124 research outputs found
A new species of Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Pakistan
No full textMasroor, Rafaqat, Khisroon, Muhammad, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Jablonski, Daniel (2020): A new species of Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Pakistan. Zootaxa 4780 (1): 147-164, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4780.1.
Aspidorhinus Eichwald 1841
No full textSubgenus Aspidorhinus Eichwald, 1841 Type species: Eremias velox (Pallas, 1771)Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on page 58, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/700322
FIGURE 8 in Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan
No full textFIGURE 8. Two rare species of the subgenus Aspidorhinus (Eremias) from desert and semi-desert areas of Central Asia (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan) for which genetic data are missing so far: the holotype of E. afghanistanica from Afghanistan (ZFMK-H 13320) and the holotype of E. regeli from Uzbekistan (ZISP 6115).Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on page 77, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/700322
FIGURE 1 in A new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from the arid mountains of Pakistan
No full textFIGURE 1. The type localities of the members of the subgenus Rhabderemias including the new species, Eremias kakari sp. nov.Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khisroon, Muhammad, Khan, Muazzam Ali & Jablonski, Daniel, 2020, A new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from the arid mountains of Pakistan, pp. 101-121 in Zootaxa 4786 (1) on page 104, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4786.1.8, http://zenodo.org/record/386502
FIGURE 2 in A new species of Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Pakistan
No full textFIGURE 2. Views of (A) body dorsum (B) body venter (C) head dorsal (D) head ventral (E) head lateral of the holotype of Microgecko tanishpaensis sp. nov. exhibiting pattern of three dorsal crossbars between forelimb and hindlimb insertion.Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khisroon, Muhammad, Khan, Muazzam Ali & Jablonski, Daniel, 2020, A new species of Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Pakistan, pp. 147-164 in Zootaxa 4780 (1) on page 151, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/383963
FIGURE 7 in Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan
No full textFIGURE 7. (A) The type locality of Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. near Tanishpa village, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan; (B) Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. from Kunder, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan; (C) The paratype of E. rafiqi sp. nov. (PMNH 4056) from under, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan; (D) The type locality of Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. near Kunder, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan; (E) The holotype of E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. (PMNH 3613) from Kunder, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan; (F) Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. from Tanishpa.Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on page 76, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/700322
Eremias Fitzinger 1834
No full textIdentification key to the Pakistani species of the genus Eremias (modified from Masroor et al. 2020a) 1. Subocular bordering mouth............................................................................. 2 - Subocular not bordering mouth................................................................ E. acutirostris 2. A complete row of lateral scales of the 4 th toe forming a distinct fringe or comb on its entire length..................... 3 - Lateral scales of 4 th toe not forming distinct fringe........................................................... 4 3. Row of femoral pores reaches well short of the knee; the median dark dorsal stripes interrupted and form reticulate pattern.............................................................................................. E. scripta - Row of femoral pores reaches to knee; dorsal stripes without any sign of vermiculation................... E. cholistanica 4. Back with 5–11 dark stripes, broader than interspaces, none of the stripes containing light ocelli or spots; stripes persistent in adults, but sometimes indistinct so that back appears almost uniform sandy; usually only single median collar scale distinctly larger than adjacent gulars.............................................................................. 5 - Dark stripes on the dorsum of juvenile breaking up in adults to form spots or broken lines; usually, several collar scales distinctly larger than adjacent gulars...................................................................... 6 5. 4 th toe with two complete rows of subdigital scales and a complete row of sharply pointed lateral scales, i.e., a total of 4 scales counted around penultimate phalanx.......................................................... Eremias fasciata - 4 th toe with one complete row of subdigital scales and a complete row of lateral scales, i.e., total of three scales counted around penultimate phalanx............................................................................. E. kakari 6. Adults with four more or less regular rows of disconnected dark spots on dorsum between dorsolateral broader dark stripes, the latter with white ocelli at the edges and within each stripe; infranasal in contact with the rostral........... E. rafiqi sp. nov. - Adults with seven light stripes on the neck, transforming into disconnected series of white ocelli edged with black; no dorsolateral dark stripes, an outer-most series of white and black ocelli starts behind the eyes on each side, onto tympanum and flanks above the forelimb and hindlimb insertion; infranasal not in contact with the rostral................... E. killasaifullahi sp. nov.Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on page 78, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/700322
Eremias killasaifullahi Masroor & Khan & Nadeem & Amir & Khisroon & Jablonski 2022, sp. nov.
