Naomi Sivan

Foraging mode in lacertid lizards: variation and correlates

Foraging strategy was observed in five species of Israeli lacertid lizards in the field. Acanthodactylus scutellatus is a sit-and-wait strategist, whereas A. boskianus, A. schreiberi, Lacerta laevis and Mesalina guttulata forage widely. However, the actual values differed from those reported by Huey and Pianka (1981) for Kalahari lacertids, possibly indicating the existence of a continuum of foraging modes. Foraging intensity (proportion of time spent moving or frequency of moves) is positively correlated to relative tail length, and negatively correlated to relative clutch mass. Additional possible correlates are discussed, and some cautionary remarks added.

Systematics and distribution of the Acanthodactylus pardalis group (Lacertidae) in Egypt and Israel

Abstract Examination of 385 specimens of the Acanthodactylus pardalis group from eastern Libya, Egypt and Israel confirmed the occurrence of two allopatric species in this area: Acanthodactylus pardalis (Lichtenstein, 1823) distributed in Egypt And eastern Libya and a hitherto undescribed species endemic to the Negev (Israel). The species differ most markedly in body size, hemipenial structure, colouration and details of sexual dichromatism. Other significant differences involve scalation and biometrics. A simple method for artefact-free use of discriminant analysis in multivariate classification is presented. Redescription of A. pardalis (Lichtenstein, 1823), description of a new species Acanthodactylus beershebensis sp.n. and corrected geographical ranges of the two species are provided. Both species, each endemic to a small area, appear to be markedly endangered by habitat destruction.

Melanopsis from Al-Qarn, Jordan Valley (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea)

Fossil species ofMelanopsis from a freshwater formation in the Jordan Valley (near Al-Qarn) were investigated and the deposits containing these species are formally described as Al-Qarn Formation. Four species were found:Melanopsis buccinoideaOlivier,M. tchernoviHeller & Sivan,M. costataOlivier andM. aaronsohniBlanckenhorn.Melanopsis costata was represented by two groups, “stepped” and “non-stepped”, the latter differing in its lower figurativity index. Intermediates were found betweenM. buccinoidea andM. tchernovi; they may be hybrids. TheMelanopsis assemblage bridges the faunal gap, in the Jordan Valley, between the 2 Ma lake of ‘Erq el Ahmar on the one hand and the 0.8–1.7 Ma lake of ‘Ubeidiya on the other. This suggests an early Pleistocene age of about 1.8 million years for the Al-Qarn Formation.KurzfassungFossile Arten vonMelanopsis einer Süßwasserformation im Jordantal (in der Nähe von Al-Qarn) wurden untersucht und die Ablagerungen, die diese Arten enthalten, werden formal als Al-Qarn-Formation beschrieben. Vier Arten wurden gefunden:Melanopsis buccinoideaOlivier,M. tchernoviHeller & Sivan,M. costataOlivier undM. aaronsohniBlanckenhorn.Melanopsis costata ist durch zwei Morphotypen vertreten, einen „geschulterten“ und „ungeschulterten“; der zweite unterscheidet sich durch seinen niedrigeren „figurativity index“ vom ersten. Übergänge wurden zwischenM. buccinoidea undM. tchernovi gefunden, es könnte sich dabei um Hybride handeln. DieMelanopsis-Vergesellschaftung überbrückt die Lücke im Jordantal zwischen dem 2 Ma alten See von ‘Erq el Ahmar und dem 0.8–1.7 Ma alten See von ‘Ubeidiya. Dies lässt auf ein frühpleistozänes Alter von etwa 1.8 Ma für die Al-Qarn-Formation schließen.

DELETION OF LACERTA DANFORDI (REPTILIA: LACERTIDAE) FROM THE HERPETOFAUNAL LISTS OF PETRA (JORDAN) AND MT. HERMON, WITH ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL IMPLICATIONS

ABSTRACT The lizard Lacerta danfordi had been reported from Petra (Jordan) and Mt. Hermon. Examination of recent taxonomic literature and 266 specimens of the L. danfordi—L. laevis complex from Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan shows that the populations concerned belong to L. laevis. Characterized by lacking a masseteric plate, this disjunctly distributed morph may be referred to as L. laevis cf. kulzeri Mueller and Wettstein, 1932.

