First European Occurrence and Genetic Diversity of the Steppe Ribbon Racer Psammophis lineolatus (Brandt, 1838) (Serpentes: Psammophiidae)
Akhmedenov K. Bakiev A. Klenina A. Lukonina S. Simonov E.
December 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Taxonomy
2025#5Issue 4
The recent update to the list of European herpetofauna species, published in 2020, includes 206 non-avian reptile species. The steppe ribbon racer, Psammophis lineolatus, is a snake species widely distributed across the deserts and semi-deserts of Central Asia and neighboring regions. Previously unrecorded in Europe, two specimens were discovered west of the Ural River during surveys in western Kazakhstan’s northeastern Caspian region. This is the first record of the species in Europe and marks its most northwestern distribution. DNA barcoding analysis revealed substantial mitochondrial diversity in the region, with European specimens having distinct haplotypes (0.73% p-distance), indicating colonization by two different phylogenetic lineages. This discovery highlights the need for further research on the P. lineolatus intraspecific diversity, phylogeography, and taxonomy.
biodiversity , DNA barcoding , European herpetofauna , range expansion , Western Palearctic
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Faculty of Natural Geography, M. Utemisov West Kazakhstan University, N. Nazarbayev Avenue 162, Uralsk, 090000, Kazakhstan
Institute of Ecology of Volga River Basin, Samara Federal Research Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzin Str. 10, Togliatti, 445003, Russian Federation
Department of Zoology and Ecology, Penza State University, Krasnaya Str. 40, Penza, 440026, Russian Federation
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Avenue 33, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation
Faculty of Natural Geography
Institute of Ecology of Volga River Basin
Department of Zoology and Ecology
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution
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