No full textEremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. (Table 1, Figs. 3, 5, 6) Suggested vernacular name: Killa Saifullah’s Racerunner Pashto name: Holotype. PMNH 3613 (cyt b: MT 554460; Rag1: MT 554498), an adult male, collected from Kunder, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan (31.3247º N, 68.5452º E; Fig. 7D), elevation 1,920 m a. s. l., March 23, 2017, leg. Rafaqat Masroor (Fig. 3). Paratypes. Males: PMNH 3614–3616 (cyt b: MT554466, MT554456, n/a; Rag1: MT554478, MT554482, n/a). Females: PMNH 4046 (cyt b: MT 554453; Rag1: MT 554479), PMNH 4050 (cyt b: MT 554473; Rag1: MT 554483), PMNH 4055 (cyt b: MT 554455; Rag1: MT 554481). Juveniles: PMNH 3673 (cyt b: n/a; Rag1: n/a), PMNH 4045 (cyt b: MT 554467; Rag1: MT 554486), PMNH 4052 (cyt b: MT 554459; Rag1: MT 554497). PMNH 3614–16, 3673 collected along with the holotype; PMNH 4045, 4052, September 5, 2018, Zamkai Nala, Tanishpa, Killa Saifullah district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor; PMNH 4046, 4055 August 31, 2018, Ashewat, Qamar Din Karez, Zhob district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor; PMNH 4050, September 1, 2018, Zamkai Nala, Tanishpa, Killa Saifullah district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor (Figs. 5, 6). Morphological diagnosis. A medium-sized lacertid lizard, maximum snout-vent length (SVL) = 70.5 mm, tail 1.67 to 1.97 times longer than body length (SVL), hindlimbs relatively long (HLL / SVL ratio 0.6–0.8); subocular scale reaching to the edge of the mouth, 5–7 (mainly 6, rarely 5) anterior to subocular; dorsals 53–63; ventrals in 14–18 oblique longitudinal series; frontal separated from supraoculars; the height of the first two to three transverse rows of ventral scales in the pectoral region more than its breadth; 17–24 femoral pores on each side, separated medially by 1–5 scales (mainly 2–4, rarely 1), the space between the femoral pores less than one–fourth length of each row; toes without fringe, encircled by three scales in a single series of 21–25 unicarinate and bicarinate scales underneath; tip of the fourth toe reaches to the forelimb and extends to just behind the collar. The adult specimens are creamy beige in life with seven light stripes appearing on the neck which transforms into ocelli and vermiculation behind the neck. No dorsolateral broader dark stripes, an outer-most series of white and black ocelli starts behind the eyes on each side, onto the tympanum and flanks above the forelimb and hindlimb insertion. ......continued on the next page TABLE 1. (Continued) ......continued on the next page TABLE 2. (Continued) ......continued on the next page TABLE 2. (Continued) ......continued on the next page TABLE 2. (Continued) Molecular data. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. represents a newly detected evolutionary lineage (Fig. 1) of the genus Eremias (Aspidorhinus) that was firstly detected by Khan et al. (2021) as the clade F (with subclades F1, F2) based on four studied genetic markers (16S, COI, cyt b, Rag1). This lineage was detected occurring in NE Balochistan in Pakistan and represents local microendemism (Fig. 2). The lineage deeply diverges and is sister to all other lineages of such called E. persica complex (see Khan et al. 2021 and Fig. 1 in this study) and well differentiated in the Rag1 dataset (Fig. 2). The lineage genetically (uncorrected p distances) differs from 14.5% (E. strauchi) to 21.6% (E. velox) (Table 3) among species of the subgenus Aspidorhinus. Its average intraclade genetic variability (cyt b) is 3% (Fig. 2). Despite a very small known range of distribution, the distances between F1 and F2 subclades sensu Khan et al. (2021) reached 4.6% and the haplotype network based on cyt b dataset showed six different haplotypes. High allele diversity was also detected by analyzing the Rag1 marker (Fig. 2). Etymology. We derived the name of the new species from Killa Saifullah (Pashto:; also Qilla Saifullah), a city and district in northwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan that represents the area, from where this newly discovered endemic species of Eremias (subgenus Aspidorhinus) is currently known. The region plays an important role for producing fruits, nuts and vegetables in Pakistan. The discovery of this species of lizards thus highlights the importance of this region from the biodiversity point of view. Description of the holotype. SVL: 65.3, TL: 109.7, HL: 17.4, HW: 10.2, HH: 8.1, TrL: 28.3, HLL: 44.8, FLL: 26.6, FrL: 4.6, FrW: 2.3.An adult male of E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. preserved in ethanol in a good state of preservation (Fig. 3); head and body moderately depressed; tail long, ca. 1.7 times longer than the body, cylindrical and depressed at the base. Head relativelylong (HL/SVL ratio 0.27) (Fig. 3), 1.7 times longer than wide (HW/HL ratio 0.59), head height less than head width (HH/HW, 0.79). Limbs strong, hindlimbs 1.6 times more than the length of forelimbs (FLL/HLL, 0.59), hindlimbs comprise 1.4 times the body length (HLL/SVL, 0.69). Head broader than the neck; nasals, frontonasal, prefrontals, frontal, frontoparietals, interparietal and parietals are smooth and convex. Nasals are moderately swollen, three nasals, the lower in contact with three supralabials on the right and left side, its contact with the rostral lacking (Fig. 3D). Supranasals in contact with rostral and first supralabial, the suture between them is four times the length of frontonasal, whose breadth is ca. 1.1 times its length; length of prefrontals 1.4 times its width, joined by a median