A new species of the genus Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from southern Iran Author Gholamifard, Ali Author Rastegar-Pouyani, Nasrullah Author Rastegar-Pouyani, Eskandar Author Khosravani, Azar Author Yousefkhani, Seyyed Saeed Hosseinian Author Oraei, Hamzeh text Zootaxa 2016 4093 1 journal volume 10.11646/zootaxa.4093.1.2 7ee7df3c-ae16-4c8f-8923-3a5b4fb8fea2 1175-5326 266341 7EA467BD-3D8F-4248-AF9D-89B8E63A49C2 Microgecko chabaharensis sp. nov. ( Figs. 2–3 , 7 d, 8d) Microgecko helenae —Šmíd et al. 2014: 23 Holotype . SUHC 1273, adult male, from Rasoul Abad village, at 25°28'08.0''N , 060°29'37.0''E and 27 m above sea level (a.s.l.), between Chabahar and Konarak, Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran , collected on 16 May 2012 . FIGURE 2. Holotype of Microgecko chabaharensis sp. nov. (SUHC 1273), dorsal view (above) and ventral view (below). Scale: 1 cm. Photo: A. Gholamifard. Paratypes . SUHC 1274, adult female, collected at the same locality as the holotype on 16 May 2012 ; RUZM GT.11.54, adult female, from Rezuiyeh ( 28°19'20.74"N , 54°35'20.48"E ., 1155 m a.s.l.), about 40 km east of Haji Abad, the capital of Zarrin Dasht County, Fars Province, southern Iran , collected on 12 September 2014 . Diagnosis. Microgecko chabaharensis sp. nov. ( Figs. 2–3 ) is a small gecko with a maximum snout-vent length of 28.5 mm . The species possesses all diagnostic characters of the genus Microgecko (in the sense of Kluge, 1967). Superficially, M. chabaharensis sp. nov. differs from all known congeners by having a dorsum without any pattern (distinct or indistinct dark crossbars, and white spots) ( Figs. 2–3 ), with the exception of populations of M. h. helenae ( Fig. 5 ) from southwestern Iran without any pattern on their dorsum. Microgecko chabaharensis sp. nov. has three pairs of postmental shields and therefore differs from M. latifi (no postmentals), M. helenae (one pair of postmentals) and M. depressus (no postmentals or only one pair of very small postmentals). Since the new species occurs in the distributional range of M. persicus (especially M. p. persicus ) in southern and southeastern Iran , it is distinguished from M. persicus ( M. p. bakhtiari , M. p. persicus and M. p. euphorbiacola ) by possessing a distinctive unpatterned dorsum ( versus dorsum with distinct dark crossbars in M. persicus ) as subspecies of M. persicus are distinguished from each other mainly based on the ratio of crossbar width to width of the interspaces (see Figs. 2–3 versus Fig. 6 ). Also M. chabaharensis has three pairs of postmental shields (two pairs of large postmentals and the third smaller pair) versus two pairs of postmental shields in M. persicus . For additional comparison see Table 1 and Figures 7–8 . FIGURE 3. Paratype of Microgecko chabaharensis sp. nov. (RUZM GT.11.54) with regenerated tail from Rezuiyeh, Zarrin Dasht County, Fars Province in life. Photo: A. Gholamifard. Description of the Holotype ( Figs. 2 , 7 d, 8d). An adult male without tail; snout-vent-length (SVL) 25.8 mm ; head narrow, depressed due to fixation, 6.6 mm long (about 25.5% of SVL); head width (HW) 4.6 mm ; head height (HH) 3.3 mm ; eye diameter (ED) 1.6 mm ; interorbital distance (IOD) 2.9 mm ; anterior eye margin to posterior edge of nostril distance (NED) 2.3 mm ; posterior eye margin to ear distance (EED) 2.2 mm ; neck distinct, length of right forelimb (LFL) 7.6 mm ; length of right hindlimb (LHL) 11.4 mm ; distance between forelimb and hind limb (DFH) 11.8 mm ; rostral pentagonal, broader than high, divided by a median cleft, bordered by first supralabials, nostrils, and two postrostrals; nostril surrounded by five scales (SBN), including rostral, first supralabial, enlarged postrostral, and two additional small nasal scales, which are separated by two large postrostrals (internasals or supranasals); enlarged postrostrals are in contact, and followed by an additional pair of enlarged scales, this second pair of enlarged scales are in contact and slightly smaller than postrostrals; snout covered with small juxtaposed granules distinctly larger than those covering top, upper sides of head and occiput, granules on sides of snout somewhat larger than those on midline; 30 interorbital scales including ciliary scales (IOS), 9 supralabials on right, 8 on left, posterior labials distinctly larger than succeeding small granules, but not as sharply set off as in M. helenae ; 8 infralabials on each side; mental pentagonal, extending posteriorly to the level of the suture between first and second infralabials, nearly sharply pointed behind, slightly broader than long, followed by one pair of large trapezoidal postmentals, in contact, and forming long suture behind mental, larger than first infralabial, connected with mental, the first two lower labials on each side of body and the second pair of postmentals; second smaller pair of postmentals about one third the size of the first postmentals (right postmental slightly larger than that of left side), separated from each other by eight granular scales, in contact with the first postmentals and second infralabials (and narrowly with anterolateral corner of the third lower labial on right); the third pair of postmentals is not much larger than the surrounding scales, but is clearly discernible; scales of chin and throat granular, juxtaposed, subequal to scales on sides of head, and distinctly larger than scales on