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A new species of frog-eyed gecko, genus Teratoscincus Strauch, 1863 (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), from southeastern Iran
Abstract
Herein we describe a new species of Teratoscincus Strauch, 1863 from remote desert areas of the Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran. Based on morphological characters, this species, Teratoscincus sistanense sp. n., has a close relationship with T. microlepis and is distinct from all other members of its genus by the number of small scales around the midbody. We provide information about the ecology, biology and conservation of this new species. A comparison with the other three Iranian species of Teratoscincus and an updated key to this genus in Iran are presented.
http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:77F54322-6CCA-46F1-A74B-B8A75E1F1F8D
... These lineages thus should be taxonomically revised including specimens from the type locality of T. microlepis in Iran. A taxonomic revision should also include T. sistanensis, which is morphologically closest to T. microlepis [79]. These two species are distinguished by the number of dorsal scales around mid-body (85-110 in T. microlepis and 145-165 in T. sistanensis) [79]. ...
... A taxonomic revision should also include T. sistanensis, which is morphologically closest to T. microlepis [79]. These two species are distinguished by the number of dorsal scales around mid-body (85-110 in T. microlepis and 145-165 in T. sistanensis) [79]. Each lineage of T. microlepis from our study exhibits characters belonging to the two species (examined specimens from the MVZ collection by TJP; lineage I/A, 98-188 dorsal scales around mid-body and lineage II/B, 87-165). ...
Effective biodiversity conservation planning starts with genetic characterization within and among focal populations, in order to understand the likely impact of threats for ensuring the long-term viability of a species. The Wonder Gecko, Teratoscincus keyserlingii , is one of nine members of the genus. This species is distributed in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, with a small isolated population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it is classified nationally as Critically Endangered. Within its Arabian range, anthropogenic activity is directly linked to the species’ decline, with highly localised and severely fragmented populations. Here we describe the evolutionary history of Teratoscincus , by reconstructing its phylogenetic relationships and estimating its divergence times and ancestral biogeography. For conservation implications of T . keyserlingii we evaluate the genetic structure of the Arabian population using genomic data. This study supports the monophyly of most species and reveals considerable intraspecific variability in T . microlepis and T . keyserlingii , which necessitate broad systematic revisions. The UAE population of T . keyserlingii likely arrived from southern Iran during the Pleistocene and no internal structure was recovered within, implying a single population status. Regional conservation of T . keyserlingii requires improved land management and natural habitat restoration in the species’ present distribution, and expansion of current protected areas, or establishment of new areas with suitable habitat for the species, mostly in northern Abu Dhabi Emirate.
... New mammalian taxa have been described from 2005 onwards (Jaculus thaleri Darvish & Hosseinie, 2005;Allactaga toussi Darvish, Hajjar, Moghadam-Matin, Haddad & Akbaryrad, 2008 andScarturus cf. williamsi Hamidi, Darvish & M. Matin, 2016) Among endemic Tetrapoda for Iran, 11 new species were described in (Gholamifard et al. 2016Hamidi et al. 2016;Rastegar-Pouyani et al. 2016;SafaeiMahroo et al. 2016;Akbarpour et al. 2017;Faizi et al. 2017;Fathinia et al. 2017;Nazarov et al. 2017;Torki 2017a, b;Rounaghi et al. 2018). ...
During past years different studies have attempted to describe the tetrapod fauna of Iran, most of
which have focused on the herpetofauna. However there is no coherent study of the endemic species
of Tetrapoda in Iran. In this study, we provide a list of endemic species of Tetrapoda in Iran, mention
their habitat, distribution, their conservation status (IUCN) and important biological note.
Eighty endemic species of Tetrapoda occur in Iran, of which 82.50% are reptiles. Thirty-eight species
(47.50% of total endemic species of Tetrapoda) have no submitted data to IUCN; of which 35
species are reptiles. Additional studies are needed to provide data about the conservation status of
tetrapod fauna of Iran, especially the endemic fauna.
... Among the Iranian endemic species 38 species (47.50% of total endemic species of Tetrapoda, including 35 reptilian and three mammalian species) are not evaluated in the IUCN (Table 1) Among endemic Tetrapoda for Iran, 11 new species were described in (Gholamifard et al. 2016Hamidi et al. 2016;Rastegar-Pouyani et al. 2016;Safaei-Mahroo et al. 2016;Akbarpour et al. 2017;Faizi et al. 2017;Fathinia et al. 2017;Nazarov et al. 2017;Torki 2017a, b;Rounaghi et al. 2018). ...
