Department of Zoology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar. .
Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan..
Zootaxa. 2022 Aug 15;5175(1):55-87. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3.
Based on newly provided morphological and previously published genetic data, we describe two new distinctive sympatric lacertid lizards of the genus Eremias (subgenus Aspidorhinus) from the arid mountains of northwestern Balochistan Province, Pakistan. The new species, Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. and Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. are distinguished from all other species of the subgenus Aspidorhinus (E. afghanistanica, E. fahimii, E. isfahanica, E. kopetdaghica, E. lalezharica, E. montana, E. nikolskii, E. papenfussi, E. persica, E. regeli, E. roborowskii, E. strauchi, E. suphani, and E. velox) by unique morphological characters and genetic differentiation. In the molecular phylogeny of Aspidorhinus, both new taxa are well-supported lineages differentiated from other species of this subgenus by uncorrected p distances from 8.5% to 21.6%, respectively. Both new species belong to E. persica complex where E. rafiqi sp. nov. is partly similar in dorsal color pattern to E. persica but can be distinguished from this species by unique meristic and morphometric characters. Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. is found in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and eastern Iran. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be differentiated from E. persica by its distant distribution, dorsal color and pattern, smaller size, and less number of gulars and ventral scales. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. is only known from the type locality and represents the local microendemism, along with other endemic species of reptiles reported from this part of Pakistan. We, however, expect that E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. could have a broader range in northwestern Pakistan and southeastern Afghanistan, which should be an object of following investigations. Our data show that remote areas between Hindu Kush Mountains and Indus River need attention as they most probably represent possible sources of genetic and species diversity in the region.
基于新提供的形态学和以前发表的遗传数据，我们描述了巴基斯坦俾路支省西北部干旱山区两种新的独特共生蜥蜴，属于 Eremias（亚属 Aspidorhinus）。新物种 Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. 和 Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. 与亚属 Aspidorhinus 中的所有其他物种（E. afghanistanica、E. fahimii、E. isfahanica、E. kopetdaghica、E. lalezharica、E. montana、E. nikolskii、E. papenfussi、E. persica、E. regeli、E. roborowskii、E. strauchi、E. suphani 和 E. velox）在形态学和遗传分化上有明显区别。在 Aspidorhinus 的分子系统发育中，这两个新种都是由未校正的 p 距离为 8.5% 到 21.6% 的独特分支所支持的谱系，分别与其他亚属物种分化开来。这两个新种都属于 E. persica 复合体，其中 E. rafiqi sp. nov. 在背部颜色模式上与 E. persica 有些相似，但可以通过独特的数量和形态特征与该物种区分开来。E. rafiqi sp. nov. 分布于巴基斯坦、阿富汗和伊朗东部。Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. 与 E. persica 不同的是，它的分布范围较远，背部颜色和图案不同，体型较小，颈盾和腹鳞数量较少。Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. 仅在模式产地被发现，代表了当地的特有微分布，与巴基斯坦这一地区报道的其他特有爬行动物物种一样。然而，我们预计 E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. 在巴基斯坦西北部和阿富汗东南部可能有更广泛的分布范围，这应该是后续研究的对象。我们的数据表明，兴都库什山脉和印度河之间的偏远地区需要关注，因为它们很可能是该地区遗传和物种多样性的潜在来源。
