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In the course of the faunistic inventory in Wadi Ramm Protected Area, a total of 34 species of reptiles representing nine families (Gekkonidae, Chamaeleonidae, Agamidae, Lacertidae, Scincidae, Varanidae, Leptotyphlopidae, Colubridae, and Viperidae) were recorded from different habitats in Wadi Ramm and its closest vicinity. Three species (Lacerta cf. kulzeri, Chamaeleo chamaeleon, and Ablepharus rueppellii) are considered to represent relicts from earlier, more humid periods. Habitat preferences for collected species are included.

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Revision of the Levantine Lacerta laevis / kulzeri complex: 2. The wall lizard of Petra, Lacerta kulzeri petraea ssp.n. Lacerta kulzeri petraea ssp.n. is described from the ancient Petra in Jordan. The new subspecies can be differentiated from the other representatives of the L . kulzeri complex by its relatively short skull, the lack of a masseteric shield in most individuals, and a high number of dorsals, supraciliar granules, gulars, and subdigital lamellae. The ground colouration is light showing only a faint reticulation. Next to the morphological data, notes on distribution and ecology are given.

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In the herpetological collection of ZFMK 528 scientific species group names are represented by type materi- al. Of these, 304 names are documented by primary type specimens (onomatophores) while for 224 further names sec- ondary type specimens (typoids) are available, ranging chronologically from 1801 to 2010. The list is a shortened pred- ecessor of a comprehensive type catalogue in progress. It lists name bearing types with their catalogue numbers includ- ing information on further type series members also in other institutions, while secondary types are listed only by pres- ence, both in ZFMK and other collections including holotype repositories. Geographic origin and currently valid names are also provided.

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With temperatures around 30°C the Lacerta cf. kulzeri in Petra (Jordan) showed a bimodal activity rhythm in April. The lizards clearly preferred the vertical sandstone faces with a further predilection for the horizontal cracks. A female in gestation and probable territorial behaviour indicate that the reproductive season had already started. The somewhat Iusher vegetation in the lizard`s habitat suggests a selection of a slightly more humid niche in the region, which is nevertheless much drier than where the supposedly related, and often with L. cf. kulzeri confused, Lacerta laevis occurs elsewhere in the Middle East. The saxicolous life-style could - at least partly - be a response to competition from the ground dwelling Acanthodactylus boskianus.

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The lizard fauna of Jordan is very diverse and forms 55.5% of the terrestrial herpetofauna of the country. Lizard species of Arabian origin form the highest percentage (43%) of the lizards, followed by Saharo-Sindian (35%), Palaearctic (20%) and only 2% with Afrotropical affinities. 69.1% of the lizard species inhabit two ecozones: Badia (Eastern Desert); and Wadi Araba and Wadi Rum. The Badia may form the focal point for the evolution of certain Acanthodactylus species. Jordan forms the southernmost limit of the distribution of some Palaearctic species (i.e. Lacerta media, L. laevis, Pseudopus apodus) and they inhabit the Mediterranean ecozone. The presence of diverse habitats in Jordan allowed certain allopatric congeneric species of the genus Ptyodactylus to live in isolation from one another. Southern Jordan and Wadi Rum are part of the Levantine land bridge and act as a “biogeographical filter”. Most of the species found in Wadi Rum are of Arabian affinities and their distribution does not extend towards the west.

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A new lacertid, the Wadi Ramm Rock Lizard, Phoenicolacerta kulzeri khazaliensis ssp. n. from Wadi Ramm, southern Jordan, is described. Its morphological features are discussed in comparison with other populations of P. kulzeri, all known data on its biology are presented.