Andalusia

ANDALUSIA

In April 2008 I joined the Austrian herpetological field team from www.herpetofauna.at for a 10 day trip across Andalusia in southern Spain to find several endemic amphibians and reptiles as well as a number of other species. Our 11 man strong team resulted in finding almost all of the species present in southern Spain thanks to all of our dedicated enthusiasm. Our first base was Arcos de la Frontera in western Andalusia from which we explored the Sierra Morena and los Alcornocales as well as coastal areas close to Huelva, Cadiz and Doñana National Park.

Our team (C) Wolfgang Similinger www.simi.at

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Table 1: Number of specimens of reptiles and amphibians found in Andalusia, 9th-18th April

Latin name	Common name	Specimens
Salamandra salamandra	Fire salamander	1 DOR + larva
Pleurodeles walti	Sharp- ribbed newt	3
Triturus boscai	Bosca’s newt	common
Triturus pygmaeus	Southern marbled newt	2
Discoglossus galganoi	Iberian painted frog	10+
Pelobates cultripes	Western spadefoot toad	1 DOR
Pelodytes ibericus	Iberian parsley frog	20+
Bufo bufo	Common toad	3
Bufo calamita	Natterjack toad	5
Hyla meridionalis	Mediterranean tree frog	common
Pelophylax perezi	Iberian water frog	Very common
Mauremys leprosa	Spanish terrapin	10
Blanus cinereus	Iberian worm lizard	30+
Chameleo chameleon	Mediterranean chameleon	8
Chalcides bedriagai	Bedriaga’s skink	few
Chalcides striatus	Western three-toad skink	15+
Hemidactylus turcicus	Turkish gecko	few
Tarentola mauritanica	Moorish gecko	common
Acanthodactylus erythurus	Spiny-footed lizard	few
Timon lepidus	Ocellated lizard	10
Podarcis hispanicus	Spanish wall lizard	few
Podarcis vaucheri	Vaucher’s wall lizard	few
Psammodromus algirus	Large psammodromus	common
Hemorrhois hippocrepis	Horseshoe whip snake	4
Rhinechis scalaris	Ladder snake	1 DOR 1 live
Malpolon monpessulanus	Montpellier snake	11
Macroprotodon brevis	False smooth snake	8
Natrix maura	Viperine snake	30+
Vipera latastei	Lataste’s viper	1

 

Natterjack toad (Bufo calamita)

Iberian worm lizard (Blanus cinereus)

Coto Donana

Habitat of Mediterranean Chameleon (Chameleo chameleon)

Mediterranean chameleon (Chameleo chameleon) a prime target for evil collectors

Mediterranean chameleon (Chameleo chameleon) in his own tree where he belongs

Spanish terrapin (Mauremys leprosa)

Funnel web spider (Macrothele calpeiana) probably the most dangerous in Europe

Habitat of False smooth snake (Macroprotodon brevis)

False smooth snake (Macroprotodon brevis)

Western three-toed skink (Chalcides striatus)

Spiny-footed lizard (Acanthodactylus erythurus)

A young chameleon (Chameleo chameleon)

Reddish Natterjack toad (Bufo calamita)

The town of Ronda

Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus)

Bedriaga's skink (Chalcides bedriagai)

Habitat of Painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi)

Iberian Painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi)

Viperine snake (Natrix maura)

Roadside habitat of Sharp-ribbed newt (Pleurodeles walti)

Sharp-ribbed newt (Pleurodeles walti)

Sharp-ribbed newt (Pleurodeles walti)

Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus)

Larvae of Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)

Juvenile Iberian parsley frog (Pelodytes ibericus)

The only Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei) found on the trip

Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei)Big Ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus)

Western three-toed skink (Chalcide striatus)

Horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis)

Southern tree frog (Hyla meridionalis) Vaucher's wall lizard (Podarcis vaucheri)

Granada- Loja- Salobreña

For the second part of our trip we stayed in the province of Granada and in general were able to find more reptiles in this area, whereas we found the areas of western Andalusia better for amphibians.

Durante la segunda mitad de nuestro viaje se fue en la provincia de Granada donde se encontró más especies de reptiles mientras en el oueste se pudo observar anfibios con más frecuencia.

Pond with Southern marbled newt (Triturus pygmaeus)

Male marbled newt (Triturus pygmaeus)

Female marbled newt (Triturus pygmaeus)

Common toad (Bufo bufo)

Horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis)

Ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris)

Ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris)

Ladder snake (Rhinechis scalaris)

Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus)

Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus)

Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus)

False smooth snake (Macroprotodon brevis)