Study of Reptilian Species Inventoried In Two Moroccan Atlantic Lagoons: Oualidia and MerjaZerga.

The wetlands in Morocco are one of theimportant factors in ecological functioning. These areas, including lagoons, are home to many plant and animal species that find suitable habitat in these ecosystems to complete their life cycle. Despite this richness, many reptilian taxa have not been identified to date. The objective of this study is to make a comparative inventory of the reptiles of the lagoon of Oualidia and that of MerjaZerga. These two lagoons are among the most interesting Moroccan wetlands and listed as sites of international importance at the RAMSAR convention. The results obtained from this study show the frequencies of the reptilian individuals caught in the sampling sites MerjaZarga and Oualidia are respectively 45.80% (n = 120) and 54.20% (n = 142), with an average of / output of 40 individuals at the MerjaZerga site and an average / output of 47.33 ± 23.98 individuals at the Oualidia site. The identification of the captured individuals made it possible to list six species and five families. In fact, five species are identified in Oualidia (Acanthodactylus lineomaculatus (63 individuals), Tarentola mauritanica (21 individuals), Agama impalearis (16 individuals), Chalcides mionecton (22 individuals) and Chalcides polylepis (20 individuals) and a single species in MerjaZerga, (Acanthodactylus lineomaculatus). Both sites are characterized by a dominance of the species Acanthodactylus lineomaculatus. The occurrence index is highest in the MerjaZarga site (100%), and in the Oualidia zone 66.67% for the species Acanthodactylus lineomaculatus and Chalcides mionecton. This study thus enriches the taxonomic heritage of the region by confirming existing ones.