Reptiles of Kopetdagh

Abstract

The northern slopes of Kopetdagh are inhabited by 45 species of reptiles (three species of turtles, 18 spp. of lizards, and 24 spp. of snakes), which corresponds to 57% of the Turkmenistan reptile fauna (79 species). Of these, East Kopetdagh has 30; Central Kopetdagh, 36; Southwest Kopetdagh, 36; and Northwest Kopetdagh, 23 species. Seventeen species of reptiles are found from the foothills to upper altitudinal belts, whereas 23 species are found also in the submontane lowlands. Lower mountain belt (from 100 to 1,000 m) has 22 species (48.8%) of reptiles, middle mountain belt (from 1,000 to 2,000 m) has 14 species (31.1%), and upper mountain belt (from 2,000 to 2,500 m) has 9 species (20.0%). Only four species are highly abundant (more than 10 animals/ha); 15 species are common (from 1 to 10 animals/ha); and 26 species are rare (less than 1 animal/ha). Thirty-nine species are oviparous, and six are ovoviviparous. Ten biological groups are separated: mountain species with extended life cycle, and lowland ones with short life cycle; species with extended life cycle have more diverse reproductive strategies. Eight zoogeographic groups are separated: Irano-Afghanian (21 species), Turanian (7 spp.), Indian (5 spp.), Mediterranean (4 spp.), Saharo-Sindian (4 spp.), Caucasian-Anatolian (2 spp.), European (2 spp.), and East Palaearctic (1 sp.). The Kopetdagh endemics include lizards Eublepharis turcmenicus and Eremias strauchi kopetdaghica, and snakes Eryx elegans, Coluber atayevi, and Eirenis meda. KeywordsMountain SlopeLizard SpeciesNocturnal SpeciesMountain SteppeRana RidibundaThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.