List of reptiles of Israel

Israel has 93 species of reptiles, almost a third of which live in its northern areas. The reptiles of Israel live in environments ranging from the Negev Desert to the Red Sea, from the Jordan River to the Judaean Mountains.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT Near threatened The species does not meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC Least concern There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Turtles and tortoises

Pond turtles

  • Pond slider (Trachemys scripta)
  • Balkan terrapin (Mauremys rivulata)

Sea turtles

  • Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)
  • Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
  • Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) CR
  • Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) VU

Softshell turtles

  • African softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) CR

Tortoises

  • Spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca)
  • Negev tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni)

Lizards

Agamid lizards

  • Starred agama (Stellagama stellio) LC
  • Aqaba agama (Pseudotrapelus aqabensis)
  • Trapelus agnetae CR
  • Savigny's agama (Trapelus savignii) VU
  • Egyptian mastigure (Uromastyx aegyptia)[1] VU
  • Ornate mastigure (Uromastyx ornata) LC
A bright blue male Sinai agama during the breeding season.

Chameleons

Geckos

Glass lizards

Lacertid lizards

Ophisops elegans

LC

Monitor lizards

Skinks

Snakes

Blindsnakes

Boas

Colubrid snakes

A black whipsnake (Dolichophis jugularis) preying on a European glass lizard (Pseudopus apodus) in the Valley of Elah.

Elapid snakes

Lamprophiid snakes

Mole vipers

Vipers

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Shacham, Boaz; Federman, Roy; Lahav-Ginott, Shimrit; Werner, Yehudah L. (April 2016). "The northward extension of reptiles in the Palearctic, with the Jordan Valley (Israel) as a model: snakes outrace lizards (Reptilia: Squamata)". Journal of Natural History. 50 (15–16): 1017–1033 – via EBSCOHost.