occiput. Dorsum covered with equal, smooth, imbricate small scales; scales of venter smooth, flat, imbricate, larger than those of dorsum; scales of upper surfaces of limbs similar to those of back, scales of lower surfaces of limbs like those of venter; no femoral or precloacal pores. Retained portion of tail in its proximal portion covered above and below with smooth scales, slightly larger than those of dorsum and venter, scales of lower surface slightly larger than those of dorsal, arranged in regular transverse series, two enlarged (but not tubercular nor pointed) scales on either side of swelling at base of tail just posterior to level of vent; digits covered above with smooth, small imbricate scales, below with single series of smooth lamellae, toe somewhat angularly bent, lamellar formula (digit 1 to 5) for right manus is 8, 9, 10, 10, 9; lamellar formula (digit 1 to 5) for right pes is 9, 10, 13, 13, 11; 133 scales from behind the postmentals to level of vent (GVA); 86 dorsal scales in midline between axilla to groin (AGS). Coloration of preserved specimen. The holotype specimen ( Fig. 2 ) is preserved in 96% ethanol and has almost completely kept its coloration and pattern. Its coloration resembles the paratype (SUHC 1274) as follows: the upper body surface is uniform tan, without any distinct or indistinct dark transverse bars; a wide dark or chocolate-brown bar on either side runs from the nostril through the eye and ear opening to behind forelimbs; rostral, internasals and post internasals are light brown, the lower surfaces are immaculate creamy white. Coloration of the living paratype (RUZM GT.11.54) almost exactly as the holotype and the other paratype , the proximal intact portion of its tail with two dark bars edged with yellow at the rear and the regenerated portion is yellowish; its sacral region lightly dusted with brown ( Fig. 3 ). Paratypes . SUHC 1274 lost its tail completely and RUZM GT.11.54 has an incomplete tail. Paratypes do not differ significantly from the holotype regarding scalation, coloration and pattern. The meristic characters for SUHC 1274 and RUZM GT.11.54 follow, respectively as separated by a slash: 3/3 pairs of postmental shields (PMP); 9/9 supralabials (SL) on each side; 8/8 infralabials ( IL ) on each side; 6/5 scales separated the second pair of postmentals (SSPM); 25/28 interorbital scales including ciliary scales (IOS); 5/5 scales bordered the nostril (SBN) on each side; 2/2 large postrostrals (internasals) in contact, followed by additional pair of enlarged scales, in contact, and slightly smaller than postrostrals; lamellar formula (digit 1 to 5) for right manus is 7, 9, 10, 9, 9/ 8, 8, 12, 11, 9; lamellar formula (digit 1 to 5) for right pes is 7, 8, 11, 13, 12/ 9, 12, 13, 14, 11; 124/133 scales from behind the postmentals to level of vent (GVA); 86/85 dorsal scales in midline between axilla to groin (AGS). The metric characters for SUHC 1274 and RUZM GT.11.54 are as follows, respectively as separated by a slash: snoutvent- length (SVL) 26/ 28.5 mm ; head length (HL) 6.6/ 6.1 mm ; head width (HW) 4.5/ 5 mm ; head height (HH) 3.6/ 4.2 mm ; eye diameter (ED) 1.7/ 1.7 mm ; interorbital distance (IOD) 3/ 3.8 mm ; anterior eye margin to posterior edge of nostril distance (NED) 2/ 1.9 mm ; posterior eye margin to ear distance (EED) 2.5/ 2.5 mm ; length of right forelimb (LFL) 7.5/ 6.7 mm ; length of right hindlimb (LHL) 11.5/ 13.6 mm ; distance between forelimb and hind limb (DFH) 12.4/ 13.3 mm . Etymology. The species is named after the region where the holotype was collected (Chabahar, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Southeastern Iran ) and the Latin ‘- ensis ,’ meaning ‘from’ or ‘belonging to’. Ecological notes. The ecology of this species is largely unknown. The holotype (SUHC 1273) and paratype (SUHC 1274) specimens were collected on 16 May 2012 at about 8h00 from a sandy habitat with semi-dense cover of halophilic bushes ( Fig. 4 a) in the Chabahar region close to the sea (about 3 km away from Chabahar Bay), Chabahar County, in the southeast of Sistan and Baluchestan Province ( Fig. 1 ). The species is nocturnal and starts its activity at dusk. Acanthodactylus micropholis Blanford and Bunopus tuberculatus Blanford were collected at this habitat. Some sympatric and/or syntopic lizard species at the type locality region are: Trapelus agilis (Olivier) , Hemidactylus flaviviridis Rüppell, H. robustus Heyden, Microgecko persicus (Nikolsky) , Tenuidactylus longipes (Nikolsky) , A. blanfordii Boulenger, A. cantoris Günther, Eremias fasciata Blanford , Mesalina watsonana (Stoliczka) , Chalcides ocellatus (Forskål) , Ophiomorus blanfordii Boulenger , Pristurus rupestris Blanford (Šmíd et al. 2014) . The collection site of the paratype (RUZM GT.11.54) in southeast of Fars Province ( Fig. 1 ) is a mountainous area in the southern Zagros Mountains near the end of it north of the Hormuz Strait, which is characterized by hot summers and mild winters. The gecko specimen was caught while active on 12 September 2014 about 1h00. It was found on a calcareous mountain in the foothills around a moderately deep valley ( Fig. 4 b). Close to its collection point is a permanent spring (Rezu Spring) which feeds the cultivated palm grooves. Several sympatric and/or lizard and snake species syntopic with M. chabaharensis sp. nov. in this area are: H. persicus , T. agilis , and Echis carinatus sochureki Stemmler.