suture; frontal two times as long as broad, its length slightly less than its distance from the tip of the snout, narrow behind; parietals smooth, slightly longer than wide; interparietal smooth, more than half of the length of frontoparietals; no occipital. Two large supraoculars, about equal in size, the space anterior to supraoculars filled by few small and three to five larger granules; both supraoculars in contact with frontal of their sides while separated from supraciliaries by a series of granules (Fig. 3C), behind the two large spraoculars a single, comparatively medium-sized, granule exist; six supraciliaries, first longest, its length shorter than its distance from the first loreal. Rostral pentagonal, broader than high, narrower beneath than above; anterior loreal slightly higher than wide, shorter than the second loreal which is longer than high; supralabials 8; subocular keeled just below the eye, bordering the mouth, wedged between fifth and sixth supralabials (Fig. 3D). Temporals smooth, a large scale above ear; auricular denticulation indistinct or three small scales forming slight denticulation anteriorly. Lower eyelid covered with numerous small semi-transparent scales. Six infralabials, gradually increasing in size posteriorly. Five pairs of chin shields; anterior three completely in contact, the fourth one separated by six smaller gulars, the fifth one is in contact with fifth and sixth infralabials on both sides. Collar curved, free, serrated and composed of 10 plates larger than adjacent gulars, the middle one slightly enlarged than others. Gular fold distinct, 20 gular scales in a straight line between the symphysis of the chin shields and the collar (Fig. 3B). Dorsal scales granular, smooth, 60 across the middle of the body. Ventral plates broader than long (except for outermost series), forming oblique longitudinal series of 16 plates across mid-belly and 25 transverse rows counted from behind collar to vent; first three rows of ventral scales in the pectoral region behind collar longer than broad, the first row is twice as long as broad. Precloacal region with an enlarged median plate just above the vent, surrounded by four large scales. Forelimb ca. 1.5 times longer than the head, upper surface of the arm with rhombic, smooth scales. Scales on the upper surface of hindlimbs similar to dorsals, varying in size; ventral surface of hindlimbs covered by enlarged plates, the lower surface of the tibia with one row of very large and one comparatively smaller plates, the tip of the fourth toe reaches to the forelimb and extends to just behind the collar; 17 femoral pores on the right side, the left side damaged, the two series separated by two scales, length of the interfemoral space not greater than one-fourth length of each row. Toes slender, compressed, with no fringe. Subdigital lamellae unicarinate, in a single row of 21 scales under the 4th toe, a total of three scales around the 4 th toe. Upper caudal scales oblique, truncate, strongly and diagonally keeled, 26 scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus behind the postcloacal granules. Coloration in life. The adult specimens (Fig. 7E) are creamy beige with ocellate body pattern. Seven light stripes appear on the neck which transforms into ocelli and vermiculation behind the neck. Of the seven, the lateralmost light stripe originates from behind the eye and runs on the outer edge of the parietal, transforming into a disconnected series of white ocelli edged with black, running up to anterior one-third of the tail. Next to the lateralmost, the paravertebral light stripe originates from behind the parietal and transforms into closely-connected white ocelli edged with black and runs on the tail short of lateral-most ocelli. Next to paravertebral light stripe, there exists a light nuchal stripe on each side and the light vertebral stripe, the three joins behind the neck and transform into white ocelli edged with black in the pattern of vermiculation. In addition to seven light stripes on the neck, an outermost series of white and black ocelli starts behind the eyes on each side, onto the tympanum and flanks above the forelimb and hindlimb insertion. The upper parts of both hindlimbs and forelimbs are provided with white and black ocelli. Head gray with black mottled markings or spots; supralabials white with black markings. Belly and underside of tail creamy white, tail dorsum grayish. The juveniles and subadults (Fig. 6) are nearly similar in coloration to the adults except for the following details; seven longitudinal light stripes on the neck, the lateral-most originate from behind the eye, running on the outer parietals and continuing onto the dorsum in the form of connected small white ocelli, terminating on the one-third of the tail, the paravertebral light stripe originates from the posterior of parietals, and merge short of the lateral-most stripe on the tail, the nuchal of each side and vertebral light stripe merge after the neck to form light vermiculation up to the base of the tail. An additional outer-most light stripe originates from behind the tympanum and is produced in the form of disconnected white ocelli above the insertion of forelimbs and hindlimbs. The upper parts of hindlimbs and forelimbs are provided with white and black ocelli. Head gray with black mottled markings or spots; supralabials white with black markings. Belly and underside of tail creamy white, tail dorsum creamy grayish. Variations in paratypes. Paratypes of E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. agree with the holotype with some differences