A preliminary report on the distribution of lizards in Qatar.
We have updated the list of the lizard species present in Qatar and produced the first distribution maps based on two field surveys in 2012 and 2013. We used the QND95/Qatar National Grid with a grid of 10 × 10 km squares for mapping. Our results show the occurrence of 21 lizard species in Qatar, from the 15 species indicated in the last biodiversity report conducted in 2004. The most abundant family found in Qatar is Gekkonidae with nine species (Bunopus tuberculatus, Cyrtopodion scabrum, Hemidactylus robustus, H. flaviviridis, H. persicus, Stenodactylus arabicus, S. slevini, S. doriae, Pseudoceramodactylus khobarensis), followed by Lacertidae with four species (Acanthodactylus schmidti, A. opheodurus, Mesalina brevirostris, M. adramitana), Agamidae with three species (Trapelus flavimaculatus, Uromastyx aegyptia, Phrynocephalus arabicus), Scincidae with two species (Scincus mitranus, Trachylepis septemtaeniata), and Varanidae (Varanus griseus), Sphaerodactylidae (Pristurus rupestris) and Trogonophiidae (Diplometopon zarudnyi) with one species each. The species richness fluctuated largely across Qatar between one and eleven species per grid square. We believe that the lizard fauna records in Qatar are still incomplete and that additional studies are required. However, our study here fills a gap concerning lizard biodiversity knowledge in the Gulf Region.
University Ovidius Constanţa, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences, Al. Universitatii 1, corp B, 900740 Constanţa, Romania.
Dan
D
Cogălniceanu
Department of Biodiversity, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar ; Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Road Sant Llorenç de Morunys km2, 25280 Solsona, Catalonia, Spain.
Aurora M
AM
Castilla
Department of Herpetology, Aranzadi Society of Sciences. Zorroagagaina, 11. San Sebastián, Spain ; Department of Geography and Regional Planning. University of Zaragoza. Pedro Cerbuna, 12. Zaragoza, Spain.
Aitor
A
Valdeón
Department of Herpetology, Aranzadi Society of Sciences. Zorroagagaina, 11. San Sebastián, Spain.
Alberto
A
Gosá
Department of Biodiversity, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar.
Noora
N
Al-Jaidah
Wildlife Research Section, Ministry of Environment, Qatar, P.O. Box 7635, Doha, Qatar.
Ali
A
Alkuwary
Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt ; Genetic Resources Department, Biotechnology Centre, Ministry of Environment, Qatar, P.O. Box 200022, Doha, Qatar.
Essam O H
EO
Saifelnasr
Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology; National Museum of Natural Sciences; Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Paloma
P
Mas-Peinado
Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box 5825, Doha, Qatar.
Renee
R
Richer
Ministry of Environment, Qatar, P.O. Box 7635, Doha, Qatar.
Ahmad Amer Mohd
AA
Al-Hemaidi
Reptilia; atlas; biodiversity; geographic distribution; inventory; maps; species richness