BAUER, DEBOER, & TAYLOR: ATLAS OF THE REPTILES OF LIBYA 
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Pseudotrapelus chlodnickii, and Psammophis aegyptius are chiefly restricted to desert areas. At 
least some of the Mediterranean forms also occur in the more xeric inland, but often in association 
with mesic pockets such as oases (e.g., Mauremys leprosa saharica, Chamaeleo chamaeleon, 
Acanthodactylus dumerilii, Chalcides sepsoides, Lytorhynchus diadema). Some such distributions 
may reflect ancient patterns of distribution achieved via mesic corridors along paleodrainage sys¬ 
tems, although some may reflect intentional or accidental introductions via the movement of goods. 
Other taxa appear to be present both in Mediterranean climate zones and in the Sahara proper, even 
away from oases. These include Mesalina guttulata, Psammophis schokari, and both species of 
Cerastes among many others. Such species may be highly tolerant of diverse conditions, may seek 
out common microhabitats across broad habitat zones, or may be selecting a co mm on substrate 
rather than a common climate. Or, alternatively, at least some widespread taxa may in reality be 
complexes of several more stenoecious cryptic species masquerading under a single name. 
In the Mediterranean area there is also a distinct East-West pattern of distribution. Four species 
are largely restricted to the area east of the Gulf of Sirte, whereas ten species occur only to the west. 
Twelve species occur on both sides of the Gulf, but Testudo graeca is represented by a different 
subspecies on either side and some other species, like Eumeces schneiderii and Heremites vittatus 
appear to be absent from Sirte but occur both east and west of it. This pattern is explained by the 
fact that the desert extends to the sea in the Gulf of Sirte, excluding primarily Mediterranean taxa 
with more mesic habitat requirements. This disjunction is especially stark in Cyrenaica, as the 
poverty of the Gulf of Sirte contrasts so strongly with the high reptile diversity associated with the 
Jabal al Akhdar (Hegazy et al. 2011), which also supports approximately 50% of the endemic flo¬ 
ral species (Boulos, 1972, 1997; Qaiser and El-Gadi 1984), a wide range of mammals (Masseti, 
2010), and high avian diversity (Isenmann et al. 2016). 
A few species have enigmatic distributions. Philochortus zolii is known from two Libyan 
localities at opposite comers of the country, and is otherwise represented by only a few scattered 
localities across North Africa. Psammophis tanganicus is represented by two Libyan localities, one 
in Ghat and the other in Wadi al Shatii, whereas the main body of its distribution is form the Horn 
of Africa to Tanzania. Other taxa with puzzling patterns include several apparently more xeric 
adapted forms with one or more localities on the coast, particularly at or near Tripoli. For exam¬ 
ple, Trapelus mutabilis popekkVs two localities are in Fezzan and at Tripoli and Scincus scincus is 
widespread in the desert, but also has been recorded from Tripoli. Likewise, there are records of 
Uromastyx acanthinura from Benghazi (although we have rejected these; see species account). In 
some cases, e.g., Tarentola neglecta and Trapelus mutabilis, suspect distributions may be the result 
of either incorrect locality data or inadequate sampling, or both. 
In considering the distribution patterns of Libyan reptiles artifact must be taken into account. 
The areas around the major Mediterranean population centers have by far the greatest number of 
collecting localities (Figs. 2, 3, 5). In Cyrenaica, this is further supplemented by the huge number 
of localities in El-Kouf National Park in Marj and Jabal Akhdar (Fig. 6), which is one of the only 
parts of the country to have been the focus of extended surveys (Resetar 1981; Schleich 1987). In 
Fezzan collections have been made along the major roads to Sabha, Murzuq and Ghat (Fig. 4) as 
well as at or near most of the other major oases, such as Jufra. The most poorly collected area of 
the country is the Kufrah district (Figs. 5, 6), which occupies nearly a quarter of the total area of 
Libya. In this vast region only the Oasis of Kufrah (Al Jawf and surrounding areas) and the isolat¬ 
ed Jabal Al Uwaynat on the Sudanese border have multiple collecting sites. Although the Libyan 
road system appears quite extensive (Fig.2), it must be remembered that very few of these roads 
are tarred and most are mere tracks in the sand, as can be visualized on Google Earth. Some areas, 
particularly along the southern and eastern borders of the country have absolutely no reptile records 