given in Table 1 and Figs. 5, 6. Besides sex, the specimens differ in the arrangement of supralabials i.e. subocular wedged between 6 th and 7 th supralabials in all the type series except PMNH 4055 where it is wedged between 5 th and 6 th supralabials. The arrangement of postmentals has a similar pattern in the paratypes except PMNH 3673, where the fifth chins shield is not in contact with the infralabials. In all the type series including the holotype, the fifth chin shield is in contact with the infralabials. The scale count of dorsals, ventrals, gulars, collars, caudals at 9 th –10 th whorl and lamellae under 4 th toe, however, show a unique value for every specimen within a certain range. The infranasal is not in contact with the rostral in all type specimens including the holotype (Figs. 3, 5, 6). Sexual and age dimorphism. Apparently, males attain larger sizes than females in E. killasaifullahi sp. nov.: male SVL to 70.5 mm, female SVL 58.1 mm. Moreover, males have generally longer hindlimbs and shorter trunks as compared to females. For a larger female having SVL of 58.5 mm (PMNH 4050), the hindlimb is 37.9 mm against a same-sized male (PMNH 3616, SVL 59.4 mm) which has a hindlimb length of 43.1 mm. Similarly, the trunk length of a smaller female PMNH 4050 (SVL 58.5 mm) is 29.0 mm against a larger male (PMNH 3614, SVL 67.9 mm) which has a trunk length of 28.1 mm. The dorsal body color and pattern are, however, similar in juveniles and adults of both genders (Figs. 3, 5–7). Comparison. The new species Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. is strikingly different from species exhibiting striped and ocellate pattern (E. aria; E. kopetdaghica; E. lalezharica; E. papenfussi; Eremias persica; E. regeli; E. fahimii; E. isfahanica; E. montana; E. nikolskii; E. velox) and ocellate pattern (E. afghanistanica; E. nigrocellata; E. strauchi; E. suphani; Table 1 and S1). Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be distinguished from E. afghanistanica by a higher count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 44–46), caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (24–33 vs. 20–26) and a lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 37–38). From E. persica, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs by its smaller size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 98.0 mm), size of the second loreal scale to first loreal scale (more than two times vs. two times), supracaudals (strongly keeled vs. weakly keeled), the dorsal color and pattern in adults (ocellate without broader lateralmost stripe vs. striped and ocellate with broader lateralmost stripe) and tail coloration in the juveniles (creamy grayish vs. bluish). Besides distant distribution, Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from the recently described E. fahimii by its comparatively larger size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 56.0 mm), more SDLT 4 th (21–25 vs. 20–21), lower count of caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (22–27 vs. 31), the greater number of scales separating the femoral pores (1–5 vs. 1) and the dorsal color and pattern in adults (dorsal stripes broken into ocelli without broader lateralmost stripe vs. dorsal stripes persistent throughout life with broader lateralmost stripe). From E. isfahanica, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs in the following morphological characters apart from its distant distribution: higher count of supralabials (8–11 vs. 6–8), 5–7 of them (mainly 6, rarely 5) located anterior to subocular (vs. 5), lower count of collars (10–12 vs. 12–15), number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 30–33) and the dorsal color pattern in adults (dorsal stripes broken into ocelli vs. dorsal stripes persistent throughout life). Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from E. kopetdaghica in having comparatively higher count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 48–59), collars (10–12 vs. 7) and the dorsal color and pattern in adults. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be distinguished from E. lalezharica in having a lower number of ventral scales in a single row from posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 30–33), gulars (20–33 vs. 33–40), collars (10–12 vs. 13–15), generally higher count of femoral pores (17–24 vs. 15–19), pair of chin shields/ submaxillary shields (5 vs. 4), contact of gulars with second pair of submaxillary shields (none vs. 1-2 rows) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellate vs. ocellated and striped). Apart from its peculiar distribution in the remote valley in Torghar Mountains, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be differentiated from E. montana in the following set of characters: comparatively larger size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 58.5 mm), lower count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 63–68), higher number of ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–18 vs. 13–14), infralabials (6–10 vs. 4–6), number of supralabials anterior to the subocular (5–6 vs. 4–5), generally higher count of scales separating the femoral pores (1–5 vs. 2), three scales around the penultimate phalanx of 4 th toe (vs. 4) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellated vs. striped and ocellate). Besides having a subocular scale bordering mouth and ocellate dorsal pattern, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from E. nigrocellata by its smaller size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 83.0 mm), higher