Eremias persica

Eremias persica
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Lacertidae
Genus:	Eremias
Species:	E. persica
Binomial name
Eremias persica Blanford, 1875
Synonyms[2]
Eremias velox persica Eremias nigrolateralis Rastegar-Pouyani & Nilson, 1998

Eremias persica, the Aralo-Caspian racerunner[2] or Persian racerunner,[3] is a species of lizard native to Iranian Azerbaijan, most of Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and western Pakistan.[2] Eremias intermedia is also known as the Aralo-Caspian racerunner.

Taxonomy and conservation

It was described by William Thomas Blanford in 1875.[2][4] The type locality is near Isfahan, Iran.[5] The specific epithet persica refers to its distribution in Persia (now known as Iran).[2]

Eremias persica was assessed for the IUCN Red List in 2016 and considered a species of least concern.[1]

Eremias nigrolateralis Rastegar-Pouyani & Nilson, 1998, the black-sided racerunner,[6] was described based on dorsal color patterning differences but is now considered a synonym of E. persica.[2][3] E. nigrolateralis was considered a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List based on its extensive, suitable habitat, large population, and presumed lack of significant threats.[6] It was considered "unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category".[6]

Description

It is most closely related to Eremias velox, of which it was previously treated as a subspecies, and they share several attributes such as having a wide range distribution across the Iranian Plateau, as well as the number of and shape of their scales.[7][2] It can be morphologically distinguished from E. velox based on several characteristics, including:

• continuous dorsolateral black stripes (vs. E. velox with interrupted, forming ocelli with white spots),
• the stripes strongly contrasting with the base pattern (vs. not strongly contrasting),
• juveniles with 4 dark stripes on the back between dorsolateral white-spotted stripes (vs. 3 dark stripes), and
• juveniles with ventral surface of tail not red (vs. carmine red in E. velox).[7]

Like many other lacertid lizards, the juveniles are more easily distinguished from other species than the adults.[3] Other closely related species of Eremias racerunners include  E. kopetdaghica, E. isfahanica, E. lalezharica, E. montana, E. papenfussi, E. strauchi, and E. suphani.[7]

Distribution and habitat

The Persian racerunner occurs in Iran, southern Azerbaijan, southern Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and western Pakistan.[5] In Iran, Eremias persica has a broad distribution in the central plateau south of the Alborz Mountains, including the Zagros Mountains, but it is absent from the central deserts Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e Kavir.[5] It is found in open plains and slopes, typically in areas of low vegetation and gravel surfaces. It is also found on mixed sand or silt and gravel.[5]

References

1. Ananjeva, N.B.; Orlov, N.L.; Papenfuss, T.; Shafiei Bafti, S.; Anderson, S.; Orlova, V.; Nazarov, R. & Rustamov, A. (2021). "Eremias persica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T164623A1062161. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T164623A1062161.en. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
2. Eremias persica at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2018-11-02.
3. Rastegar-Pouyani, E.; Rastegar-Pouyani, N.; Noureini, S. K.; Joger, U. & Wink, M. (March 2010). "Molecular phylogeny of the Eremias persica complex of the Iranian plateau (Reptilia: Lacertidae), based on mtDNA sequences". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 158 (3): 641–660. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00553.x.
4. Blanford, W.T. (1874). "Descriptions of new Reptilia and Amphibia from Persia and Baluchistan". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 4 (14): 31–35.
5. Smíd, Jiří; Moravec, Jiří; Kodym, Petr; Kratochvíl, Lukáš; Yousefkhani, Seyyed Saeed Hosseinian & Frynta, Daniel (20 August 2014). "Annotated checklist and distribution of the lizards of Iran". Zootaxa. 3855 (1): 1–97. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3855.1.1. PMID 25284505. S2CID 6586358.
6. Soheila Shafiei Bafti & Natalia Ananjeva (2009). "Eremias nigrolateralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2009: e.T164752A5923145. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T164752A5923145.en.
7. Rastegar-Pouyani, E.; Hosseinian, S.; Rafiee, S.; Kami, H. G.; Rajabizadeh, M. & Wink, M. (29 June 2016). "A new species of the genus Eremias Fitzinger, 1834 (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Central Iran, supported by mtDNA sequences and morphology". Zootaxa. 4132 (2): 207–20. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4132.2.2. PMID 27395662. S2CID 29569383.