Karyological analyses of four species of the families Lacertidae and Scincidae (Sauria) from Iran

Karyological studies were conducted using bone marrow cell preparations from four species of Lacertidae and Scincidae from Iran: Eremias persica Blanford, Eremias kopetdaghica Szczerbak, Ophisops elegans Ménétries (Lacertidae), and Eumeces schneiderii princeps (Eichwald) (Scincidae). Eremias persica was diploid with ۲n = ۳۸ chromosomes. The karyotype consisted of eighteen pairs of acrocentric macrochromosomes and two microchromosomes. Eremias kopetdaghica was also diploid with ۲n = ۳۸ comprising one pair of metacentric macrochromosomes, seventeen pairs of acrocentric macrochromosomes, and one pair of microchromosomes. The chromosome count for these two species is reported for the first time herein. The chromosome count for Ophisops elegans (۲n = ۳۸) was in agreement with a previous report and was the first for the herpetofauna of Iran. Eumeces schneiderii princeps showed ۳۲ macro- and microchromosomes, representing the first report for this subspecies.

Keywords:

Chromosome , Eremias , Eumeces schneiderii princeps , karyotype , lacertids , Ophisops elegans