During past years different studies have attempted to describe the tetrapod fauna of Iran, most of
which have focused on the herpetofauna. However there is no coherent study of the endemic species
of Tetrapoda in Iran. In this study, we provide a list of endemic species of Tetrapoda in Iran, mention
their habitat, distribution, their conservation status (IUCN) and important biological note.
Eighty endemic species of Tetrapoda occur in Iran, of which 82.50% are reptiles. Thirty-eight species
(47.50% of total endemic species of Tetrapoda) have no submitted data to IUCN; of which 35
species are reptiles. Additional studies are needed to provide data about the conservation status of
tetrapod fauna of Iran, especially the endemic fauna.
... New mammalian taxa have been described from 2005 onwards (Jaculus thaleri Darvish & Hosseinie, 2005;Allactaga toussi Darvish, Hajjar, Moghadam-Matin, Haddad & Akbaryrad, 2008 andScarturus cf. williamsi Hamidi, Darvish & M. Matin, 2016) Among endemic Tetrapoda for Iran, 11 new species were described in (Gholamifard et al. 2016Hamidi et al. 2016;Rastegar-Pouyani et al. 2016;SafaeiMahroo et al. 2016;Akbarpour et al. 2017;Faizi et al. 2017;Fathinia et al. 2017;Nazarov et al. 2017;Torki 2017a, b;Rounaghi et al. 2018). ...
Pseudocerastes urarachnoides is a fascinating viper and as yet has been reported only in western Iran. An
elaborated arachnid-like caudal structure is a unique feature of this viper, hence gives it the common name “Iranian spidertailed viper”. During tail wagging, the structure is reminiscent of a moving spider. Tail movements are used for two different purposes in snakes: defense via tail vibration and hunting via both caudal luring and caudal distraction. Caudal luring in snakes is the wriggling or wagging of the posterior part of tail, in the presence of a potential prey, with conspicuous color pattern while the rest of body is cryptically colored. Previous studies have speculated on the role of caudal structure of P. urarachnoides in
hunting. Our 2.5-year study has revealed that development of the structure of the caudal lure is commenced after birth and is linearly correlated to snout-vent length. The caudal lure attracts some species of birds. Caudal luring behavior is carried out both in the presence and absence of birds. The findings are reported for the first time and confirmed by direct observation of undisturbed individuals in the field.
See http://www.afriherp.org/gekkota-catalog/ for details
We present a comprehensive summary of the distribution of the lizards of Iran accompanied by an annotated checklist. The updated maps of distribution of all 146 species of 41 genera of 11 families are based on all available bibliographic records,
catalogues of museum collections and our own field observations. The final dataset used for the distribution maps contains 8525 georeferenced records and cover 41% of the country when plotted on a grid of 0.25° × 0.25° resolution. The dataset is publicly accessible through GBIF portal (http://www.gbif.org/dataset/7db4f705-61ae-4c6e-9de2-06674e7d46b2). Following the latest biogeographic division of the country, ~53% of the species (76 species) inhabit the Iranian Province, ~41% (60 species) the Western Asian mountain transition zone, ~9% (13 species) the Turanian Province, and ~18% (27 species) the Arabian Province. In addition, ~2% (3 species) reach Iran from the Indo-Malay biogeographic region and ~2% (3 species) are believed to have been introduced to Iran by humans. Endemic species (46) represent ~32% of the known species diversity. The most species-rich family of lizards in Iran is Lacertidae with 47 species, followed by Gekkonidae (41), Agamidae (18), Scincidae (15), Phyllodactylidae (10), Sphaerodactylidae (4), Eublepharidae and Uromastycidae (3), Anguidae and Varanidae (2), and Trogonophidae with one representative.
