Herpetology Notes, volume 6: 481-484 (2013) (published online on 30 October 2013)
Range extension for the Eastern spadefoot toad Pelobates
syriacus (Boettger, 1889) (Anura: Pelobatidae)
Paul Székely1*, Ruben Iosif1, Diana Székely1, Florina Stănescu1 and Dan Cogălniceanu1
Two of the four species of spadefoot toads (genus
Pelobates) are present in Romania, reaching to some
extent the limits of their ranges here: southern limit
for Pelobates fuscus and northern limit for P. syriacus.
Spadefoot toads are highly specialized species that
have a narrow ecological niche: they are obligatory
burrowing species, and landscape features have a
strong influence on population spread and abundance,
usually requiring loose, sandy soils (Nöllert, 1990). The
Eastern (or Syrian) spadefoot toad (Fig. 1) is distributed
in south-eastern Balkans (Džukić et al., 2008), eastern
to south-eastern Transcaucasia, northern Iran, Turkey
and parts of the Middle East, until Israel (IUCN, 2013).
Because of its nocturnal activity, weak underwater
breeding call and cryptic coloration its presence is often
easily overlooked, this species being described from
Romania only in 1954 (Băcescu, 1954). Furthermore,
the tadpoles cannot be accurately distinguished from
those of P. fuscus (Sidorovska et al., 2002), making the
inventory in the field based on the presence of tadpoles
difficult.
Since the recent publication of the updated distribution
maps of the Romanian amphibians (Cogălniceanu et
al., 2013), during extensive fieldwork in April - July
2013 we collected new occurrence records that extend
the known geographical range of this species further to
the north and west (Fig. 2A). The surveys were done
both at night and day. The aquatic habitats, tadpoles
and metamorphs were sampled during the day. We
collected several tadpoles from each habitat where
adults or metamorphs were not found and brought them
to the laboratory where they were kept until species
identification was possible. Night-time surveys were
conducted in the vicinity of aquatic habitats to detect
adults and metamorphs. Roadkills were also successfully
University Ovidius Constanţa, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Al.
Universităţii 1, corp B, 900470 Constanţa, Romania
*
Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected]
used for species identification.
We hereby report the presence of P. syriacus from
36 new locations in Romania. The first report for its
presence in Galați County (Table 1) shifts the species
northernmost distribution limit with more than 40
km (Fig. 2B). Furthermore, P. syriacus was detected
in a high number of sites in the nearby region, the
Bărăgan Plains (Brăila and Buzău Counties; Table 1).
In addition, we report the occurrence of P. syriacus
in Mehedinți County (Table 1) which represents its
westernmost distribution limit in Romania, at about 50
km from the previously known location (Fig. 2C). This
range expansion is not unexpected since the species
was previously reported further west, from the Island
of Ada Kaleh (Fuhn, 1970) that was flooded when the
Iron Gates dam was completed. Finally, several new
occurrence records were made in the southern part of the
country, along the Danube, in Olt and Giurgiu Counties
(Table 1), indicating that the species distribution along
the Danube is continuous (Fig. 2C). All these new
records fall within the geographical space delineated
by Tarkhnishvili et al. (2009) using an ecological niche
modeling approach.
1
Figure 1. Pelobates syriacus female from Fundeni (Hanu
Conachi forest).
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Paul Székely et al.
Table1. New locality records of Pelobates syriacus in Romania.
County
Locality
Lat (N)
Long (E)
Altitude (m)
Gala i
C lm ui
45.67285
27.63885
48
Gala i
Fundeni
45.58316
27.55807
14
Br ila
B ile (Balta Alb )
45.28092
27.37126
33
68
Br ila
B l ceanu
45.23846
27.13846
Br ila
Com neasca
45.22295
27.70663
4
Br ila
Corbu Nou
45.42754
27.59863
14
Br ila
Galbenu
45.20684
27.15508
52
Br ila
Gemenele
45.27892
27.61152
18
Br ila
Însur ei
44.94058
27.59635
15
Br ila
Jirl u (Lacul Jirl u)
45.16669
27.17707
43
Br ila
Lacul Jirl u
45.15759
27.22888
49
Br ila
Jirl u
45.16178
27.20543
52
Br ila
Latinu
45.38882
27.70992
6
Br ila
Li coteanca
45.00199
27.52990
23
Br ila
M ra u
44.83031
27.96274
5
Br ila
Movila Miresii
45.23091
27.62439
10
Br ila
Pl soiu (Balta Amara)
45.21036
27.29329
44
Br ila
S tuc
45.17916
27.15563
54
Br ila
Vi ani
45.15589
27.25349
44
Br ila
Z voaia
44.97654
27.51556
26
33
Buz u
Amara (Balta Amara)
45.24055
27.27960
Buz u
B l ceanu
45.25817
27.15170
63
Buz u
Boldu
45.31030
27.22357
63
Buz u
Ghergheasa
45.28963
27.20798
65
Buz u
Luciu (Lacul Luciu)
44.98229
27.08167
54
Buz u
Pogoanele
44.93434
27.00070
62
Mehedin i
Balta Verde
44.33663
22.60564
51
Mehedin i
Burila Mic
44.39685
22.61968
94
Mehedin i
Gogo u
44.36098
22.59404
78
Mehedin i
Jiana
44.41934
22.75432
91
Mehedin i
Jiana Mare
44.40882
22.68262
95
Olt
Hotaru
43.75773
24.23265
53
Olt
Potelu
43.76504
24.19424
31
Giurgiu
Comasca
43.94176
26.05204
20
Giurgiu
Gostinu
43.97834
26.08846
16
Giurgiu
Oinacu
43.95654
26.02102
23
The species is rather abundant in uniform and
extensive agriculture landscapes, taking advantage of
the network of irrigation canals, partly abandoned and
transformed in wetlands. Pelobates syriacus seems to
cope well with the dominant agricultural landscape
sustaining apparently large populations. They breed in
the irrigation canals and temporary ponds nearby (Fig.
3) and are widespread in the loose soils of the arable
lands.
Overall our inventory has shown that the species is
more widespread and potentially more abundant than
previously known and that its distribution is not insular
Range extension for the Eastern spadefoot toad Pelobates syriacus (Boettger, 1889)
Figure 2. The updated distribution of Pelobates syriacus in Romania. The published records (blue) and the new localities
(red) are summarized as UTM 5×5 centroids to better understand the geographic patterns at regional scale (A). Distribution
in Galați, Brăila, Buzău Counties (B) and in Mehedinţi County and southern Romania, along the Danube River (C) are
plotted as GPS points in WGS 84 projection.
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Paul Székely et al.
Figure 3. Breeding habitats of Pelobates syriacus: A. secondary irrigation canal, B. main irrigation canal, C. temporary pond near
agricultural lands, D. wetlands.
as thought but continuous. These findings have several
implications both on the understanding of the ecology
of this toad and the conservation status in Romania
and the European Union. The new data should lead to
more studies assessing the adaptability of P. syriacus
populations living in extreme environment, at the limit
of their range, and in competition with the Common
spadefoot toad, P. fuscus.
Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a Romanian
National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS-UEFISCDI
grant, project number PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0173. We thank
Elena Buhaciuc, Rodica Plăiașu and Raluca Băncilă for their
contributions and Tibor Hartel for his valuable comments on the
manuscript.
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Accepted by Philip de Pous