Platyceps rogersi ( Anderson, 1893:439 )

Bauer, Aaron M., DeBoer, Jonathan C. & Taylor, Dylan J., 2017, Atlas of the Reptiles of Libya, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64 (8), pp. 155-318 : 247-248

Platyceps rogersi ( Anderson, 1893:439)

1893 Zamenis Rogersi Anderson, 1893 . On a new species of Zamenis and a new species of Bufo from Egypt. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 6, 12:439–440.

LECTOTYPE.— BMNH 1946.1.14. 71, “desert to the east of Helwan” [ Egypt] designated by Flower (1933), [= “Above Wadi Hoaf, near Heluan” [ Egypt] fide Anderson (1898) [= “Wadi Hawf near Hulwan at approximately 29°52′N 31°19′E ” fide Schätti 2004]. The original type series included four additional specimens: 1946.1.11. 43 from “Beltim, between Rosetta and Damietta ” and BMNH 1946.1.11. 41 from “Shaloof, near Suez ” and two unlocated specimens, including one from “Marsa Matruh (31°21′N 27°14′E)” [ Egypt] fide Schätti (2004).

Coluber rogersi, Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1963:503 .

Coluber rogersi, Le Berre 1989:288 .

Coluber rogersi, Schleich, Kästle, and Kabisch 1996:486 .

Platyceps “chesneii ”, Sindaco, Venchi, and Grieco 2013:133.

DISTRIBUTION.— From Cyrenaica, Libya east to Syria, Iraq, and northern Saudi Arabia into Kazakhstan. In Libya the species is limited to Cyrenaica.

Libyan Records (Map 53): CYRE-

NAICA: BENGHAZI: 341: SK 2720 [= MHNG

1359.4]; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1958,

1963; Schätti 2004. 350: Cornalia in Haimann

1882, 1886; Werner 1909. 357: SMF 52888;

Ghigi 1913; Calabresi 1923; Schätti 2004. 379:

Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1958. MARJ: 385:

Zavattari 1937. DARNAH: 484: MZUT 644 [=

MZUT 4005]; Calabresi 1923; Zavattari 1929,

1930, 1934; Schätti 2004. 485: Kramer and

Schnurrenberger 1958. BUTNAN: 519: Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1958. 521: Zavattari

1937. 523: MSNG 29532 [= MG 701]; Kramer and Schnurrenberger 1958; Schätti 2004; Vinciguerra 1927; Zavattari 1929, 1930, 1934.

“ Cyrenaica ”: Condorelli-Francaviglia 1896;

Werner 1909. “ Eastern Libya ”: Sochurek

1979. LIBYA: “ between Tripoli and Kilki ” MAP 53. Distribution of Platyceps rogersi in Libya.

[ unlocated]: BMNH 1886.9.21. 102–103.

COMMENTS.— Boulenger (1996) reported that three of the five syntypes were present in the BMNH collection. Flower’s (1933) reference to one of these as “the type” constituted an implied lectotype designation, as recognized by Kramer and Schnurrenberger (1963) and Schätti (2004). The taxonomic history of this species has been confusing. Some earlier Libyan records (e.g., Condorelli-Francaviglia 1896) were recorded as Zamenis florulentus (Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1827), a species now regarded as primarily East African in distribution and extending northwards to the Nile Delta region ( Schätti, 1988), with disjunct forms in Nigeria and Cameroon (Sindaco et al. 2013), and according to Schätti (2004) Schleich (1987) confused one specimen of Hemorrhois algirus for P. rogersi (ZSM 1983/151) (see Werner 1909 for a discussion of early records of Zamenis [or Coluber ] algirus ). Schätti (2006) regarded P. rogersi as conspecific with P. ventromaculatus (Gray, 1834) and Schätti and Schmitz (2006) suggested that P. chesneii (Martin, 1838) might be the correct name for the northeast African and Middle Eastern snakes related to this taxon. Schätti et al. (2012), however, referred populations of P. cf. ventromaculatus occurring from Libya to southern Syria and Jordan to P. karelini rogersi , which they regarded as distinguished only by subtle color pattern differences from the nominate form occurring in Asia. Schätti et al. (2013) have since confirmed that the name P. chesneii applies to another species from Iran and Pakistan. However, Sindaco et al. (2013), based on Schätti’s earlier interpretation, used Platyceps “ chesneii ” for the North African and Middle Eastern forms and suggested that records from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Middle Asia are referable to other, unnamed, members of the P. karelini group. Most recently Schätti et al. (2014) considered the distribution of C. karelini to extend from Libya to Lake Balqash ( Kazakhstan) and Pakistan. Ibrahim (2013) and Werner (2016), however, have subsequently treat- ed P. rogersi as a full species. The sister-taxon relationship between P. karelini and P. rogersi had earlier demonstrated by Nagy et al. (2004).

IUCN THREAT STATUS.— Least Concern.