A new species of Carinatogecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from Ilam Province, western Iran

2011·2 MB·English

by  Behzad Fathinia

Copyright:©2011Fatliiniaetal.Thisisanopen-accessarticledistributedunderthetermsoftheCreativeCom- Amphibian & Reptiie Conservation5(1):61-74.
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A new species of Carinatogecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from
Mam Province, western iran
'BEHZAD FATHINIA, ^RASOUL KARAMIANI, ^HAMID DARVISHNIA, ^NAGHI HEIDARI,
AND '^NASRULLAH RASTEGAR-POUYANI
^DepartmentofBiology,FacultyofScience,RaziUniversity,67149Kermanshah,IRAN ^DepartmentofBiology,Payam-e-NoorUniversity, Talesh,
Guilan,IRAN ^DepartmentofBiology,Payam-e-NoorUniversity,Ham,IRAN
Abstract—A. new keel-scaled gecko, Carinatogecko ilamensis sp. nov. (Squamata: Gekkonidae),
is described from the western foothills of the Zagros Mountains in the Zarinabad region, Dehloran
Township, Ham Province, western Iran. It is a large Carinatogecko (snout-vent length exceeds 35
mm) which has distinct differences from otherspecies of Carinatogecko: 1) postmentals absent, 2)
dorsal crossbars broad and equal to, or wider than, interspaces; broader than dorsal crossbars of
thethreeother Carinatogeckospecies. Someinformationaboutthe habitatofthenewtaxon and the
role of the Zagros Mountains in isolation and subsequent evolution of Carinatogecko is provided.
Comparisons with other species of Carinatogeckoand Bunopus tubercuiatus, as representative of
thegenus Bunopus, are presented. An updated keyto the genus Carinatogecko is given.
Keywords. Gekkonidae, Carinatogecko, C. ilamensis sp. nov., C. stevenandersoni, C. heteropholis, C. aspratilis.
HamProvince, Iran
Citation:FathiniaB,KaramianiR,DarvishniaH,HeidariN, Rastegar-PouyaniN.2011.AnewspeciesofCarinatogecko(Sauria:Gekkonidae)from Nam
Province,westernIran.Amphib. ReptileConserv.5(1):61-74(e33).
Introduction
ia 2007; Rastegar-Pouyani et al. 2007; Cervenka et al.
Thefirstspecimenofthekeel-scaledgeckowascollected 2010; Torki 2011), the new species belongs to the ge-
byRobertG. Tuck, Jr., anddescribedby S. C.Anderson nus Carinatogecko Golubev & Szczerbak, 1981 based
(1973) from 35 km east of Gachsaran, Pars Province, on having the following characters: All scales (except
southwestern Iran. Atthat time, it was identified as Bu- rostral, mental, postnasals, andupper and lowerlabials)
nopus aspratilis (Anderson 1973: 355-358). Then, this stronglykeeled;threenasalscalesincontactwithnostril;
taxonomic entitywas elevatedtothegenericlevel, Cari- digits weakly angular, clawed, not dilated, not webbed
natogecko^ by Golubev & Szczerbak in 1981 (Golubev norornamented,withkeeledtransversesubdigitallamel-
& Szczerbak 1981: 35-37; SzczerbakandGolubev 1996: lae; dorsal scalesheterogeneous, smalljuxtaposedscales
127-130). intermixedwithtubercles;pupilvertical; tail segmented,
The genus Carinatogecko Golubev & Szczerbak, caudal tubercles with bases in the middle ofeach seg-
1981 encompassesthreespecies: C. aspratilis(Anderson ment, separated fi-om or in contact with one another,
1973) distributed in southern and southwestern Iran, C. separatedby a ring ofscales from the posterior margin
heteropholis (Minton, Anderson, and Anderson 1970) ofasegment.
distributedinafew areas inthewesternZagros foothills
of Iran and northeastern Iraq, and C. stevenandersoni
Torki, 2011, distributed in Lorestan Province, western Methods and materials
Iran(Torki2011).
