Laudakia erythrogaster (Nikolski, 1896)

LECTOTYPE. ZISP 8760, designated by Rastegar-Pouyani & Nilson (2002).

TYPE LOCALITY. Originally Kalender-Abad and Fariman, Khorasan Razavi Prov., Iran (Nikolsky 1896). Restricted to Fariman by Rastegar-Pouyani & Nilson (2002) by lectotype designation.

DISTRIBUTION. NE Iran, SE Turkmenistan and NW Afghanistan.

DISTRIBUTION IN IRAN. Fig. 8. Eastern part of Khorasan Razavi Prov., one locality in Northern Khorasan Prov.

HABITAT. Unlike other members of the genus, L. erythrogaster avoids vertical slopes and rocky outcrops. Instead it is found on clayey and sandy substrates in areas up to 1800 m wherever there are colonies of gerbils ( Rhombomys), whose burrows serve as retreats for the lizards (Anderson 1999).

REMARKS. A sister species to L. caucasia (Macey et al. 2000a; Edwards & Melville 2011; Pyron et al. 2013). REFERENCES. Anderson (1999); Rastegar-Pouyani & Nilson (2002); Aghili et al. (2010).