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Phylogenetic relationships of Iranian Acanthodactylus species were investigated using 1407 bp of mitochondrial DNA in-cluding 606 bp of cytochrome b and 801 bp of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4). Analyses done with maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and Bayesian inference included 67 specimens from 27 geographically distinct locali-ties in Iran. Our molecular results proposed three clear and geographically isolated clades by their phylogenetic positions and genetic differences. These three major clades are: (1) A. micropholis+ A. grandis+ A. khamirensis; (2) A. blanfordi+ A. schmidti+ Acanthodactylus sp1; (3) A. nilsoni+ A. boskianus + Acanthodactylus sp2. The phylogenetic analyses of the genus did not group A. grandis with the remaining species of the A. boskianus group and clustered it along with A. khami-rensis within the A. micropholis group. In addition, phylogenetic results revealed a monophyletic status for A. schmidti and A. micropholis groups. Molecular clock approach indicated that the most recent divergence event splits A. micropholis from A. khamirensis about 2 MYA and results of dispersal-vicariance analyses showed that this diversification occurred by dispersal event rather than vicariance. Results of Reconstruct Ancestral State in Phylogenies (RASP) showed that Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) of A. micropholis, A. blanfordi and A. sp1 originated in eastern Iran. The first diver-sification of the genus in Iran most likely occurred between 8.5–9 MYA corresponding with the hypothesis that the genus has entered Iran long after the complete uplifting of the Zagros Mts. (10–12 MYA) which limited its dispersal only to the Persian Gulf shores and western slopes of the Zagros Mts.

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Field survey was conducted to the Harsin region in June 2011. The known Acanthodactylus boskianus habitat, 2 km west of Harsin, is during recent years destroyed by human activity. During 1 day of field work in this region, only one specimen of Acanthodactylus boskianus was found in a hill that remained intact from agricultural activity. The Acanthodactylus boskianus habitat consists of vegetation, with Astragalus as a key species, providing shelter from enemies. New specimens of the species were found on the grounds of a meteorological station on the other side of the road, where the lizards were not affected by the activities of the farmers. We must suggest the Department of Environment to protect the lizards in this region by controlling the remaining habitat around the meteorological station.

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Acanthodactylus boskianus is a widespread species in Northern Africa and Western Asia. In this study, we used morphological and genetic approaches to study populations of A. boskianus from the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, the easternmost limit of the species’ distribution. Our morphological and genetic data indicate that populations of A. boskianus in Iran are distinct from other populations of A. boskianus. Therefore, we describe the Iranian populations as Acanthodactylus zagrosicus sp. nov. The new species is the third endemic species of Acanthodactylus in Iran and the ninth Acanthodactylus species distributed in Iran overall. According to our surveys, this species is distributed widely in the Zagros Mountains including Kermanshah, Lorestan, Ilam, and Khuzestan Provinces.

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The first record of the lacertid lizard Acanthodactylus boskianus for Iran is presented based on material collected by the author in 1995 and 1996 from 2 km west of Harsin, Kermanshah province, western Iran, on the Astragalus -covered sandy hills at about 1420 m elevation. Systematics and distribution of this lizard are discussed and its conventional known subspecies are questioned.

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We present a comprehensive summary of the distribution of the lizards of Iran accompanied by an annotated checklist. The updated maps of distribution of all 146 species of 41 genera of 11 families are based on all available bibliographic records, catalogues of museum collections and our own field observations. The final dataset used for the distribution maps contains 8525 georeferenced records and cover 41% of the country when plotted on a grid of 0.25° × 0.25° resolution. The dataset is publicly accessible through GBIF portal (http://www.gbif.org/dataset/7db4f705-61ae-4c6e-9de2-06674e7d46b2). Following the latest biogeographic division of the country, ~53% of the species (76 species) inhabit the Iranian Province, ~41% (60 species) the Western Asian mountain transition zone, ~9% (13 species) the Turanian Province, and ~18% (27 species) the Arabian Province. In addition, ~2% (3 species) reach Iran from the Indo-Malay biogeographic region and ~2% (3 species) are believed to have been introduced to Iran by humans. Endemic species (46) represent ~32% of the known species diversity. The most species-rich family of lizards in Iran is Lacertidae with 47 species, followed by Gekkonidae (41), Agamidae (18), Scincidae (15), Phyllodactylidae (10), Sphaerodactylidae (4), Eublepharidae and Uromastycidae (3), Anguidae and Varanidae (2), and Trogonophidae with one representative.