanni Matschie, 1893, Sitzber. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin, 1893: 30 Aden. A single specimen was collected on a rock wall in Ta'izz. Mabuya tessellata Anderson Mabuia tessellata Anderson, 1895, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1895: 636, pi. 36, fig. 2 Aden. Two specimens were collected on rock walls in Ta'izz. Scincus hemprichi Wiegmann Scincus hemprichii Wiegmann, 1837, Arch. Naturg., 3: 128 Abyssinia. A single specimen from Hodeida was caught among sand hum- mocks at night. SCHMIDT: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF YEMEN 259 Chalcides ocellatus ocellatus Forskal Lacerta ocellata Forskal, 1775, Descr. Anim., p. 13 Egypt. Chalcides ocellatus ocellatus Wettstein, 1928, Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. Wien (math.- natur.), 137, Abt. I, p. 784. Three specimens, from Ta'izz and Bajil. Chamaeleo calyptratus Dume'ril and Dume'ril Chamaeleo calyptratus Dumril and Dumeril, 1851, Cat. Meth. Kept., p. 31 no locality; Anderson, 1896, Contr. Herpet. Arabia, p. 62 Yemen. Chamaeleo calcarifer Peters, 1870, Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1870: 110 Bembatuka, west coast of Madagascar, in errore, corrected to Aden, Arabia. Fifty-four specimens, all from Ta'izz. With this large series at hand, Anderson's suggestion that calcarifer Peters is a synonym of calyptratus Dume'ril and Dume'ril seems to be amply confirmed. Chamaeleo chamaeleon chamaeleon Linnaeus Lacerta chamaeleon Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, p. 204 Africa and Asia (restr. to Jerusalem, Palestine). Chamaeleon chamaeleon chamaeleon Werner, 1911, Das Tierreich, 27: 10. Chamaeleo chamaeleon chamaeleon Mertens and Muller, 1929, Zool. Anz., 84: 296. Mertens and Muller restrict the type locality of this species to "North Africa." I much prefer Jerusalem as the type locality, since in 1758 Linnaeus must have had fresh Palestinian specimens at hand collected by his pupil Hasselquist, whose Iter Palestinum he had prepared for publication in 1757. Employing Jerusalem as the type locality does not alter the current nomenclature. The occurrence of the common chameleon in Yemen helps to connect its range with that of the Arabian subspecies orientalis, but our single specimen is insufficient for definite subspecific identification. Leptotyphlops nursi Anderson Glaucoma nursii Anderson, 1896, in Boulenger, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus., 3: 591 Aden. Leptotyphlops nursi Parker, 1938, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (11), 1: 488. Leptotyphlops yemenicus Scortecci, 1933, Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat., 72: 165 Yemen. Five specimens from Ta'izz, found in rubbish in town. The length of these specimens varies from 120 to 184 mm., the tail length is uniformly 0.08 of the total, and the diameter of the 260 FIELDIANA: ZOOLOGY, VOLUME 34 body is contained in the total length from 61 to 82 times (aver. 71). The correspondence of the Aden fauna with that of the Yemen is so complete that I have no hesitation in referring Leptotyphlops yemenicus to nursi. Boaedon lineatus arabicus Parker Boaedon arabicus Parker, 1930, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (10), 6: 596 El Kubar, Amiri Country, S. W. Arabia. Boaedon lineatus arabicus Parker, 1941, Brit. Mus. Exped. S. W. Arabia, 1: 4 Jebel Harir, 5,000 feet alt., West Aden Protectorate. A single specimen, locality unknown, a female, has 240 ventrals, anal undivided, 49 caudals, and dorsal scale rows 27-33-21. The head is crushed. Coluber rhodorhachis rhodorhachis Jan Zamenis rhodorhachis Jan, 1865, in de Filippi, Viagg. Pers., p. 356 Iran. Coluber rhodorhachis Parker, 1931, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (10), 8: 516. Two male specimens, one from Hodeida, the other from San 'a. The Hodeida specimen has ventrals 221, caudals 137, and dorsal scales 19-19-13. In the San'a specimen the ventrals are 226, caudals 133, and dorsals 19-19-11. Psammophis schokari Forskal Coluber schokari Forskal, 1775, Descr. Anim., p. 14 Yemen. Psammophis schokari Boulenger, 1896, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus., 3: 157. Psammophis sibilans schokari Loveridge, 1940, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 87: 24. Four female specimens, two from Hodeida, one from Wadi Mal- el-Ghail, about 13 km. west of Ma'bar, and one from Ta'izz. In these specimens the ventrals range from 174 to 190. The caudals are 151 in a Hodeida specimen; the others have incomplete tails. If schokari and sibilans are to be regarded as subspecifically related, no geographic partition is discernible, and it appears to be Loveridge's assumption (loc. cit.) that this is a genuine case of a pair of subspecies held separate by adjustment to distinct habitats. Bitis arietans Merrem Bitis (Echidna) arietans Merrem, 1820, Tent. Syst. Amphib., p. 152 Cape of Good Hope. Bitis arietans Boulenger, 1896, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus., 3: 493. Two specimens from Ta'izz. SCHMIDT: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF YEMEN 261 REFERENCES ANDERSON, JOHN 1896. A chameleon from Yemen in the Cairo Museum, pp. 62-63 in ANDERSON, A contribution to the herpetology of Arabia .... London, Porter. 122 pp. FORSKAL, PETRUS 1775. Descriptiones animalium ayium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium; quae in itinere orientali observavit Petrus Forskal. Haun [Copen- hagen], Moller. 164 pp., 1 map. HOOGSTRAAL, HARRY 1952. Yemen opens the door to progress. American scientists visit this Arabian land at the invitation of its king to improve the health of his people. Nat. Geog. Mag., 101: 213-244, illus. PARKER, H. W. 1941. Reptiles and amphibians. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Exped. S. W. Arabia, 1937-8, 1: 3-6. SANBORN, COLIN CAMPBELL, and HOOGSTRAAL, HARRY 1953. Some mammals of Yemen and their ectoparasites. Fieldiana, Zool., 34: 229-252. SCORTECCI, GUISEPPE 1928. Rettili dell' Eritrea esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Milano. Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat., 67: 290-339, pis. 7-9, text figs. 1-8. 1932. Rettili dello Yemen. Op. cit., 71: 39-49, 1 fig. 1933. Leptotyphlops yemenicus sp. n. Op. cit., 72: 165-166, 1 fig. SCOTT, HUGH 1942. In the high Yemen. London, Murray, xix+260 pp., illus. 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