Survey of the reptilian fauna of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. VI. The snake fauna of Turaif region

Mohammed K Al-Sadoon; Bilal Ahmad Paray; Hamad Al-Otaibi

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.02.007

Survey of the reptilian fauna of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. VI. The snake fauna of Turaif region

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2017 May;24(4):925-928. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.02.007. Epub 2017 Feb 27.

Authors

Mohammed K Al-Sadoon¹, Bilal Ahmad Paray¹, Hamad Al-Otaibi¹

Affiliation

¹ Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

A collection of snakes in Turaif region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an area that has been poorly documented for reptiles, consists of 28 specimens representing 11 species belonging to 4 families (Colubridae, Elapidae, Viperidae and Atractaspididae). This study presents the first comprehensive inventory of the herpetofauna of the Turaif province of Saudi Arabia. Co-ordinates: Latitude, longitude and altitude, of the collected specimens were mapped using GPS. Three of the snake species Lytorhynchus diadema, Pseudocerastes fieldi and Walterinnesia morgani reported by the authors in the present survey proved to be new records for Turaif region of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Lytorhynchus diadema; Pseudocerastes fieldi; Saudi Arabia; Snakes; Turaif Province; Walterinnesia morgani ssp..