Scarturus cf. williamsi (Hamidi, Darvish & M. Matin, 2016)

(Fig. 9)

Paralactaga cf. williamsi Hamidi, Darvish & M. Matin, 2016: 3 .

COMMON NAME. — Williams’s Jerboa.

HOLOTYPE. — ZMFUM-5028.

TYPE LOCALITY. — Kopet-Dag Mountains, North East of Iran (36°56’N, 59°31’E), Khorasan Razavi Province.

DISTRIBUTION. — Kopet-Dag Mountains, North East of Iran (Hamidi et al. 2016).

HABITAT. — The altitude of the sampling locality is approximately 2251 m above sea level and the topography is barren high plains, with mounds and rocky habitats. The vegetation of this region is mostly belonging to the following families: Caryophyllaceae, Asteraceae, Zygophyllaceae, Resedaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Asteraceae, Cupressaceae, Rosaceae and Berberidaceae .

IUCN. — Not evaluated.

REFERENCES. — Hamidi et al. (2016); Michaux & Shenbrot (2017).

REMARK

Michaux & Shenbrot (2017) indicated that the S. cf. williamsi named by K. Hamidi and colleagues in 2016 is a separate species that needs to be formally described. This taxon could also be possibly closely related to S. euphraticus caprimulga Ellerman, 1948 . Hence, it could probably be considered as an additional endemic rodent for Iran (C. William Kilpatrick comm. pers.).

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