ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF ROCK LIZARDS OF THE Darevskia (SUPERSPECIES praticola) IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS

Abstract

Representatives of the Darevskia (superspecies praticola) have been discovered in the North Caucasus, and these new finds have been analysed. The discovery of Darevskia pontica in Svetly village (Stavropol Krai) suggests that its range is expanding. The northern boundary can be defined by a line running from Staroshcherbinovskaya village to the vicinity of Sonino village, then to the vicinity of Otradovka village, then to the vicinity of Storozhi Vtoroye village, then to Vostochny Sosyk village, then to Svetly settlement, then to Stavropol city. Previously, only D. praticola was known in the Kislovodsk area, although D. pontica was recorded nearby. The new data enable us to identify the area where the ranges of the Pontic lizard and the Meadow lizard overlap in the northern spurs of the Borgustansky Ridge, between the villages of Borgustanskaya and Yasnaya Polyana, in the interfluve of the Bolshoy Essentuchok and Bugunta rivers.