Issue Number 172 - Summer 2025 | British Herpetological Society

pdf 01. Predation of Endangered crowned river turtles Hardella thurjii by golden jackals Canis aureus in Keoladeo National Park, India

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AUTHORS: GOURAV SONAWANE, GAURAV. S SINGH, ADITI MUKHERJEE, SHIRISH S. MANCHI & H.N. KUMARA

ABSTRACT: The predation of an endangered species by its natural predators can severely impact its survival, even in protected areas. We report on the predation of the Endangered crowned river turtle Hardella thurjii by golden jackals Canis aureus in Keoladeo National Park in India. There were 48 predation instances over five months, particularly of gravid females during the breeding season. The concentration of predated carcasses along turtle breeding trails raises concerns about demographic impacts. These findings underscore the need for targeted conservation measures, such as monitoring jackal movement, installing barricades in predation hotspots, and providing care for injured turtles to reduce losses of H. thurjii.

pdf 01a. Supplementary material for 01. Predation of Endangered crowned river turtles Hardella thurjii by golden jackals Canis aureus in Keoladeo National Park, India

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AUTHORS: GOURAV SONAWANE, GAURAV. S SINGH, ADITI MUKHERJEE, SHIRISH S. MANCHI & H.N. KUMARA

pdf 02. First record of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus on the island of Crete, Greece

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https://doi.org/10.33256/hb172.712

AUTHORS: ALEXIOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS, ALEXANDROS ZACHARIOU & EVANTHIA THANOU

ABSTRACT: The Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus is a species distributed in Italy and the east Adriatic coast. It is also a well-known invasive species introduced into four continents and many countries outside its native range. In 2014, an established population of this species was recorded in Athens, Greece, which was identified as Podarcis siculus campestris by molecular analysis. Here, we report for the first time the presence of another subspecies, Podarcis siculus siculus, in Greece and specifically on the island of Crete. Tissue samples from six adult and subadult lizards were analysed to reconstruct a mitochondrial phylogeny using a segment of cytochrome b and all published sequences of native and introduced populations of P. siculus. We identified the source-population of the Cretan P. siculus to be located in Sicily, while the Athenian population originated from the Adriatic coast. This indicates two independent introduction events in a period of < 10 years. The Cretan population of P. siculus seems to be well established and may pose a future threat to the endemic Cretan wall lizard Podarcis cretensis.

pdf 02a. Supplementary material for 02. First record of the Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus on the island of Crete, Greece

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AUTHORS: ALEXIOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS, ALEXANDROS ZACHARIOU & EVANTHIA THANOU

pdf 03. Sporadic nesting records of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta along the Greek shores of the Aegean Sea

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https://doi.org/10.33256/hb172.1316

AUTHORS: DIMITRIS MARGARITOULIS, DIMITRIS FYTILIS, NIKOS MANIAS, ALIKI PANAGOPOULOU & PANAGIOTA THEODOROU

ABSTRACT: In Greece, about 18% of loggerhead sea turtle nesting occurs around the Aegean Sea, on specific beaches that are monitored regularly. Sporadic nesting is also recorded incidentally in other areas. We present here the sporadic nesting events, along the Aegean coasts of Greece, for the 41-year period 1984–2024. Beaches with multiple nesting events, in the same or different nesting seasons, should be further investigated as this may lead to the discovery of new nesting sites that support regular nesting.

pdf 04. Pair bonding and multiple matings in the western green lizard Lacerta bilineata

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https://doi.org/10.33256/hb172.1719

AUTHOR: ROGER MEEK

ABSTRACT: Few studies have focused on the activities of individual lizards, which have often been hampered by the problems of tracking them in natural environments. Using photographs, the behaviour of western green lizards Lacerta bilineata were observed during the springs of 2023 and 2024. The length of time that males paired with females varied from only a few days to over most of the reproductive season and in this time, two females, one during 2023 and one in 2024, mated with more than one male, suggesting that reproductive performance may be enhanced by polyandry. Furthermore, one of the females appears to have laid egg clutches twice within a year, a further enhancement of reproductive performance.