Inthispaper,wedescribeanewspeciesofCarinato- During fieldwork on amphibians and reptiles of Ilam
geckoGolubev& Szczerbak, 1981,pointoutsomenotes Province, western Iran, two specimens ofan unknown
on the habitat type and flora of the environment, and gecko were collected in Zarinabad region, Dehloran
comparethenewspecieswithotherdescribedspeciesof Township,IlamProvince(Fig. 1). Thecoordinatesofthe
Carinatogecko. type locality are 32°57'51" N, 47°03'23" E and 543 m
Accordingtotheavailabledata(Levitonetal. 1992; above sea level. The first specimenwas collectedactive
Szczerbak and Golubev 1996; Anderson 1999; Fathin- at 23:00 p.m. andthe second on the following day after
Correspondence. Email:^[email protected]
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Fathinia et al.
Material examined
Bunopus tuberculatus (n = 5): RUZM-GB 140.1 - RU-
ZM-GB140.5: Iran, IsfahanProvince,Kashan.
Carinatogeckoaspratilis{n=y): RUZM-GC 10.1 -RU-
ZM-GC10.3: Iran,KermanshahProvince.
Carinatogecko heteropholis {n = 22): RUZM-GC.110
- RUZM-GC.131: Iran, Ham Province, Shirvan and
Chardavol,Karezan, Sarab-e-Karezanvillage [33°44'N,
46°29' E and 1325 mabovesealevel].
Carinatogecko ilamensis sp. nov. (n = 2): RUZM-GC
120.1 -RUZM-GC 120.2: Iran,HamProvince,Dehloran
Township, Zarinabadregion [32°57'51" N, 47°03'23" E
m
and543 above sealevel].
Figure1.ThetypelocalityofCarinatogeckoilamensissp.nov. Results
inHamProvince,westernIran.
excavating a hole at the foot of a Capparis spinosa at Carinatogecko ilamensissp. nov. (Figs. 2-7,
10:00a.m. 9b, 10a-d, 11c, 12d)
Both holotype and paratype specimens were pre- urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2E9C0362-DCA6-481B-B9BB-26C60FCE7D5F
served in 95% ethanol and deposited in RUZM (Razi
University Zoological Museum). Some of their char- Holotype
acters differ significantly from those ofthe other three
speciesofCarinatogecko(seebelow).Thetwounknown An adult male (RUZM-GC120.1), collected by Hamid
specimenswerecomparedwiththeotherthreespeciesof Darvishnia on 8 August 2011, 500-600 m above sea
Carinatogecko(i.e., C. heteropholis, C. aspratilis,andC. level, on the western gypsum foothills of the Zagros
stevenandersoni) as well as with the genus Bunopus {B. Mountains, Zarin-Abad region, Dehloran Township,
tuberculatus; Tables 1-2; Materialexamined).
Figure2.TheholotypeofCarinatogeckoilamensissp.nov.innaturalhabitat.
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Anew species of Carinatogecko
Figure3. Carinatogeckoilamensissp. nov. a)polyhedralandmulti-keeledscales onsnout,b) semidividedrostralandfive scales
betweennostril,c)smoothsupra-andinfi'alabials,d)absenceofpostmentals.
Figure4. Carinatogeckoilamensissp.nov.a)keeledscalesandtuberclesondorsum,b)juxtaposed,blunt,keeledventralscales,c)
extendingofdorsaltuberclesontonapeandpostorbitalregions,butnotontoocciput.
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Fathinia et al.
Figure5. Carinatogecko ilamensissp.nov. a-b)relativelyhomogenousscalesonupperarmandforearm,respectively,c-d)larger
dorsalscalesandtuberclesonthighandshank,respectively.
