Spotted or Diadem, Rat Snake / Charala Soilok / Diadem, or Clifford’s Rat Snake
Spotted or Diadem Snake
Status: Critically Endangered (category CR C2b). One of the 4 known subspecies of the south-west Palaearctic species, with a southern Turanian distribution; in Kyrgyzstan - 1-3 isolated critically low populations (possibly already extinct) at the edge of the species range, in areas of anthropogenic impact on habitats.
General and national distribution. The species is distributed from North-West Africa to Northern India, the range of S. d. schiraziana covers almost all of Iran, Northern and Western Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Southern Kazakhstan, extending northeast to the Amu Darya delta and Eastern Kyzylkum, and along the Syr Darya into the Fergana Valley [1]. In Kyrgyzstan, it has been recorded near the village of Pulgon [6, 7], around the city of Osh (the easternmost point of the species range) [25], and on the road between the villages of Kochkor-Ata and Suzak [20]. Habitat. Areas with sparse herbaceous and shrubby vegetation in sandy, clayey, and stony semi-deserts and deserts, at altitudes up to 1500 m above sea level, often on loess cliffs along riverbanks, and in gerbil colonies [1, 19]. In Kyrgyzstan, it has been noted among rocky outcrops on clay hills in the foothills [20].
Population. In Central Asia, it is low everywhere except for Kopetdag, the floodplain of the Murghab River, and the lower reaches of the Panj River; in the Fergana Valley - very low; in Kyrgyzstan, only three reliable findings are known - in 1884 near the city of Osh, in 1988 near the village of Pulgon [6, 7, 25], and in May 2005 on the road between the villages of Kochkor-Ata and Suzak [20].
Life cycle. Not studied in Kyrgyzstan. A thermophilic species [3], with a hibernation duration of about 100 days (in Turkmenistan, it ends in early March [1]), mating occurs in June, laying 3-14 eggs in July-August [15], with an incubation period of 2-3 months. Active during the day, it feeds on reptiles (geckos, agamas, lacertas, arrow snakes) and mammals (red-tailed gerbils, Afghan voles), suffocating its prey by coiling around it; it hides in burrows and various cavities under stones, in crevices under cliffs, and when encountering a person, it hisses threateningly and lunges with its mouth wide open, which it can open almost 180° [19].
Limiting factors. Habitat alteration and disturbance factors, extreme physical-geographical and climatic conditions at the northeastern edge of the species range.
Breeding (keeping in captivity). S. d. schiraziana is a popular object of amateur terraristics, relatively easy to breed, under good conditions it lays a second clutch in the year, in November [15]. There is no information on keeping it in captivity in Kyrgyzstan.
Existing conservation measures. In Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley and in adjacent areas, it is not specifically protected; none of the known locations and potential habitats are within existing protected areas.
Recommended conservation measures. Continue searching for populations, organize breeding of the species in captivity with subsequent release into suitable undisturbed habitats, and prohibit the capture of snakes.
Charala Soilok
Diadem, or Clifford’s Rat, Snake
Spalerosophis diadema (Schlegel, 1837) ssp. schiraziana (Jan, 1865)
Status: Critically Endangered (category CR C2b), this is a south-Turanian subspecies of the south-west Palaearctic variable species, one of the rarest snakes in Kyrgyzstan (marginal populations in the easternmost possibly isolated part of the specific area, in zones of human disturbance of the environment), valuable snake for amateur terrariums. The subspecies is registered in Iran, Western Afghanistan, Western Pakistan, Southern Kazakhstan, and all former Soviet Middle-Asian countries (other subspecies are in Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Northwestern India); it populates arid plains with sparse herb and shrubby vegetation, often in gerbil colonies and loess gullies along riversides. The specific biology is weakly studied, in Kyrgyzstan - quite unknown (it was found in the middle of April in clayey hills with rocky denudations). The number is extremely small: there are only 3-4 reliable records known in Kyrgyzstan since 1884, in the Osh town vicinities, in the lower part of the Shakhimardan River gorge, and between Kochkor-Ata and Suzak villages. Limiting factors: anthropogenic transformation of habitats, extreme climatic conditions for the species at the area margins. It is not bred in Kyrgyzstan, and special protection measures are not undertaken. Options offered for conservation of the species: to continue the studies of populations, to organize breeding in captivity and re-acclimatization in suitable protected undisturbed habitats, to prohibit the collection/export of snakes.
