From yellow deserts to white mountains: confirmed occurrence and genetic affiliation of Psammophis schokari (Forskål, 1775) (Serpentes, Psammophiidae) in Lebanon

The ecological and biogeographic limits of arid-adapted reptiles in the Eastern Mediterranean remain poorly understood. Here, we document the first confirmed occurrence and genetic affiliation of the desert racer, <i>Psammophis schokari</i> (Forskål, 1775), in Lebanon, representing the northern limit of its confirmed distribution in the western Levant, where its presence has long remained uncertain. Seventeen records from 11 localities (17-1,148 m a.s.l.) reveal that the species occupies a wide ecological gradient encompassing lowland agricultural areas, semi-arid foothills, and even seasonally snow-covered sites. Mitochondrial cytochrome <i>b</i> sequences place the Lebanese populations within the widespread "Middle Eastern lineage", yet their haplotypes show a closer affinity to those from North Africa than to currently sampled populations from the southern Levant. This pattern is consistent with historical Afro-Levantine connectivity and suggests that Lebanon may have been reached during one or more Pleistocene dispersal/colonization episodes from northern Africa. The frequent occurrence of individuals in non-desert habitats and even during winter months demonstrates a high degree of ecological flexibility and tolerance to cooler Mediterranean conditions. Our results thus highlight the ability of <i>P. schokari</i> to persist and expand beyond typical desert environments and thereby shedding light on the northern biogeographic limits of arid-adapted snakes in the Middle East. This study fills a significant distributional gap for the genus <i>Psammophis</i> in the Levant and underscores the need for broader sampling to clarify the species' past colonization routes and evolutionary history across the region.