Revision of the Middle-Eastern dwarf-snakes commonly assigned to Eirenis coronella (Colubridae)

Abstract The systematics of the Middle-Eastern dwarf-snake Eirenis coronella has caused confusion in the past, but since 1978 this name has been used for a small dwarf-snake with 15 dorsal scale rows, dorsally coloured beige with dark transverse bands. Its distribution: Sinai in the west to southwestern Iran in the east; southern Turkey in the north to Saudi Arabia in the south. Two juveniles from Jordan in the Herpetology Collection of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, having a distinct “crown” on the head and a dark ventral stripe, stimulated the question whether E. coronella may comprise more than one taxon. To answer this question, we examined snakes from the whole distribution area (n = 110) and analysed the results for males and females separately by principal coordinate analysis (PCO). In both sexes the PCO divided the snakes into two main groups, given species status: 1–Eirenis coronella, comprising all specimens from Sinai, Israel and western Saudi Arabia, and some from Jordan, Iraq and Syria. The Sinai population was given subspecies status, based on differences in scale counts and body proportions. The Western Saudi Arabia population kept its sub-species status, based on its colour pattern. 2–E. coronelloides, distinguished from E. coronella by dark crown, ventral stripe or both; and comprising all specimens from Turkey and the remaining specimens from Jordan, Iraq and Syria. A scatter-diagram of ventrals against sub-caudals separates the taxa almost diagnostically. While E. coronella occupy the northern extremes of the Arabian desert, the range of E. coronelloides is more northern and follows the “Fertile Crescent”.

SURVEY OF THE REPTILES OF THE GOLAN PLATEAU AND MT. HERMON, ISRAEL

ABSTRACT Examination of 637 reptile specimens from the Golan Plateau and Mt. Hermon yielded 37 species. Of six species virtually restricted to high Mt. Hermon, one is endemic to that mountain, another to the Hermon and Lebanon ranges and four have Anatolian affinities. The other 31 species occur also in northern Cisjordan, and most are known also in Transjordan and Syria-Lebanon. Typhlops simoni is a new marginal record for the physical-geographical area of Syria. The nearby occurrence of Agama ruderata reflects the proximity of the Syrian desert. Within the Golan, the number of species observed declines from north to south, presumably for both ecological and methodological reasons. A few additional species of northern Cisjordan and Transjordan may yet be discovered on the Golan in the future.

SYSTEMATICS AND ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF PTYODACTYLUS (REPTILIA: SAURIA: GEKKONIDAE) IN THE LEVANT: 3, EXPERIMENTAL AND NATURAL HYBRIDS OF P. GUTTATUS AND P. PUISEUXI

ABSTRACT Contact zones between Israeli Ptyodactylus species were evaluated from museum material and hybridization experiments, the first controlled hybridization between gekkonid species. In southern Israel and Sinai P. guttatus and hasselquistii are partly sympatric, occasionally syntopic. Intermediate specimens were absent and experimental hybridization failed. Probably prezygotic isolation operates. In northern Israel, P. guttatus and P. puiseuxi are parapatric; in and near their boundary, occasional putative hybrids occur. These resemble the few laboratory hybrids obtained. No F2 were obtained. Probably the two species are separated by a combination of partial isolating mechanisms.

Melanopsis from the Pleistocene of the Hula Valley (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea)

Pleistocene Melanopsis from three cores in the Hula Valley (a northern section of the Jordan Valley) were reinvestigated, and six species were found: buccinoidea, costata, obediensis, multiformis, corrugata, and turriformis. These species are described, compared, and their chronological appearance in the cores presented in terms of depths beneath the surface. There appears to have been an overall continuity in the Melanopsis fauna of the Jordan Valley throughout the Pleistocene. Some of the previously reported variation in the isotopic records of Melanopsis shells from the Hula cores may perhaps represent the different physiology of different species. Fossil hybrids of the Jordan Valley, as found also in this study, offer the earliest direct evidence of hybridization among molluscs that is still going on today in the same region and aquatic system, among the same species. Correlations with lithology suggest that none of the Melanopsis species dwelt in swamps; obediensis, multiformis, and corrugata were lake dwellers; and turriformis dwelt also in transitional habitats, between lakes and swamps. Correlations with recent species suggest that the paleo-landscape of buccinoidea consisted of a spring or stream, and that of costata of a bank of a river or a lake. Where both costata and buccinoidea were found, the paleo-landscape may have consisted of a spring or stream flowing into a river or lake. About a quarter of the local extinctions coincided with brief spreading of swamps. Incomplete evidence may perhaps suggest a competitive succession among the three fossil lake-dwelling species.