Phrynocephalus

Macey, Robert, Schulte, James A., Ananjeva, Natalia B., Van, Erik T., Wang, Yuezhao, Orlov, Nikolai, Shafiei, Soheila, Robinson, Michael D., Dujsebayeva, Tatjana, Freund, Gabriel S., Fischer, Clayton M., Liu, David & Papenfuss, Theodore J., 2018, A molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for the Asian agamid lizard genus Phrynocephalus reveals discrete biogeographic clades implicated by plate tectonics, Zootaxa 4467 (1), pp. 1-81 : 48-51

E. Phrynocephalus Size Diversity

Phrynocephalus show a variety of snout vent lengths and tail lengths, ( Table 6 , Appendix 5). Body size per sample ranged from 106 mm for P. mystaceus to 35 mm for P. vindumi and P. interscapularis . Tail length per sample ranges from 133 mm for P. maculatus population 1 to 35 mm for P. luteoguttatus population 2. P. mystaceus and P. interscapularis are sympatric in the Caspian Basin, and habitat partition with P. mystaceus in large floating sand dunes, with P. interscapularis living on the edge of those large sand dunes, which may revolve around ecotype evolution in a predator-prey relationship. In northwestern Iran P. vindumi replaces the role of P. interscapularis , and is sympatric with P. mystaceus . Tail length appears to be the most sexually dimorphic characteristic.

Snout vent lengths for clay ecotypes range from 62 mm for P. przewalskii population 1 to 49 mm for P. versicolor , with tail lengths ranging from 90 mm for P. przewalskii population 1 to 49 mm for P. persicus .

The snout vent length for gravel ecotypes range from 64 mm for P. vlangalii population 1 to 40 mm for P. rossikowi , with tail lengths ranging from 90 mm for P. longicaudatus to 42 mm for P. theobaldi .

Snout vent lengths for dry lakebed ecotypes range from 90 mm for P. maculatus population 1 to 60 mm for P. golubewii , with tail length ranging from 133 mm for P. maculatus population 1 to 78 mm for P. maculatus population 2.

Snout vent lengths for small sand dune ecotypes range from 61 mm for P. vlangalii population 2 to 35 mm for both P. vindumi and P. interscapularis , with tail length ranging from 80 mm for P. przewalskii population 2 to 35 mm for P. luteoguttatus population 2.

Snout vent lengths for large sand dune ecotypes range from 106 mm for P. mystaceus populations to 59 mm for P. salenskyi population 1, with tail lengths ranging from 110 mm for P. mystaceus population 1 to 70 mm for P. salenskyi population 1.

The largest Phrynocephalus occupy large floating sand dunes, and the smallest Phrynocephalus species are found on the fringes of large floating sand dunes in the Caspian Basin and northern Iran. P. mystaceus occupying large sand dunes in these habitats coexists with the two smallest species that occupy the fringes of those sand dunes, P. interscapularis in the Caspian Basin, and P. vindumi in northwestern Iran. It has not escaped our attention that size and habitat partitioning may have occurred in these regions because it is likely that smaller species ( P. interscapularis or P. vindumi ) serve as a food source for larger species ( P. mystaceus ). Further work is needed for phylogenetic assessment of size evolution among Phrynocephalus species and populations considering the sexually dimorphic nature of this genus, both with body size and tail length.