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PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 64, No. 8 
McCoy 1990. 529: NMP 34937; Busack and McCoy 1990. 531: SK 76, 184-85; Kramer and 
Schnurrenberger 1963; Busack and McCoy 1990. 540: BMNH 1960.1.6.5; Kramer and Schnur- 
renberger 1963; Busack and McCoy 1990. 544: BMNH 1960.1.6.4; MSNG 31587; Vinciguerra 
1931; Scortecci 1934b; Zavattari 1934; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963; Busack and McCoy 
1990; Carranza et al. 2004. “Cyrenaica”: ZMB 10504, 51653; Condorelli-Francaviglia 1896; 
Wemer 1909; Ghigi 1913. “Marmarica”: Zavattari 1937; Busack and McCoy 1990. LIBYA: ZMB 
57092. “Kussahsat” [unlocated]: MCSN 4222. 
Comments. — The complicated dating of the natural history portions of Description de 
I’Egypte has been elucidated by Sherborn (1897) and Tollitt (1986). Both specific and intraspecif¬ 
ic taxonomy have been controversial within Macroprotodon (see Sindaco et al. 2013 for a brief 
overview of the taxonomic confusion). Wade (2001) revised the genus and recognized four species. 
Carranza et al. (2004) recognized three monophyletic species, and a paraphyletic M. cucullatus. 
Wemer (2016) accepted four subspecies within M. cucullatus, M. c. brevis (Gunther, 1862) from 
Morocco, M. c. mauritanicus Guichenot, 1850 from Morocco to Tunisia, M.c. ibericus Busack and 
McCoy, 1990 from the Iberian Peninsula, and the nominotypical form from southern Tunisia and 
western Libya east to the edge of the species’ distribution in the western Negev of Israel. Another 
nominal taxon, M. c. textilis (Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, 1854) was previously recognized (e.g., 
Wade 2001; Geniez et al. 2004) from central Tunisia, the northwestern Sahara, the Hoggar (Ahag- 
gar), and Lampedusa Island (Italy), but genetic data (Carranza et al. 2004) place morphologically 
identified M. c. textilis into two different clades. 
IUCN Threat Status.— Least Concern. 
Natrix maura (Linnaeus, 1758:219) 
1758 Coluber maurus Linnaeus, Systema Naturas per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, 
Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Lau- 
rentii Salvii, Holmias [Stockholm], Sweden, (4) + 823 + (I) pp. 
Lectotype.— NRM Lin-214, designated by Wallach et al. (2014), lost fide Kramer and Schnurrenberg¬ 
er (1963), “Algeriae.” 
Natrix maura , Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963:513. 
Natrix maura, Le Berre 1989:276. 
Natrix maura, Schleich, Kastle, and Kabisch 
1996:505. 
Natrix maura, Sindaco, Venchi, and Grieco 
2013:153. 
Distribution.— Western Europe, from 
the Iberian Peninsula through France and 
northwestern Italy and North Africa from 
southern Morocco to northern Tripolitania, 
Libya. Introduced in the Balearic Islands 
(Guicking et. al. 2006, 2008) and Sardinia 
(Schatti 1999). 
Libyan Records (Map 52): TRIPOLITA¬ 
NIA: Zawiyah : 17: BMNH 1955.1.8.94-96; 
Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963. 23: BMNH 
1954.1.7.26; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 
1963. Tripoli : 45: Scortecci 1938, 1939. Map 52. Distribution of Natrix maura in Libya. 
