Title
An overview and checklist of the native and alien herpetofauna of the United Arab Emirates
Source of Publication
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
Abstract
This paper provides an updated checklist of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) native and alien herpetofauna. The UAE, while largely a desert country with a hyper-arid climate, also has a range of more mesic habitats such as islands, mountains, and wadis. As such it has a diverse native herpetofauna of at least 72 species as follows: Two amphibian species (Bufonidae), five marine turtle species (Cheloniidae [four] and Dermochelyidae [one]), 42 lizard species (Agamidae [six], Gekkonidae [19], Lacertidae [10], Scincidae [six], and Varanidae [one]), a single amphisbaenian, and 22 snake species (Leptotyphlopidae [one], Boidae [one], Colubridae [seven], Hydrophiidae [nine], and Viperidae [four]). Additionally, we recorded at least eight alien species, although only the Brahminy Blind Snake (Ramphotyplops braminus) appears to have become naturalized. We also list legislation and international conventions pertinent to the herpetofauna.
Document Type
Article
First Page
529
Last Page
536
Publication Date
12-1-2010
Recommended Citation
Soorae, Pritpal S.; Myyas, Al Quarqaz; and Gardner, Andrew S., "An overview and checklist of the native and alien herpetofauna of the United Arab Emirates" (2010). Scopus Indexed Articles. 2174.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/scopus-indexed-articles/2174