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Current knowledge of the vertical distribution of Triturus macedonicus places the species at altitudes up to 2140 m. Herein, we report its presence in the alpine lake Gistova at 2360 m on Mt. Grammos, Greece, thus extending the highest altitudinal point for the species, as well as for the Triturus genus. This record showcases the adaptive capacity of the Macedonian newt, which allows it to occupy markedly different environments. More populations may exist at similar or even higher altitudes and their discovery could positively impact conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Moorish Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) is a successful colonizer that has been introduced in many European countries. In Greece, the species' presence is documented for at least 150 years now and it has been only recently introduced on the islands of Corfu and Lesvos, and the prefectures of Aetoloakarnania and Attica (Athens city). In this document we unify the current knowledge on the Moorish Gecko's occurrence in Greece, with new, unpublished records, museum archives and citizen science data, in order to generate an updated image of the species' extant distribution. This merge of data fills several distributional gaps and also extends the Moorish Gecko's range in two new areas, namely Fokida prefecture and Kos Island. Concerns about possible threats to native herpetofauna are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peri-urban forests have both a protective and aesthetic role in cities, contributing to the health and well-being of their residents. Seich Sou is the peri-urban forest of Thessaloniki City, Greece, with an area of about 3000 ha. It offers protection from erosion and pollution, a place for recreation and it can also provide a wildlife refuge. To date, no thorough report on the Seich Sou's herpetofauna exists in the literature, which is the aim of the present work. The presence of 32 herpetofauna species (seven amphibians and 25 reptiles) has been confirmed in the peri-urban forest, after numerous herpetological surveys that have been conducted within a 17-year time period. Amongst them, eight are listed in the Appendix II of the Council Directive 92/43/EC, three are characterized as Near Threatened and one as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammouliani is a small inhabited island of an area about 6.9 km2, located in the Gulf of Agion Oros, Chalkidiki, Greece. Hitherto, there have been no herpetological surveys on the island and thus its herpetofaunal composition is still unknown. In the current short note, records of amphibians and reptiles from Ammouliani Island are presented for the first time. A two-day expedition in Spring 2022 resulted in one amphibian and nine reptile species records, all found to occur in relatively low densities. The small number of species of the island and the low densities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic biogeography of glacial refugia may cause complex patterns of genetic admixture between parapatric taxa, which in turn can mislead their systematics, diversity, and distributions. We investigated this issue for green toads (Bufotes) inhabiting the circum‐Aegean region, a biodiversity hotspot of the Eastern Mediterranean. A previous phylogeographic study based on mitochondrial and microsatellite loci identified the hybrid zone between the European (viridis) and Anatolian (sitibundus) lineages of B. viridis all over the Balkan Peninsula, but subsequent range‐wide genomic analyses (>1000 SNPs) located this transition in Turkey, a thousand kilometers eastwards. In order to clarify the diversity and taxonomy of the circum‐Aegean populations, we reconciled these conflicting findings by integrating previous data with pure sitibundus individuals. Our results confirmed that the viridis/sitibundus hybrid zone extends in Western Anatolia, but that southeastern European populations feature cytonuclear discordances and a high and structured microsatellite diversity. This remarkable situation may stem from a massive geographic displacement of the hybrid zone during the last glacial fluctuations, an underappreciated yet seemingly common feature among the herpetofauna of the region. Our study thus contributes to the rising view that mitochondrial DNA can be a poor predictor of current phylogeographic structure, hence the need for genomic data, especially for narrowly distributed taxa. Finally, the analyses unambiguously support the distinction of a micro‐endemic clade of green toads unique to some Cyclades islands, for which we provide a formal taxonomic description. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 2000s, numerous cases of European amphibian population declines and mass die-offs started to emerge. Investigating those events led to the discovery that wild European amphibians were confronted with grave disease threats caused by introduced pathogens, namely the amphibian and the salamander chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal) and ranaviruses. In Greece, Bd was previously documented among wild amphibian populations in 2 different locations and 3 different species. However, no disease-related mass declines or mortality events have been reported. In this work, we build upon previous findings with new, subsequently obtained data, resulting in a 225-sample dataset of 14 species from 17 different locations throughout Greece, in order to examine the occurrence status of all 3 pathogens responsible for emerging infectious diseases in European amphibians. No positive samples for Bsal or ranavirus were recorded in any location. We confirmed the presence of Bd in 4 more localities and in 4 more species, including 1 urodelan (Macedonian crested newt Triturus macedonicus) and 1 introduced anuran (American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus). All insular localities were negative for Bd, except for Crete, where Bd was identified in 2 different locations. Again, no mass declines or die-offs were recorded in any Bd-positive area or elsewhere. However, given the persistence of Bd across Greece over the past ~20 yr, monitoring efforts should continue, and ideally be further expanded.