Paralaudakia badakhshana (Anderson & Leviton, 1969)

Jablonski, Daniel, Khalili, Faizurrahman & Masroor, Rafaqat, 2023, The herpetofaunal diversity of Takhar Province, Afghanistan, Herpetozoa 36, pp. 73-90 : 73

Paralaudakia badakhshana (Anderson & Leviton, 1969)

Figs 3 , 5C-E

Takhar records.

Khilyazi bala Village, 37.4684°N, 69.7585°E, 897 m a.s.l., 13 September 2021, rocky habitat, one adult male (CUHC-PA 212); Khilyazi bala, 37.4682°N, 69.7609°E, 927 m a.s.l., 13 September 2021, rocky habitat, one adult individual of unknown sex (CUHC-PA 213); Khilyazi bala Village, 37.4252°N, 69.7648°E, 884 m a.s.l., 15 September 2021, one subadult individual of unknown sex (CUHC-PA 218).

Distribution in Afghanistan.

Badakhshan, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamiyan, Ghazni, Kabul, Parwan, Takhar, Wardak Provinces ( Moheb and Mostafawi 2012; Wagner et al. 2016; Jablonski et al. 2019a), representing 26% of all provinces.

Chorotype.

Western Central-Asiatic Mountains.

Remarks.

We provide the first species records of this taxon for Takhar Province. It is an endemic species for Afghanistan and has never been genetically studied. It is possible that some historical distribution points (e.g. from Ghazni, specimens ZFMK 8608-12 and 13315-16) may represents different species and the range may change in future. Additionally, the type locality "Mazar-i-Sharif, northern Afghanistan, 36°34'N, 67°05'E, 457 m elevation" is challenged by some authors ( Baig et al. 2012). Thus, DNA genotyping and detailed morphological examination of Afghan populations (presumably belonging to P. badakhshana ), are necessary to further investigations.

Figures

Figure 3. Herpetofaunistic records of Bufonidae, Ranidae, Testudinidae and Agamidae from Takhar Province in the context of updated records from Afghanistan (white dots or squares: published data (except for the data on Bufotes oblongus and B. zugmayeri, which are distributed in SW Afghanistan); red dots: new data).

Figure 5. A, B. Individuals of Testudo horsfieldii from Bay Yawa (Khagebilendi) of different sex and ages (CUHC-PA 179); C. Adult male of Paralaudakia badakhshana from Khilyazi bala (CUHC-PA 212); D, E. Ventral and dorsal view on the individual of P. badakhshana from Khilyazi bala (CUHC-PA 213); F. Individual of Paralaudakia sp. from Khilyazi bala (CUHC-PA 214); G, H. Adult males (CUHC-PA 216 and 217) of Paralaudakia lehmanni from Khilyazi bala; I. Subadult individual of P. lehmanni from Bay Yawa (CUHC-PA 222).