Figure6a. Carinatogeckoilamensissp.nov.a)mucronate,prominenttuberclesontail,b)comparisonoftuberclesonsacralregion
andproximalpartoftail.
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Anew species of Carinatogecko
Figure6b. Carinatogecko ilamensis sp. nov. c)keeledscalesonventralpartoftail, d)blunt,keeledscalesatthebaseoftailjust
behindthevent.
Figure7.TheparatypeofCarinatogeckoilamensissp.nov.Dorsalview(left),ventralview(right).
Figure8.HabitatofCarinatogeckoilamensissp.nov.
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Fathinia et al.
Figure9.Comparisonofdorsalpatternina)Carinatogeckoaspratilis,b) C. heteropholis,c) C. ilamensissp.nov.,andd)
C. stevenandersoni(dfromTorki2011).
Figure 10.ComparisonofmentalshapeandpostmentalregioninallfourspeciesofCarinatogecko. a)C. stevenandersoni,b)
C
C. aspratilis,c) heteropholis,andd)C. ilamensissp.nov.(aandbfromTorki2011).
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Anew species of Carinatogecko
Figure 11.Comparisonofdorsalpatternin(a)Bimopustuberculatusand(b) Carinatogeckoilamensissp.nov.
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Fathinia et al.
Figure 12. Comparison ofal-a2) mental and gular scales, bl-b2) dorsal pholidosis, cl-c2) ventral pholidosis, dl-d2) preanal
pores,el-e2)uppercaudalregion,andfl-f2)ventralregionoftailinBunopustuberculatus(left)andC ilamensissp.nov.(right).
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Anew species of Carinatogecko
Table 1. ComparisonofmorphologicalcharactersbetweenC. ilamensissp. nov. andBunopus tuberculatus(as therepresentative
ofthegenusBunopus,Blanford, 1874).Abbreviations:NGBM(numberofgranularscalesbehindmental); DS (dorsalscales);VS
(ventralscales);PP(preanalporesinmales);CDBIN(comparisonofdorsalbandsinrelationtointerspaces);DB(dorsalbands);IN
(interspacesbetweendorsalbands);DCS(dorsalcaudalscales);VCS(ventralcaudalscales).
Characters Carinatogeckoilamensissp. nov. Bunopustuberculatus
NGBM 6-7keeledgularscales 3-7smoothgularscales
DS largeandstronglykeeled small,juxtaposed,andsmooth
BS small,keeled,notimbricate small,smooth,subcircular,juxtaposed
PP weaklydeveloped,fewinnumber welldeveloped,moreinnumber
CDBIN DB>IN DBmuch>IN
DCS keeled smooth
VCS keeled,notplatelike smooth,someareplatelike
Table 2. Comparison ofmorphological characters between C. ilamensis sp. nov. andthe otherthree species ofCarinatogecko.
Abbreviations:PM(postmentals); SHM(shapeofmental);OT(tuberclesonocciput);SVS(statusofventralscales);CDBIN(com-
parisonofdorsalbandsinrelationtointerspaces);DB(dorsalbands);IN(interspacesbetweendorsalbands).
Characters C. ilamensissp. nov. C.aspratiiis C. heterophoiis C.stevenandersoni
PM absent threepairs twoparrs 3-4pairs
SHM simple pointedposteriorly notpointedposteriorly pointedposteriorly
OT absent present present present
SVS notimbricate,notpointed stronglyimbricate,weakly weaklyimbricate,not weaklyimbricate,pointed
pointed pointed
CDBIN DB>IN DB<IN DB<IN DB<IN
Ilam Province, southwestern Iran at the coordinates of of tubercles on back; 30-32 ventral and ventrolateral
32°57'51"Nand47°03'23" E. scalesfromsideto side.
