New records of the rock lizards of the genus Darevskia Arribas, 1999 (Sauria: Lacertidae) in the Caucasus. Communication 2

Abstract

Five new regional records of the rock lizards in Caucasus are described. The distribution of Darevskia alpina (Darevsky, 1967) on the northern slope of Mount Elbrus has been detailed: the species was found in the Emmanuel glade and in the gorge of the Kyzylkol River. The easternmost record of D. alpina is located in the upper stream of the Cherek Bezengi River in Kabardino-Balkaria. Darevskia caucasica vedenica (Darevsky et Roitberg, 1999) was first found on the territory of Dagestan in the area of the lake Kezenoyam and on the watershed of the Okholitlau and Khulhulau rivers. The existence of an isolated population of D. daghestanica (Darevsky, 1967) in the gorge of the Bolshaya Liakhvi River was confirmed, which is located in South Ossetia, on the southwestern border of the species range. When studying the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, three specimens of D. dahli (Darevsky, 1957) were found from the village Alapars of the Kotayk region of Armenia collected in 1880. This locality is the southernmost and, moreover, the only record of the species in the Armenian volcanic highlands.