REPTILES OF THE ASHIOZEK SANCTUARY AND THE “BOKEYORDA” NATURE RESERVE (REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN)

Abstract

The dates and coordinates of reptile encounters within the Ashiozek State Nature Sanctuary of republican significance and the “Bokeyorda” State Nature Reserve, both established in 2022 in the West Kazakhstan Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the conservation of the saiga population Saiga tatarica (Linnaeus, 1766), are presented. The material is based on the authors’ field studies conducted in 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2025, as well as published data. In total, encounters of eight reptile species were recorded at 62 locations within these specially protected natural areas: the sunwatcher toad-headed agama Phrynocephalus helioscopus (Pallas, 1771); the secret toad-headed agama Phrynocephalus mystaceus (Pallas, 1776); the steppe-runner Eremias arguta (Pallas, 1773); the sand lizard Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758; the sand boa Eryx miliaris (Pallas, 1773); the grass snake Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758); the dione rat snake Elaphe dione (Pallas, 1773); and the steppe viper Vipera renardi (Christoph, 1861). The herpetofauna of the Ashiozek Sanctuary includes the steppe-runner, the sand lizard, the grass snake, the dione rat snake, and the steppe viper. The herpetofauna of the “Aralsor” section of the Bokeyorda Nature Reserve includes the sunwatcher toad-headed agama, the steppe-runner, the sand lizard, the grass snake, the dione rat snake, and the steppe viper. The herpetofauna of the “Zhanakala” section of the Bokeyorda Nature Reserve comprises the secret toad-headed agama, the steppe-runner, and the sand boa. The dice snake Natrix tessellata (Laurenti, 1768), previously reported in the proposed reserve area by other researchers, was not recorded by us either within the Bokeyorda Reserve or in the adjacent Ashiozek Sanctuary and is likely a misidentification. Possible ecological relationships between the recorded reptile species and the saiga are discussed.

Keywords: lizards, snakes, protected natural areas, West Kazakhstan Region, saiga