Dorsal regions brownish, ventral regions whitish;
Paratype complete regular chocolate crossbars across dorsum,
A subadult specimen (RUZM-GC120.2), collected by lciipmubts,widtighitas,traanndsvtearisl;eddoarrskalbasri;desuopfrah-eaanddsipnoftrtaelda;bioacl-s
Behzad Fathinia on 9 August 2011 at the same locality withdarkspots; subdigitallamellaekeeled.
asholotype.
Description of holotype
Diagnosis
Snout-ventlength(SVL) 36.5 mm.
Snout-venmtmlength (SVL) in holotype and paratype 36.5 a) head (Fig. 3): scales of frontal and supraocular
and29.3 respectively.Asinallcongeners, scalesand regionstowardsnoutaremulti-keeled(insome scalesup
tubercles all over the body strongly keeled (except up- to six keels) and polyhedral, the keels meeting towards
per and lower labials, nasals, rostral, and mental); dor- thetip ofthe scale; rostral smooth and semidividedpos-
sal scalesheterogeneous, blunt; enlargedblunttubercles teriorly; nine smooth supralabials; nostril surroundedby
on dorsum; mucronate tubercules on tail more promi- five smooth scales including: rostral, first supralabial,
nent than tubercles on dorsum; homogeneous scales on and three postnasals; five scales between nostrils (first
forelimbs smallerthanthose onhindlimbs; tubercles on andfifth are smooth, the others keeled); mental smooth;
hindlimb few in number and all smaller than those on nopostmental; mental surroundedbysevensmallkeeled
dorsum; polyhedral, multi-keeled scales onthe head in- scalesposteriorly; seven smoothinfralabials.
cluding rostral, prefrontal, and postfrontal regions; no b) trunk(Fig. 4): all tubercles and scales ofdorsum
postmental; mentalborderedby 6-7 smallkeeled scales; keeled,mostlyblunt, afewmucronate; dorsalpholidosis
scales on the ventral surface ofhead multi-keeled and heterogeneous; tubercles of dorsum extending to nape
morphologically different from those on ventral region but absent in occiput; 11 longitudinal rows oftubercles
ofbodyandtail;ventrals equaltodorsalsinlength; ven- on dorsum; dorsal tubercles surroundedby 8-10 smaller
tral side oftail without large plate-like scales, but with scales;32uniformventrolateralandventralkeeledscales
keeledmucronatescales; 10-11 regularlongitudinalrows inasingletransverserowtothepointwheretheyaredis-
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Fathinia et al.
tinguishedfromdorsolateralsbydifferentcolorandsize; middle ofeachwhorl, in contactwithor separated from
ventral scales approximately equal to dorsals in length each other by a small scale; each transverse row oftu-
(0.5 mm);fivepreanalpores. bercles separated from anterior and posterior rows of
c)fore-andhindlimbs(Fig. 5): scalesondorsal side tubercles by three rows ofkeeled, usually blunt scales;
of forelimbs homogeneous and smaller than those on all sides ofregenerated tail covered with blunt, keeled
hindlimbs; no tubercle on forelimbs; few tubercles on scales;ventralsideoftailwithoutlarge,plate-likescales,
hindlimbs; 17keeledlamellaeunderthefourthtoe. coveredby small,pointed,andkeeledscales.
d)tail(Fig.6): caudaltuberclesmucronateandmore
prominent than tubercles on dorsum; six tubercles at Color pattern (Fig. 7)
themiddle ofeachwhorl; tubercles ineachwhorl are in
contact or separated by a small scale; tubercle ofeach Dark stripes and spots on dorsal side ofhead, postor-
whorl separated frompreceding and succeeding whorls bital, fi*ontal, infra- and supralabials; dorsum brownish
bythreerows ofscales; ventral sideoftailwithout large white; sixtransversechocolatebarsondorsumfromnape
plate-like scales, smallerblunt, keeledscales atthebase to sacral region, the fifthpartial, others complete; width
oftailjust behind the vent, but becoming strongly mu- ofdarkbars equal to or slightly smallerthanlight inter-
cronateandkeeleddistally. spaces; dark crossbars on limbs and digits, notreaching
ventralsurfaces;ventralsideofbodywhitish;darktrans-
versebarsontail, extendingtolateraltailregion.
