Naja oxiana (Eichwald, 1831)

Jablonski, Daniel, Khalili, Faizurrahman & Masroor, Rafaqat, 2023, The herpetofaunal diversity of Takhar Province, Afghanistan, Herpetozoa 36, pp. 73-90 : 73

Naja oxiana (Eichwald, 1831)

Figs 9 , 10G

Takhar record.

Bay Yawa (Qizilqiya), 37.4267°N, 69.7085°E, 736 m a. s. l., 1 September 2019, observed on the sandy road during the evening and in the morning next day.

Distribution in Afghanistan.

According to Wagner et al. (2016), this species is known from different parts of the country, mostly from the northern and south-eastern Provinces, i.e. Badghis, Herat, Kabul, Kunduz, Logar and Nangarhar (Fig. 9 ). It represents 18% of all provinces.

Chorotype.

Iranian + Turanian + Palearctic-Oriental transition zone.

Remarks.

This is the first record of this species from Takhar Province. Kazemi et al. (2021) compared the genetic data of populations from northern Afghanistan with those from Iran and Turkmenistan and highlighted a shallow pattern of genetic variability suggesting ecological plasticity (the species is inhabiting variety of habitats) connected with rapid colonisation events in the past. However, populations south of the Hindu Kush Mountains were not studied and, due to this significant geographic barrier, we can expect the deeper genetic structure of the species.

Figures

Figure 9. Herpetofaunistic records of Erycidae, Colubridae, Natricidae and Elapidae from Takhar Province in the context of updated records from Afghanistan (white dots: published data; red dots: new data).

Figure 10. A. Juvenile individual of Eryx tataricus from Taleqan (CUHC-PA 175); B. Adult female of E. tataricus from Bay Yawa (Kaserkul) (CUHC-PA 188); C, D. Dorsal and ventral view on subadult male of Hemorrhois ravergieri from Bay Yawa (Kaserkul) (CUHC-PA 177); E. Ventral view on adult female of Natrix tessellata from Taleqan (CUHC-PA 176); F. Adult female of N. tessellata from Bay Yawa (CUHC-PA 206); G. Juvenile individual of Naja oxiana from Bay Yawa (CUHC-PA 199).