Morphological Variability of the Eremias persica Complex (Reptilia: Sauria: Lacertidae) on the Iranian plateau

Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 07 خرداد 1404

نوع مقاله: Original Article

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/ijab.2025.92638.1095

نویسندگان

Seyed Hassan Moradi¹؛ Nasrullah Rastegar Pouyani^{* 1}؛ Eskandar Rastegar Pouyani²

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

²Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

چکیده

Eremias persica is a complex species with a wide distribution range in Iran, some parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Recent studies have revealed that this species, comprises multiple populations that exhibit significant morphological and molecular variations from one another, to the extent that some have recently been introduced as new species. In this study, we conducted a morphological investigation into the diversity and patterns of morphological variation among phylogenetic clades, populations, and isolated species within this lineage. Our morphological analysis demonstrated that populations and phylogenetic clades are clearly distinguishable from one another. Based on our findings, sexual dimorphism is weak in this group, with only minor differences in tail length relative to snout-vent length and the number of collar scales between males and females. Our analysis of phylogenetic clades and populations reveals the presence of at least five distinct morphological clusters and twelve relatively distinct clusters in the Iranian Plateau, which can be considered as separate species or subspecies.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Lizard؛ Eremiadini؛ Sexual dimorphism؛ Biometry؛ Diagnostic characters؛ Discrimination