A well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis is presented for gekkonid lizards of the genus Teratoscincus. Phylogenetic relationships of four of the five species are investigated using 1733 aligned bases of mitochondrial DNA sequence from the genes encoding ND1 (subunit one of NADH dehydrogenase), tRNA(Ile), tRNA(Gln), tRNA(Met), ND2, tRNA(Trp), tRNA(Ala), tRNA(Asn), tRNA(Cys), tRNA(Tyr), and COI (subunit I of cytochrome c oxidase). A single most parsimonious tree depicts T. przewalskii and T. roborowskii as a monophyletic group, with T. scincus as their sister taxon and T. microlepis as the sister taxon to the clade containing the first three species. The aligned sequences contain 341 phylogenetically informative characters. Each node is supported by a bootstrap value of 100% and the shortest suboptimal tree requires 29 additional steps. Allozymic variation is presented for proteins encoded by 19 loci but these data are largely uninformative phylogenetically. Teratoscincus species occur on tectonic plates of Gondwanan origin that were compressed by the impinging Indian Subcontinent, resulting in massive montane uplifting along plate boundaries. Taxa occurring in China (Tarim Block) form a monophyletic group showing vicariant separation from taxa in former Soviet Central Asia and northern Afghanistan (Farah Block); alternative biogeographic hypotheses are statistically rejected. This vicariant event involved the rise of the Tien Shan-Pamir and is well dated to 10 million years before present. Using this date for separation of taxa occurring on opposite sides of the Tien Shan-Pamir, an evolutionary rate of 0.57% divergence per lineage per million years is calculated. This rate is similar to estimates derived from fish, bufonid frogs, and agamid lizards for the same region of the mitochondrial genome ( approximately 0.65% divergence per lineage per million years). Evolutionary divergence of the mitochondrial genome has a surprisingly stable rate across vertebrates.
Sqamate reptiles are traditionally divided into six groups: Iguania, Anguimorpha, Scincomorpha, Gekkota (these four are lizards), Serpentes (snakes), and Amphisbaenia (the so-called worm lizards). Currently there are complete mitochondrial genomes from two representatives of the Iguania (Janke et al., 2001; Kumazawa, 2004), three from the Anguimorpha (Kumazawa, 2004; Kumazawa and Endo, 2004), two from the Scincomorpha (Kumazawa and Nishida, 1999; Kumazawa, 2004), two from Serpentes (Kumazawa et al., 1998; Kumazawa, 2004) and 12 from Amphisbaenia (Macey et al., 2004). The only traditional group of Squamata from which a complete mitochondrial genome has not been sequenced is the Gekkota. Here we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Teratoscincus keyserlingii, a Middle Eastern representative of the Gekkota. The gekkonid lizard genus Teratoscincus is distributed throughout the deserts of central and southwest Asia as shown in figure 1, with five species currently recognized (Macey et al. 1997a, 1999b). Included in this figure are the positions of mountain ranges discussed in the text; see also figure 1 in Macey et al. (1999b). Two species, T. bedriagai and T. microlepis, are restricted to Southwest Asia south of the Kopet Dagh and Hindu Kush in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (Anderson, 1999). Two species are found in the deserts of western China and Mongolia, with T. przewalskii occurring in the Taklimakan and lowland Gobi deserts, and T. roborowskii restricted to the Turpan Depression. The fifth species, T. scincus, is sometimes considered to be restricted to the Caspian Basin in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzistan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Alternatively, Teratoscincus populations in Southwest Asia, primarily on the Iranian Plateau, situated directly north of the Arabian Plate, are sometimes considered to be a subspecies of T. scincus or, otherwise, to constitute a sixth species, T. keyserlingii. Macey et al. (1999b) assessed the phylogenetic relationships of four Teratoscincus species with mitochondrial DNA sequences from a {approx}1800 base-pair segment spanning from nad1 to cox1. Phylogenetic analysis places T. microlepis in a basal position to a clade containing T. scincus, T. przewalskii and T. roborowskii, with the later two as sister taxa. This phylogenetic arrangement suggests that tectonic plate movements in Southwest Asia and western China due to the Indian and Arabian collisions caused speciation among Teratoscincus species. No molecular phylogenetic study has included the putative species T. keyserlingii.
A new species of Teratoscincus from Xinjiang, China
- G Wang
- G Wang
Wang, G. (1989): A new species of Teratoscincus from Xinjiang, China. Journal of August 1st
Agriculture College, 4, 10-14.
Translated from the Russian
- N N Szczerbak
- M L Golubev