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Historical Records for Kent

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calumma View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07 Sep 2004 at 11:51pm
As county recorder for herps in Kent I am constantly trying to pull together various records (old and new) in order to get a better understanding of species distributions. Historical records for sand lizard in Kent are fairly sparse with most confirmed sightings in the Folkestone area (although there are records for Sandwich and Herne Bay as well).

I just wondered if anybody on the forum remembers ever seeing sand lizard in Kent and would be prepared to help fill in the recording gaps.

For background there are 5 records on the county database, with the last observation made by Anon. in 1969. I have also been told that the animals were seen as late as mid 70's near Folkestone.

Lee
Lee Brady

Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2004 at 5:28pm
I'm guessing that anecdotal accounts are thin on the ground! However, I am making some progress with this topic and I'm currently preparing a short article on the subject. Although I have most of the published works detailing British herps, two important ones currently allude me. One is 'The life-history of British Lizards and their local distribution in the British Isles' (Leighton, 1901/03 ish). The other is the (first?) distribution maps produced for the British species: R.H.R. Taylor (1949) in Brit. J. Herpet. 1:1-38. I did have the latter but loaned it out and never got it back!

If anybody knows how I can obtain copies of either work I would be most grateful.

Any other information that folk may have relating to Kentish sand lizards would also be gratefully received.

Finally, there is a rumour that somewhere in the bowls of the Natural History Museum there is a sand lizard specimen that was collected from either Whitstable or Herne Bay. Apparently this specimen may have been seen by Taylor. However, M.C. Cooke has suggested that a specimen taken from Herne Hill and sent to Thomas Bell may in fact have been a green lizard. Again can anybody offer advice on how specimens held at the museum can be accessed? I'm guessing that without a specimen number it could be tricky.

The intrigue of it all...
Lee Brady

Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote administrator Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Oct 2004 at 8:24pm
I almost see an Agatha Christie style article for the KRAG news :0)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Oct 2004 at 6:02pm
Lee Brady

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote calumma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Oct 2004 at 8:35am
David,

Many thanks for your offer. Copies of the two Taylor papers would be very much appreciated. Don't worry about Leighton though, Jim has already offered to pass on photocopies of relevant pages. I have already got my scouts out looking for the book with various dealers! The last time I saw a copy RG beat me to it...! If you do see a copy of the book I would certainly be interested.

I have been in touch with the museum and received very helpful feedback from Dr. Colin McCarthy. I've put all of the detail up on my blog, but basically there is a specimen from Kent that was collected in 1946. The specimen did not originate from Herne Bay but from Seasalter, Whitstable (10 km to the west). Rumours of old sand lizard records from Seasalter have been doing the rounds for a few years. The preserved specimen was apparently seen and described by Smith in one edition of his New Naturalist book. There is even a suggestion that there may be a photo of the specimen in the book. I have 1st and 2nd editions and can find no reference to it. Smith does acknowledge that sand lizard were recorded from 'Whitstable' in his 1949 King Penguin book.
Lee Brady

Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant



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