count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 42–56) and the number of femoral pores on each side (17–24 vs. 11–13). E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from E. nikolskii by having a higher count of ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–18 vs. 14), lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 28–32) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellate vs. striped and ocellate). Besides the dorsal color and pattern, our new species stands distinguished from E. papenfussi by having a lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of the collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 30–33), 5–6 (mainly 6) number of scales anterior to subocular (vs. 5), generally higher count of scales separating the femoral pores (1–5 vs. 1–2). From E. regeli, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs in having three scales around the penultimate phalanx of 4 th toe (vs. four scales), higher count of gulars (20–33 vs. 14–24), ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–18 vs. 13), generally higher count of caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (22–27 vs. 17–25) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellate vs. striped and ocellate). The new species E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from E. strauchi by its distant distribution, lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 28–33), and 5–6 (mainly 6) number of scales anterior to subocular (vs. 7). From E. suphani, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs by its distant distribution, lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 29–34) and arrangement of gulars (2 rows of gulars reaching to the second pair of chin shields vs. no such arrangement). The new species E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from E. velox by its distant distribution, contact of infranasal to rostral (separated vs. in contact) and dorsal color and pattern. From E. rafiqi sp. nov., E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs in the following morphological characters: color pattern (ocellate vs. striped and ocellate), smaller size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 99.3 mm), contact of infranasal with the rostral (separated vs. in contact), lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 29–33) and generally lower count of gulars (20–33 vs. 29–33). Distribution. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. is a microendemic species with conspicuous intraspecies genetic diversity within an approximately 65 km 2 area. Currently, it is known only from the type locality and several other localities around Killa Saifullah (Kunder and Zimkai Nala, Tanishpa) and Zhob districts of northwestern Balochistan in Pakistan, approximately 60 km in aerial distance from the border with Afghanistan. Habitat and natural history. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. has a restricted distribution and is found in sympatry with E. rafiqi sp. nov. in the Torghar mountains including Kunder, Ashewat and Tanishpa. We did not find any partition of micro-habitats between E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. and E. rafiqi sp. nov. and both species thrive in the steppes or semi-deserts. The details of the ecology and sympatric flora and fauna is given in Masroor et al. (2020b). All the specimens were collected between 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. All the specimens were collected from the loamy habitat, dominated by the patches of the sand dunes at the foothills of Torghar mountains.Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on pages 58-70, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/700322
Microgecko tanishpaensis Masroor & Khisroon & Khan & Jablonski 2020, sp. nov.
No full textMicrogecko tanishpaensis sp. nov. Figs. 2–4, Tab. 1 Recommended vernacular name: Tanishpa’s dwarf gecko Pashto name: Holotype. Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) 4023, an adult female, collected from Tanishpa, Torghar, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan, Pakistan (31.19º N, 68.47º E), elevation 2378 m a.s.l., 3 September, 2018, leg. Ibad-ur-Rehman (Figs. 2, 4A,E, 5A,B). Paratypes. All the paratypes were collected from the same locality as the holotype. PMNH 3695 is adult male, 27 March, 2017, leg. Muazzam Ali Khan. PMNH 4024, adult male and PMNH 4025, a subadult, 27 August, 2018, leg. Iqbal Sher (Figs. 3, 4 B–D,F, 5C,D). Diagnosis. A large Microgecko (to at least 43.8 mm SVL) characterized by flattened head, body and tail, five scales bordering the nostril, internasal (supranasal) scales in contact with nostril and separated from each other, two pairs of postmentals, 76–84 scales around midbody, 144–156 ventral scales from the postmental to vent, 75–86 scales along dorsal midline from axilla to groin and six precloacal pores in adult male. Description of holotype. An adult female with a regenerated tail (Fig. 2A,B); neck distinct; scales of top and sides of head slightly elevated, juxtaposed, smooth, somewhat irregular in size, those of loreal region larger than those on upper sides of head and occiput (Fig. 2C), 30 across head in interorbital area counting the ciliary scales, 6 scales exclusively on interorbital bone; rostral pentagonal, wider than high with distinct median furrow, its width slightly less than twice its height; nostril between rostral, first supralabial and three nasals, area behind the nasals depressed; infranasal in contact with first supralabial; internasals (supranasals) differentiated from the surrounding scales, in