Biodiversity Data Journal :
Short Communication
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Corresponding author: Zaffar Rais Mir (mirzaffar786@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Katharina Wollenberg Valero
Received: 08 Feb 2023 | Accepted: 19 Jun 2023 | Published: 17 Jul 2023
© 2023 Mohammed Al Mutairi, Abdulaziz Alqahtani, Zaffar Rais Mir, Riyaz Ahmad, Saad Alsubaie, Michael Smith
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Al Mutairi M, Alqahtani AR, Mir ZR, Ahmad R, Alsubaie S, Smith M (2023) A new distribution record of Arnold’s Gecko, Pristurus minimus (Arnold, 1977) (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae), in Saudi Arabia. Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e101647. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e101647
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Reptiles are considered an important element of Saudi Arabia’s wildlife to be conserved as a priority. However, the status and distribution of the Kingdom’s reptile fauna is not well understood, thus hindering the conservation initiatives. Better understanding of the taxonomy and distribution of the Kingdom’s reptile fauna is important for implementing effective conservation measures.
Here, we provide the new distribution record of Pristurus minimus (Arnold, 1977; common name, Arnold’s Gecko) from southern Saudi Arabia. The species was recorded from the Uruq Bani Ma'arid Protected Area (UBM) of southern Saudi Arabia. Four individuals were captured from different survey sites across the UBM and their species identification was confirmed through a mixture of physical and genetic examination. These results increase the number of species from the Pristurus genus to five for Saudi Arabia and improve the understanding of the Kingdom’s reptile fauna and its distribution.
new distribution record, protected area, Saudi Arabia, habitat, Pristurus minimus
The genus Pristurus RUPPELL 1835 (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae), includes at least 20 species, most of which are found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (
Up until now, P. minimus was known from Oman and the United Arab Emirates (refer to Fig.1 in
Here, we report on a range extension (≈ 850 km) and new record of P. minimus in the Uruq Bani Ma'arid Protected Area (UBM) of Saudi Arabia.
The current study was conducted in the Urq Bani Ma’arid (UBM) Protected Area (Fig.
As part of monitoring the reptile diversity in Protected Areas of Saudi Arabia, repeated temporal and spatial surveys were conducted in UBM in years 2021 and 2022. Four surveys were conducted during different seasons and across different sites in UBM. The surveys were conducted both during day and night hours (6:00 am to 1:00 pm; 3:00 pm 11:30 pm) to document nocturnal as well as diurnal species. At a series of survey sites (Fig.
A genetic approach was used as a final confirmation of the species identification. Individuals were captured by hand for sample collection. Samples from tail were collected and preserved in alcohol vials for genetic examination. For one mitochondrial fragment of the gene encoding the ribosomal 12S rRNA, DNA was analysed after being extracted using the Qiagen DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Catalogue no. 69506). DNA amplification was used on the DNA using 12S forward and reverse primers (12S; primers 12Sa and 12Sb;
Five P. minimus individuals were detected at four sites (Table
Site and survey details for each individual Pristurus minimus detection. Site locations shown in Fig.
Site code |
Elevation (m above sea level) |
Survey time (AST) |
Date |
D |
889 |
17:30 to 22:00 |
06/04/2021 |
G |
980 |
9:30 to 14:30 |
03/06/2021 |
K |
942 |
9:30 to 14:30 |
01/03/2021 |
O |
1021 |
9:30 to 14:30 |
06/03/2021 |
O |
1021 |
9:30 to 14:30 |
02/06/2021 |
Photographs were used to provide initial confirmation of specific identity. The photographed individuals were identified as P. minimus on the basis of morphological characteristics as described by
Wildlife research and conservation in Saudi Arabia have been taking place for some time although the focus was on large mammals mainly till recently. Quantifying the state of the reptile fauna of Saudi Arabia has received considerable focus of late (
Sphaerodactylidae are characterised by some of the smallest lizard species, which may contribute to their being more difficult species to detect during visually-based surveys. This further highlights the need to conduct repeated surveys in an area, preferably utilising robust design. Sites should be visited repeatedly in a short timeframe (i.e. within a few weeks of each other; secondary surveys) within sensible primary periods (e.g. annually, biennially or triennially during a period of time that species are most likely to be active;
A new species, P. minimus, of the family Sphaerodactylidae has been recorded in Saudi Arabia for the first time. Five species from this genus are now known to occur in Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, the records were collected in a protected area, Uruq Bani Ma'arid Protected Area, providing some confidence that the species will be conserved.
This work was supported by the Saudi Arabian National Centre for Wildlife. We are thankful to CEO National Centre for Wildlife, Dr. Muhammad Ali Qurban and Mr. Ahmed Al Boug for their support. We thank Aaron Bauer and Ahmad Badri for the expert advice and help.
National Centre for Wildlife, Saudi Arabia
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.