Kazakhstan

Distribution of the smooth snake (Coronella austriaca austriaca Laurenti, 1768) (Colubridae, Reptilia) in the Caspian lowland of Russia and Kazakhstan

The distribution of smooth snake in the Caspian lowland of Russia and Kazakhstan is analyzed according to the collections of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University and published works. The map with smooth snake finds includes 36 localities of the species (Volgograd Region, Stavropol Territory, Kalmykia, Chechen Republic, Dagestan, and Kazakhstan).

New finds of Elaphe sauromates (Pallas, 1814) (Colubridae, Reptilia) in Kazakhstan

A critical analysis of literature data on the records of Elaphe sauromates in the Atyrau region of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1857–2006 is presented. Doubtful finds of the species in the Volga-Ural interfluve and in the vicinity of the city of Atyrau require confirmation. New finds in the region in 2018 and 2021, like all reliable previous ones, were made only on the territory of the Zhylyoysky district.

On the problem of specific identification in triploid (Bufotes baturae) and tetraploid (B. pewzowi) green toads (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) of Central Asia by morphometric characteristics

The paper presents the results of using multiplicative indices for species identification of polyploid green toads of Central Asia. Live adult individuals of Bufotes baturae (24 females and 17 males) from the territory of Tajikistan and B. pewzowi (14 females and 24 males) from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were studied. The animals were caught in nature, measured and immediately released. The species belonging of the studied green toads was established by cytogenetic methods.

A new record of the Bogdanov's thin-toed gecko, Tenuidactylus bogdanovi (Sauria, Gekkonidae), in South Kazakhstan

In the Shymkent city (South Kazakhstan) in 2019 and 2021 several specimens of Bogdanov's thin-toed gecko (Tenuidactylus bogdanovi) were found. The find was located 129 km north of the nearest known location in the Tashkent city in Uzbekistan. The repeated finding of Bogdanov's gecko in Shymkent confirms the eligibility of including this species in the list of herpetofauna of Kazakhstan.

SCHNEIDER'S SKINK (EUMECES SCHNEIDERI (DAUDIN, 1802)) AS A NEW SPECIES FOR THE FAUNA OF KAZAKHSTAN

In June 2017 on the territory of the Southern Kazakhstan region, on the right bank of the Syrdariya River, in the vicinities of the Darbaza mountain, under a nest of the long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) the remains of 5 dead individuals of Schneider's skink (Eumeces schneideri) were found. This finding is located 110 km north-west from the nearest known habitation place of Schneider's skink on the Chatkal Range and allows us to include it into the herpetofauna list of Kazakhstan, and also to considerably expand our representations of its propagation north.