contact with nostrils, separated from each other by a scale; post-supranasals smaller than internasals, separated by a pair of scales; pupil vertical, edges serrate; ear opening smaller than pupil; 11 supralabials, the first 6 anterior to eye, 7 th supralabial in contact with granules surrounding the eyes, the rest below the orbit small, the last one barely differentiated from the adjacent scales (Fig. 4A); 8 infralabials, decreasing in size posteriorly; scales on snout almost equal, larger than those on back of head; mental somewhat triangular, with round rear edge; one pair of well-developed postmentals, a smaller second pair could be differentiated, the first pair separated in midline by mental as well as by four gular scales; first pair of postmentals about half the size of mental, in contact with first infralabial; the second, smaller postmental pair less than half the size of the first pair, not in contact with infralabials (Figs. 2D, 5B); 72 gulars, flat, juxtaposed, hexagonal to polygonal, smaller than dorsals, ventral and upper head scales, not uniform in size, those on throat region are larger and subimbricate. Scales on dorsum somewhat rhomboid to irregular in shape, smooth, subimbricate, 50 across middorsum, smaller than ventrals, 78 in midline between axilla and groin, laterals little smaller than middorsals; ventrals smooth, imbricate, rhomboid, those on abdominal region are larger than those on throat, 32 across midbelly, 156 from behind the apex of mental to anterior margin of cloaca; scales of limbs and tail subimbricate, arranged more or less in rows or annuli, those on limbs similar to dorsals; adpressed forelimb reaches between eyes and snout, adpressed hindlimbs not reaching to axilla; digits angularly bent between three distal phalanges and proximal portion of the digits; subdigital lamellae under fingers and toes smooth, keel-like structures between ultimate and antepenultimate phalanges appeared as a result of desiccation of this specimen (Fig. 4E); 14 subdigital lamellae on 4 th finger, 12 under 1 st toe, 17 under 3 rd toe and 19 under 4 th toe, terminal portion of toes compressed; the regenerated tail covered above and below by smooth, rhomboid, flat, slightly imbricate scales, distinctly larger than those of dorsum and about equal in size to the ventrals, arranged in regular transverse series; precloacal region slightly damaged, six enlarged scales anterior to vent midway between insertion of limbs; tail length 35 mm, of which more than 90% is regenerated. Measurements of holotype. Snout-vent length 43.8 mm, tail length 35.0 mm (regenerated tail), head length from tip of snout to the anterior edge of ear 11.3 mm, head width 8.0 mm, head height 3.0 mm, forelimb length 11.0 mm, hindlimb length 14.8 mm, trunk length 20.7 mm (see Table 3 for detailed measurements and meristic counts). Coloration. Live specimens have saffron yellow color above, ventral surfaces dusty to cream; a chocolatecolored band from snout through eye, ears and meeting with a nuchal band; a short brownish bar on occiput; three transverse bands on dorsum between axilla and groin, the interspace between them about more than two times the width of narrow bands, another fairly small brownish spot midway between insertion of hindlimbs. Body coloration and pattern of the three paratypes (Fig. 3: PMNH 3695, 4024 & 4025) almost exactly as the holotype. Description of paratypes: The paratypes do not differ significantly from the holotype in coloration and pattern except as follows: PMNH 3695, an adult male with a regenerated tail, a desiccated and slightly damaged specimen with six well-developed precloacal pores in three-space-three configuration, separated by a scale (Fig. 3C, 4C), 10 supralabials, three scales separating the first pair of postmentals; PMNH 4024 is an adult male having six large precloacal scales bearing pits in a continuous series (Fig. 3A, 4B,D), a single scale separating the supranasals, the first pair of posmentals marginally separated by a single scale, the second pair of postmentals about half the size of the first pair, in contact with first supralabials (Figs. 5C); PMNH 4025 is a subadult with a complete original tail, a single scale separating the supranasals, the second pair of postmentals about half the size of the first pair, five crossbars on tail, width of crossbars less than half the width of the interspaces. Detailed data including metric, meristic and qualitative characters of holotype and paratypes is provided in Table 1. Etymology: The species is named after the region where the holotype was collected: Tanishpa village in the valley of the same name, Torghar Mts., Killa Saifulla District, Balochistan Province, Pakistan, by adding the Latin “-ensis” meaning ‘from’ or ‘belonging to’. Habitat and ecology: The type locality, Tanishpa, is a small village situated in the Torghar Mountains (meaning “Black Mountains”) in the Toba Kakar Range, a southern offshoot of the Himalayas, ca. 60 km from the border with Afghanistan (Fig. 1). The Torghar Mountains are very rugged semi-arid sandstone ridges with an average elevation of 2400 m and is approximately 90 km long and vary from 15 to 30 km in width. This region is characterized by having dry temperate ecology, with sparse vegetation (Fig. 6). The climate of the area is dry, with cold winters (an average mean temperature of 4°C) and warm summers (an average mean temperature 26 °C). Heavy snow often falls in winter and violent thunderstorms and dust storms occur in summer. The area receives very little precipitation with a recorded annual total between 180 mm and 270 mm (Planning and Development Department of Government of Balochistan, 2011). Occasional drought cycles are experienced which severely affect the flora and fauna of the region (Raja 2000). Shrub-steppe plant communities dominate the semi-desert landscape of the Torghar Hills. Bunchgrasses, forbs, Ephedra sp., Artemisia sp., and other shrubs occur on the upland slopes. Cargana ambigua and Tamarix sp. grows in low lying areas and streambeds where water is available. Trees are scarce, yet wild olive (Olea europea cuspidata), juniper (Juniperus excels), wild pistachio (Pistacia khinjuk), almond (Prunus brahuica) and ash (Fraxinus xanthoxyloides) are scattered across the lower slopes, and orchards are cultivated where water is sufficiently available. Overgrazing of the valleys has led to the establishment of xerophytic scrub vegetation dominated by Acacia, Artemisia, Haloxylon, and Rosa species (Frisina et al. 1998, 2002). Mammals including Capra falconeri megaceros, Ovis orientalis cycloceros, Canis lupus, Otocolobus manul, Felis silvestris ornata, Hyaena hyaena, Vulpes vulpes, Martes foina, and number of small species, such as Ochotona rufescens and Ellobius fuscocapillus and over 78 bird species have been reported from the area. The area is rich in reptiles, including the endemic taxa Laudakia melanura nasiri and Cyrtopodion rhodocauda. Other recorded species recorded in the vicinity of the type locality were: Testudo horsfieldii, Cyrtopodion watsoni, Hemidactylus persicus, Phrynocephalus scutellatus, Ablepharus pannonicus, Eremias persica, Laudakia microlepis, Trapelus agilis, Platyceps rhodorachis, Psammophis schokari, Ptyas mucosa, Macrovipera lebetina obtusa, and Pseudocerastes persicus (Woodford et al. 2004). All specimens were collected soon after dusk at about 20h00, suggesting that the species is possibly nocturnal as other species of the genus Microgecko. Specimens were caught away from the human settlements in open landscape along the dry streambed on large sandstones in the months of March and September revealing that the species activities may at least extend over this period. Such large sandstones are used by these geckos as shelter against adverse environmental conditions during periods of inactivity or hibernation. During collection, the specimens moved on the ground or climbed with great agility. Collection of only four specimens during 40 days of survey in 2017 and 2018 suggests that this is a rare, or at least rarely encountered, species. The type locality is characterized by herbaceous cover and occasional shrubs and wild olive trees. Comparison with other species of Microgecko: Microgecko tanishpaensis sp. nov. superficially resembles M. depressus but differs from it in the following characters: larger size, five scales in contact with nostril including first supralabial, rostral and three nasals (versus four in M. depressus including first supralabial, rostral and two nasals; Fig. 5A), supranasals and postsupranasals differentiated from the surrounding scales (versus not differentiated); supranasal in contact with nostril (versus not in contact; Fig. 5A), separated from each other by a scale (versus in contact), rostral pentagonal (versus quadarangular), six supralabials anterior to eye, the rest below the orbit but separated from the eye by granules (versus 4 to 5), 10–11 supralabials (versus 8–10), 144–156 GVA (versus 129–139), 76–84 scales around midbody (versus 74–76), two pairs of postmentals (versus absent or one small pair; Fig. 5B), three dark brown transverse bands on the back (versus 3–5), five transverse bands on tail (versus 6) and six precloacal pores in males (versus 2–5). Microgecko h. helenae Nikolsky and M. h. fasciatus Schmidtler & Schmidtler, both very distantly distributed in Iran, can be easily differentiated from M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. by the following combination of characters: 5–8 supralabials (versus 10–11), three supralabials reach the front edge of orbit (versus 6), one pair of postmentals (versus 2), supranasals and postsupranasals in contact or partly separated (versus always separated in M. tanishpaensis sp. nov.), 11–15 subdigital lamellae on 4 th toe (versus 17–19), 101–126 GVA (versus 144–156), 60–75 scales across midbody (versus 76–84), none or 5–7 dorsal crossbars on back edged with white color in the rear (versus 3 crossbars with no white edges) and none or 7–12 crossbars on tail (versus 5). Except for M. persicus bakhtiari Minton, Anderson & Anderson, the other two subspecies of Persian dwarf gecko M. persicus differ from M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. in having a dorsal color pattern of crossbars with posterior white margins. From the nominate subspecies M. p. persicus (Nikolsky), our new species can be distinguished by the following set of characters: 10–11 supralabials (versus 7–10), 27–30 interorbital scales (versus 16–22), 17–19 subdigital lamellae on 4 th toe (versus 13–16), 144–156 GVA (versus 117–130), 3 crossbars with no white edges (versus none or 5 dorsal crossbars on back edged posteriorly with white) and 5 crossbars on tail (versus 8–9). From M. p. bakhtiari, our new species M. tanishpaensis can be differentiated as follows: 27–30 interorbital scales (versus 18–22), 17–19 subdigital lamellae on 4 th toe (versus 12–16), 75–86 AGS (versus 57–71), 144–156 GVA (versus 113), 3 crossbars on back (versus 4–5), width of crossbars on back and tail less than half of interspaces (versus width of dorsal and caudal crossbars more than the width of interspaces), 5 crossbars on tail (versus 9–10). The eastern subspecies