Ablepharus bivittatus (Ménétriés, 1832)

LECTOTYPE. ZIL 565, designated by Eremchenko & Szczerbak (1986).

TYPE LOCALITY. Perimbal [Pirimbel], Talysh Mountains, Azerbaijan.

DISTRIBUTION. Extreme E Anatolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, N Iran, Turkmenistan.

DISTRIBUTION IN IRAN. Fig. 127. N and NW of the country (West and East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Kordestan, Mazandaran, Semnan, North Khorasan Prov.); there is an isolated record from northern Fars Prov. reported by Blanford (1876) .

HABITAT. Dry, steep loose rocky slopes and open plains with scattered bushes that are used as a refuge.

REMARKS. Although population density of A. bivittatus can be high in suitable habitats (Ahmadzadeh et al. 2008), rare encounters imply a rather secretive mode of life of this lizard. Its occurrence is expected to be more continuous along the Zagros Mountains.

REFERENCES. Strauch (1867); Anderson (1999); Poulakakis et al. (2005); Ilgaz et al. (2007).