Species:

Acanthodactylus zagrosicus  MOZAFFARI et al., 2021

Synonyms:

Acanthodactylus boskianus  RASTEGAR-POUYANI, 1999

Acanthodactylus boskianus  ŠMID et al., 2014

Acanthodactylus boskianus  HEIDARI et al., 2014

Acanthodactylus boskianus  MOZAFFARI et al., 2016

Common names:

Zagrosian Fringe-fingered lizard (English)
Zagros Fransenfingereidechse (German)

Types:

Holotype: ZFMK103173. Adult male. Collected from the roadside from Gotvand to Saland (around 60 km east of Dezful city, Khuzestan Province, Iran), 32.447650, 48.874067 at an elevation of 460 m a.s.l. on April 2005 by OMID MOZAFFARI.

Paratype: ZFMK103174. Adult female. Collection details as the holotype.

Terra Typica:

Around 60 km east of Dezful city, Khuzestan Province, Iran.

Relevant taxonomic literature:

• Mozaffari, O. & Mohammadi, S. & Saberi-Pirooz, R. & Ahmadzadeh, F. (2021) -  A new species of Acanthodactylus Fitzinger, 1834 (Sauria: Lacertidae) from the Zagros Mountains, Iran -  Zootaxa, 5047(1), 17–32. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5047.1.2  

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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.