M. p. euphorbiacola Minton, Anderson & Anderson, can be distinguished from M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. by the following characters: first pair of postmentals mainly separated (versus the first pair of postmentals in broad contact), 27–30 interorbital scales (versus 15–20), 17–19 subdigital lamellae on 4 th toe (versus 11–16), 144–156 GVA (versus 111–130), 76–84 scales across midbody (versus 66–77), 75–86 AGS (versus 62–76), 3 dorsal crossbars on back (versus 4–5), width of dorsal crossbars less than half of interspaces (versus more than half or equal to width of interspaces) and 5 crossbars on tail (versus 6–8). Microgecko latifi Leviton & Anderson, known from its holotype, four unvouchered specimens (Anderson 1999) and two recently examined specimens (Torki 2020), can be recognized by having four scales bordering the nostril (versus 5 in M. tanishpaensis sp. nov.), no postmental scale pairs (versus 2 pairs), fewer supralabials (6–7 versus 10–11), infralabials (5 versus 8), interorbitals (16–19 versus 27–30), subdigital lamellae on 4 th toe (13–14 versus 17–19), scales around midbody (72 versus 76–84) and GVA (120 versus 144–156). The recently described M. chabaharensis Gholamifard, Rastegar-Pouyani, Rastegar-Pouyani, Khosravani, Yousefkhani & Oraei and M. varaviensis Gholamifard, Rastegar-Pouyani & Rastegar-Pouyani, can be distinguished from the M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. by exhibiting no dorsal transverse bar or having such bars indistinct. In M. varaviensis, the nostril is bordered by four scales and bears a single pair of postmentals, contrary to M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. which possesses five scales bordering nostril and two large pairs of postmentals. From M. laki, M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. can be distinguished by having 6 precloacal pores in males (versus none), nostrils separated from each other (versus in contact), two pairs of postmentals (versus one), dorsal dark crossbars without posterior white margins (versus white margins present) and higher numbers of supralabials, infralabials, interorbital scales, AGS and GVA. For additional comparison of M. tanishpaensis sp. nov. with its congeners, see Table 2.Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khisroon, Muhammad, Khan, Muazzam Ali & Jablonski, Daniel, 2020, A new species of Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Pakistan, pp. 147-164 in Zootaxa 4780 (1) on pages 149-157, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4780.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/383963
De-mystifying the Muslimah: Exploring Different Perceptions of Selected Young Muslim Women in Britain
No full textIn this research I argue that although Islam as a faith is inherently emancipatory, Muslim
women are doubly marginalised: by patriarchal interpretations of their faith within Muslim
communities and by pluralist society that often does not understand the faith-based values
and practices of Muslim women. The empowerment of Muslim women is crucial not just for
the women themselves but also for socio-political dynamics within the Muslim community
and its relationships in pluralist society. It is from this context, and acknowledging the paucity
of academic literature written by Muslim women, that I set out to give voice to them, so that
their opinions may be heard in discourses that they think are relevant to their lives. By
encouraging Muslim women to take voice and by facilitating mechanisms for these voices to
be heard, this research presents alternate narratives of Muslim women that challenge
dominant media imagery of the oppressed and subjugated Muslim woman. These narratives,
which are by and for Muslim women, portray instead the inherent diversity in the category
'Muslim woman' and thus add more facets to the category 'woman'.
I used an ethnographic methodology that involved participants as contributors in the creation
of new knowledge. Semi-structured interviews with 45 young university-educated Muslim
women and 7 group discussions were used as initial data-gathering tools. The penultimate
ethnographic stage involved Muslim women creating 3-minute long self-representational
digital stories (DSTs), which consist of an autobiographical narrative accompanied by still
pictures. This was a process of self-reflection for the women and an opportunity to take voice
and to be heard. The subsequent screening of these DSTs to audiences who were not
Muslim resulted in discussion and active debate about the reasons for prevalent
(mis)understandings of Muslim women and stereotypes were challenged. In its initiation of
more balanced representations of Muslim women this research empowers Muslim women,
and by contributing to dialogue and cohesion it also empowers pluralist society as a whole.
This research clarifies the overlapping priorities and identities of young British Muslim
women and initiates new discourses, as narrated by the women, on subjects including
religious interpretation and practice, feminism, media representation and social cohesion. In
the research findings I propose an evolving British-Muslim identity among Muslim youth (in
this case young women) which is distinct from that of their parents; a theological articulation
of a 'feminist' struggle for women's rights; and the need to engage with the media and others
to create positive representations of Muslim women. Experiences with DSTs indicate the
potential of personal narratives and interaction for the purposes of inter-community dialogue
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