Russian Journal of Herpetology Vol. 23, No. 4, 2016, pp. 243 – 248 A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE REPTILE’S FAUNA IN NORTHWESTERN YAZD PROVINCE, IRAN Farnaz Ebrahimi Pour,1 Eskandar Rastegar-Pouyani,2 and Batoul Ghorbani1 Submitted Submitted August 30, 2015. We have studied the terrestrial reptile fauna of the northwest Yazd province (Iran) and present here some of the characters that we examined for common species in the region. In total, 50 specimens from eight families (six liz- ard families and two snake families) were collected from the region. The collected lizards belonging to 13 species were Laudakia nupta, Phrynocephalus maculatus, Phrynocephalus scutellatus, and Trapelus agilis (Agamidae); Agamura persica and Bunopus crassicaudus (Gekkonidae), Teratoscincus bedriagai (Sphaerodactylidae); Eremi- as fasciata, Eremias persica, Mesalina watsonana, and Ophisops elegans (Lacertidae); Varanus griseus (Varan- idae), and finally Uromastix asmussi belonging to the Uromastycidae. The two species of snakes were Spalero- sophis diadema schiraziana (Colubridae) and Psammophis schokari (Lamprophiidae). Based on these results, Agamidae and Lacertidae are the families with highest number of genera and the genera Eremias and Phryno- cephalus had the most species. Among the collected lizards, Trapelus agilis, Mesalina watsonana, and Bunopus crassicaudus were the most abundant species in the northwest Yazd province. Keywords: Central Plateau of Iran; Yazd province; Reptile; Siyah Kouh; Darreh Anjir. INTRODUCTION recent studies have been done in the Yazd province, espe- cially in the Tabas region (Anderson, 1999; Masooli et al., 2014), but there has been no study of the northwest The Central Plateau of Iran is restricted by the Zagros of the province (the Ardakan region). Masooli et al. and Elburz Mountains from the west and north, respec- (2014) found that the lizards of the Tabas region belong tively. According to the zoogeographical view, the region to 10 genera and 14 species. Eris et al. (2009) investi- is adjacent to several rich herpetofaunal areas (Anderson, gated the Kharanagh and Nodoushan regions in the Yazd 1999). The margins of the central plateau have varied province for herpetofauna with the following results: five fauna, especially in the Qom and Khorasan provinces, species from Kharanagh area (Laudakia nupta, Phryno- because of the ecotone condition in Qom and nearing the cephalus scutellatus, Trapelus agilis, Mesalina watsona- Khorasan region to the Kopet Dagh and Helmand basin na, and Bunopus crassicauda) and four species from the (Anderson, 1999). The age of the formation of the central Nodoushan area (Trapelus agilis, Eremias persica, Mesa- part of the Iranian Plateau is large and the area has expe- lina watsonana, and Bunopus crassicauda). rienced several collision forces because central Iran com- prised part of the ancient land of Gondowana (Mouthe- In the present study, we conducted an inventory of reau, 2011). the herpetofauna of Siyah Kouh National Park because there has been no previous herpetofaunal study of the Yazd province is one of the largest provinces (area is region. 129285 km2) in Central Iran and there are several moun- tains and deserts in the northwest part. However, there MATERIAL AND METHODS have been few studies on the herpetofauna of the region and there are several new regions that need to have their Study area. Yazd province is situated in the central amphibian and reptile populations inventoried. Most part of the Iranian Plateau between 29.48 and 33.30° N and 52.45 and 56.30° E, bordered by the Isfahan, Ker- 1 Department of Biology, Tehran Medical Science Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; man, Fars, and South Khorasan provinces. It is composed e-mail: [email protected]. of two types of climates as cold and moist winters and hot 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hakim Sabzevari Uni- and dry summers. Precipitation is varied in the province versity, Sabzevar, Iran. and changes from 50 – 300 mm in hot deserts (like Siyah 1026-2296/2016/2304-0243 © 2016 Folium Publishing Company 244 Farnaz Ebrahimi Pour et al. Kooh desert) to high elevated regions (like Shirkooh and Ophisops elegans) were calculated and are presented Mountain). Also, the vegetation in the province is very in Table 2. Mean SVL of Trapelus agilis was calculated scattered and regions are formed of boulders with sparse as 84.4 mm (N = 4); it included the largest lizards among herbaceous vegetation. examined species. Ophisops elegans, with mean SVL of Collecting methods. During fieldwork on June 2015 35.7 mm (N = 4), is the smallest species in the region. in the northwest of Yazd province, 7 stations were inves- The distributions of all species captured are presented in tigated for reptile fauna during 20 days. Stations included Fig. 2. all parts of the northwest of the province (Fig. 1) and were situated in both desert and mountain areas. At each DISCUSSION station, diurnal and nocturnal searches were made for reptiles. Lizards and snakes were detected using the ac- Studying of the fauna of a given region is one