Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Within the United Arab Emirates, this species is non-native but introduced prior to 1,500 CE through transport and trade. The species is known from coastal areas of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and inland around Al Ain (Gardner 2013, Burriel-Carranza et al. in press). It is also recorded on Sir Bani Yas, Dalma and Abu al Abyadh islands. The species is easily transported by accident and has been very widely introduced. It has also made inroads into the Hatta Hills (Hatta Hill Park; pers. obs. in 2016; M.A.R. Khan pers. comm. 2018). It occurs from sea level to 300 m asl. Globally, this species originally had a Mediterranean distribution, with a probable origin in Morocco (Carranza et al. 2007), but has been widely introduced globally. The species is known from Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Turkey (Anatolia), Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, southern Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Morocco, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Niger, Israel, Kenya, Somali, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Chad, Yemen, Iran, western Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. It is considered introduced to Italy (Sardinia, Sicily, Lampedusa island) and Greece (Crete, Karpathos, Rhodos, Kythnos, Kasos).