Color pattern (Figs. 2 3c, 4b)
,
A
transverse dark bar on occipital region; chocolate Habitat (Fig. 8)
spots and stripes onhead; darkfine spots on supra- and
infralabials; dorsum light brown; five complete trans- At the type locality, the natural habitat is composed of
verseblackishbars fromnapeto sacralregion, equalto, gypsum and lime sediments extending beyond the Ira-
or broader than, the lighter interspaces; complete dark nianborderwestwardsintoIraq.AccordingtoMozaffar-
crossbars on dorsal side oflimbs and digits; 10 distinct ian(2008), abroadpartofHamProvinceisasemidesert
brown transverse crossbars on the tail; ventral regions region,whileotherpartshavetemperateclimateandvery
uniformlywhitish. shortwinterfrost. Thetypelocalitycoincideswith semi-
desertregion.
Threeclimaticlandscapeandvegetationtypes occur
Description of paratype intheprovince: 1)vastplainsoflowlandsemiaridregion,
includingplainsandcalcareous foothills, 2)moreorless
Snout-ventlength(SVL)29.3 mm.
dry Zagrosian oak forest dominatedby Quercus brantii,
a)head:rostral smoothandsemidividedposteriorly; and3)highmountainswithcushion-likevegetation(Mo-
nostril surrounded by five smooth scales including ros- zaffarian 2008). The type locality is located within the
tral,firstsupralabial,andthreepostnasals;fivescalesbe- firstofthethreeabove-mentionedclimatictypes.
tween nostrils, the first and fifth smooth, others keeled; Differentvegetationtypes mainlyincluding grasses
scales of prefrontal, pre- supra- and postoculars, and (Gramineae), bushes and shrubs (Capparidaceae: Cap-
thosebehindearsarecoarseandmulti-keeled,theirkeels parisspinosa, Cleomeoxypetala;Caryophyllaceae: Gyp-
reducingtowardparietal andoccipital andgraduallybe- sophyla linearifolia, G. pallida', Chenopodiaceae: Halo-
ing replaced byuni-keeled scales; 10-10 smooth supra- charis siilphurea, Noaea mucronata, Salsola imbricate',
labials; a single smooth mental; no postmentals; mental Compositae: Achillea conferta', Rosaceae: Amygdalus
surrounded posteriorly by six small keeled scales; 8-8 arabica),andsparsetrees{QuercusbrantiiandPistachia
smoothinfralabials.
atlantica) coverthearea.
b) trunk: blunt, keeled tubercles and scales on dor- A permanent river (Gorazan River) flows through
sum, few are mucronate; dorsal scales heterogeneous; this area. Both specimens were collected inthe foothills
10 longitudinal rows oftubercles; dorsal tubercles sur- approximately 200-500 meters south of the river. The
roundedby8-9keeledscales;30rowsofkeeled,uniform type locality is under grazing by sheep and goat herds
ventrolateral and ventral scales at the point where they belongingtothepeopleofCham-e-Sorkhvillage.
are distinguished fi-om dorsolaterals by different color Thereisnoinfomiationontheconservationstatusof
andsize;ventralkeeledscalesequaltodorsalones. Carinatogecko ilamensissp.nov.
c) fore- and hindlunbs: dorsal scales on forelimb
homogeneous, smallerthanthose onhindlimb,tubercles
onhindlimb smallerthanthoseondorsum; 16keeledtu- Sympatric lizards and snakes
bercles onthe fourthtoe.
d)tail: caudaltuberclesmucronate andmorepromi- Several species oflizards and snakes occur as sympat-
nent than dorsal tubercles; six pointed tubercles at the ric, or syntopic, with Carinatogecko ilamensis sp. nov.
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