Articles

History of Central Asian tortoise Agrionemys horsfieldii (Testudinidae, Reptilia) harvesting in Uzbekistan, and its population impact

The harvesting of the Central Asian tortoise has been a longstanding practice in Uzbekistan. Throughout the 1930s–1950s, this species was harvested to feed farm livestock and shepherd dogs, and during the World War II, tortoise meat was used to provide additional nutrition to the people. The 1960s marked the start of commercial trade in tortoises. The annual volumes of legal harvesting of wild tortoises started to grow in the late 1990s, and reached 85 thousand specimens per year by 2017.

Sexual differences in the morphometric traits of the black forest-steppe viper, Pelias berus nikolskii (Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986) (Viperidae, Reptilia), from the Voronezh region

Authors: Ushakov M. V.

We studied sexual dimorphism in the black forest-steppe viper, Pelias berus nikolskii (Vedmederja, Grubant et Rudaeva, 1986), inhabiting the Voronezh region. From 2008 to 2017, 118 snakes were captured, of which 84 were males and 34 were females. Body length, tail length, and five head measurements were taken from the individuals was calculated. Analysis of Covariance showed that males and females differed in all traits except the greatest width of the head and head length.

Reptiles of the Southwestern Tajikistan desert plains: Spatial distribution, population density and communities structure

Authors: Bondarenko D. A., Ergashev U. H.

Population density of reptiles in four desert areas of southwestern Tajikistan was estimated in spring 2018–2019. The structure of reptile communities in seven typical landscapes was described. The highest species diversity and population density were observed in sandy landscapes. Seven species of psammobionts formed the basis of these reptile communities.

Distribution and morphometric features of the common toad Bufo bufo L. (Bufonidae, Amphibia) in the North-East of the European part of Russia

Authors: Bobretsov A. V., Bykhovets N. M., Kochanov S. K., Petrov A. N.

The distribution and morphometric features of the common toad (Bufo bufo) in the North-East of European Russia are discussed. The northern boundary of the species' range in the region has a complex configuration. In the west and central part of the region, the toad is found up to latitude 65º42'N and 63º01'N, respectively, the eastern border of its habitat moves northwards up to 64º13' and then drops to the south along the Ural Mountain Ridge.

On limits of the distribution range of the Crimean rock lizard Darevskia lindholmi (Sauria: Lacertidae)

Authors: Kukushkin O. V., Turbanov I. S., Gorelov R. A., Trofimov A. G.

New data on the boundaries of the distribution range of the Lindholm rock lizard (Darevskia lindholmi), an endemic of the Crimean Peninsula, are presented. This petrophilous lizard inhabit a wide range of biotopes in various landscape levels of the Mountainous Crimea. The upper boundary of D. lindholmi distribution in the southwest of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains reaches an elevation of 1,520 m a.s.l.

Distribution of Phrynocephalus helioscopus (Pallas, 1771) (Agamidae, Reptilia) in the West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Authors: Akhmedenov K. M., Bakiev A. G., Mukhambetova U. S.

Based on the results of our 2017–2021 field research, the coordinates of 17 meeting points of the sunwatcher toadhead agama (Phrynocephalus helioscopus) (Pallas, 1771) in the West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan are given, from 49°17.256'N, 48°14.048'E in the North to 46°34.330'N, 55°49.319'E in the South. The northern limit of the modern distribution in the Volga-Ural (Volga-Zhaiyk) interfluve is the saline in the Aral-sor lacustrine-saline depression and the Baigutta sor-liman depression in the left bank of the Ural (Zhaiyk) River.

Comparative leukocyte blood profile of Emys orbicularis (Reptilia: Emydidae) from two populations

Authors: Romanova E. B., Stolyarova I. A., Bakiev A. G., Gorelov R. A.

A comparative estimation of the leukocyte profile of the marsh turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) living in the Ural river basin (Orenburg region, Belyaevsky district, 11 females and 5 males) and in the Volga river basin (Astrakhan region, Krasnoyarsk district, 28 females and 20 males) was made.

Leukocyte blood composition of Naturix natrix (Serpentes: Colubridae) in the Mordovian State Nature Reserve (Russia)

Authors: Romanova E. B., Solomaykin E. I., Bakiev A. G., Gorelov R. A.

The state of the grass snake (Natrix natrix) population in the Mordovian State Nature Reserve was assessed using the hematological approach. The leukocyte blood count was estimated together with calculation of the associated leukocyte indices (neutrophil:lymphocyte (N:L), eosinophil:lymphocyte (E:L), heterophil:eosinophil (H/E) and heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) ratios). The surface area of leukocytes (heterophils, basophils, eosinophils, azurophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes) was measured.

Morphological characteristics of the populations of Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 (Colubridae, Reptilia) on the northern border of its habitat in Russia

Authors: Antipov S. A., Klenina A. A., Doronin I. V.

Detailed morphological characteristics of the populations of Coronella austriaca on the northern border of its range, in the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod regions, are presented. L.corp. of males and females reaches 543 mm and 601 mm, respectively. Ventr. is 166–175 and 175–189, respectively, Scd. Is 50–59 and 32–56, Lab. left/right is usually 7/7 (89.7%), Sublab. is 9/9 (72.4%), respectively.

Bioacoustic Characteristics of the Crimean Gecko Mediodactylus danilewskii (Strauch, 1887) (Reptilia: Sauria: Gekkonidae)

Authors: Kukushkin O. V., Silkin M. Y.

For the first time, the amplitude-frequency and temporal characteristics of the acoustic signals (the distress one and two types of advertisement calls) of the Crimean gecko (Mediodactylus danilewskii) were analyzed. The distress call is a rather long one (usually around 150–350 ms, but sometimes up to nearly 1 s), with a peak frequency of 6.86 kHz in both males and females. The upper harmonics of this type of signal lie in the ultrasonic region of the frequency spectrum.

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