Preliminary study of the herpetofauna of western Lorestan province of Iran

The townships of Pole Dokhtar, Kuhdasht and Rumeshkan totally with a land area about 8445 km2 (about 30% of the total area of the Province) are located in the west of Lorestan Province, in the Zagros Mountains in western Iran. This is the first study concerning the herpetodiversity of this area based on several steps of field works in different habitats during 2017 and early 2018. The collected specimens were kept in low temperature, fixed in 75% ethanol (or 10% formalin solution), then identified using valid identification keys and now were kept in the Lorestan University Zoological Museum (LUZM). Our study and field observations show the presence of 20 reptile species (11 lizard species, 7 snake species and 2 turtle species) belonging to 19 genera, 14 families and 2 orders (Squamata and Testudines) in this area. The most diverse family is the Gekkonidae with four species and three genera, followed by Colubridae and the Agamidae with three and two species respectively. According to the results, the families Scincidae, Phyllodactylidae, Lacertidae, Varanidae, Eublepharidae (suborder Sauria);Elapidae, Boidae, Typhlopidae, Viperidae (suborder Serpentes); Testudinidae and Geoemydidae (order Testudines) have only one species each. Among these species, Asaccus granularis, Mediodactylus stevenandersoni, Microgecko helenae are endemic to Iran and other species have regional or global distribution. According to the rules of the Iranian Department of Environment, Varanus griseus, Testudo graeca, Mauremys caspica and Eryx jaculus are considered as protected and conserved species, and the conservation status of other species of this study is considered as unprotected and ordinary.

Keywords:

Lizards , Squamata , Species , Endemic , Lorestan Province , Iran