The herpetofauna of Despotiko Island (Cyclades, Greece)

The Aegean islands are a known hotspot for herpetofauna and have been extensively studied in this area. However, there are still numerous islands that lack this research. This includes the uninhabited islet of Despotiko found in the Paros archipelago, Cyclades. It is known for its importance in archaeology, which in turn attracts tourism. However, there is not yet a complete understanding on the presence of herpetofauna there, with the last published records written in 1977. In an effort to address this, a combination of past ad-hoc sightings and visual surveys were carried out during summer 2024. These yielded two new records of reptile species, Eryx jaculus and Lacerta citrovittata. Furthermore, the enclosed archaeological site had greater reptile diversity and richness than outside the site. This highlights the potential importance of the archaeological site as a key reptile habitat. Our findings help to improve our understanding of reptilian diversity in the archipelago, providing avenues for further research into the potential interactions between archaeological sites and reptile diversity.