of the tive searching method and then were captured by hand. most basic and important tasks needed to understand the All captured lizards were identified using relevant reptile faunal structure and how many species are present references (Anderson, 1999; Latifi, 1991) and transferred (Rastegar-Pouyani et al., 2008). All species captured are to the Hakim Sabzevari University. Each one that had presented here with brief explanations and some remarks more than three specimens was examined for morpholog- on their distribution on the region. ical characters (Tables 1 and 2). Family Agamidae RESULTS Laudakia nupta (de Filippi, 1843) (Fig. 1A) We found only 15 species of reptiles (13 species of lizards and 2 species of snakes) living in the northwest of Habitat. Rocks of limestone and other outcrops, very Yazd province (Table 1; Fig. 1). Fifty specimens of 15 often also found near human settlements, abandoned species were collected from the region. The most abun- buildings, on walls, monuments and other man-made dant species in the region was Bunopus crassicauda, habitats. which represented 25% of all samples. Phrynocephalus Distribution. Along the Zagros eastwards continu- scutellatus and Trapelus agilis were relatively abundant ously up to the Pakistani border. Very common, particu- species in the region. Mean Snout-Vent Lengths (SVLs) for five abundant species (Trapelus agilis, Phrynocepha- larly in the western Zagros foothills. Isolated records lus scutellatus, Agamura persica, Mesalina watsonana, from Semnan and Khorasan Razavi Province. The spe- cies is very common in the Yazd province, especially in submountainous regions (Fig. 2A). TABLE 1. List of All Species that Were Reported in this Study and Their Taxonomical Categories According to Suborder, Family, Genus, Phrynocephalus maculatus Anderson, 1872 and Species (Fig. 1D) Family Genus Species Habitat. Flat deserts with rather hard-packed, sandy Suborder Lizards clay soils or gravel-strewn hammadas (Minton 1966). Agamidae Laudakia Laudakia nupta Distribution. Most of the central plateau to eleva- Phrynocephalus Phrynocephalus maculatus tions up to 3000 m. The species does not cross the Zagros Phrynocephalus scutellatus Trapelus Trapelus agilis Mountains in the west. The species has scattered distribu- Gekkonidae Agamura Agamura persica tion in the province because of the distribution pattern of Bunopus Bunopus crassicaudus sand dunes (Fig. 2D). Sphaerodactylidae Teratoscincus Teratoscincus bedriagai Lacertidae Eremias Eremias fasciata Eremias persica TABLE 2. Snout-Vent Length (in mm) of the Five Abundant Lizard Species Occurring in the Northwest of Yazd Province Mesalina Mesalina watsonana The number Ophisops Ophisops elegans Species Range Mean Varanidae Varanus Varanus griseus of samples Uromastycidae Uromastix Uromastix asmussi Trapelus agilis 4 71.35 – 97.35 84.35 Suborder Snakes Phrynocephalus scutellatus 5 44.63 – 45.14 45.88 Colubridae Spalerosophis Spalerosophis diadema Agamura persica 3 54.08 – 56.17 55.12 schiraziana Mesalina watsonana 4 41.73 – 47.60 44.65 Lamprophiidae Psammophis Psammophis schokari Ophisops elegans 4 35.20 – 36.10 35.65 A Preliminary Study of the Reptile’s Fauna in Northwestern Yazd Province, Iran 245 Fig. 1. All species that were reported in this study from northwest of Yazd province: A, Laudakia nupta;B,Phrynocephalus scutellatus;C,Trape- lus agilis;D,Phrynocephalus maculatus;E,Agamura persica;F,Bunopus crassicaudus;G,Teratoscincus bedriagai;H,Eremias persica;I,Eremi- as fasciata;J,Mesalina watsonana;K,Ophisops elegans;L,Varanus griseus;M,Uromastyx assmusi;N,Spalerosophis diadema;O,Psammophis schokari. 246 Farnaz Ebrahimi Pour et al. Fig. 2. Distribution of all species that were reported in this study from the northwest of Yazd province: Numbers from 1 to 7 indicated to the sta- tions and the red color refers to the sampling locations for each species in the province: A, Laudakia nupta;B,Trapelus agilis;C,Phrynocephalus scutellatus;D,Phrynocephalus maculatus;E,Agamura persica;F,Bunopus crassicaudus;G,Teratoscincus bedriagai;H,Eremias persica; I, Eremias fasciata;J,Mesalina watsonana;K,Ophisops elegans;L,Varanus griseus;M,Uromastyx assmusi;N,Spalerosophis diadema; O, Psammophis schokari. A Preliminary Study of the Reptile’s Fauna in Northwestern Yazd Province, Iran 247 Phrynocephalus scutellatus (Olivier, 1807) the rare species in clay substrate and among Tamarix (Fig. 1B) bushes as reported by Hojati et al. (2009). Habitat. Flat gravel desert plains with very little veg- Distribution. Deserts of the central and eastern Ira- etation. Avoid sandy or clayey substrates. Found up to nian Plateau south of the Alborz and Kopet Dagh and 2300 m elevation (Anderson 1999). along the Afghan border. Yazd province is part of the Distribution. A species widely distributed all over central Iranian Plateau but the species is rare and re- the central Iranian Plateau but not crossing the Zagros in stricted by isolated sand dunes (Fig. 2G). the west and Alborz in the north. It is one of the common Family Lacertidae species in Yazd province and distributed in most regions Eremias fasciata Blanford, 1874 (Fig.