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Abstract Steudner's dwarf gecko, Tropiocolotes steudneri (Peters, 1869) and the yellow-bellied house gecko, Hemidactylus flaviviridis Rüppell, 1840 were recorded for the first time from Fars Province in southern Iran. During a herpetofaunal survey in November 2006, a single subadult specimen of T. steudneri was collected from Deh Kohneh in southwestern Fars. In November 2007 and May 2008, two specimens of H. flaviviridis were collected from Ghaleh Seied in western Fars, respectively. The collection locations of the two new records are well outside the known distribution ranges of the two species in Iran.
Keywords lizard, new record, distribution, Iranian Plateau, gecko
The dwarf geckos of the genus Tropiocolotes Peters, 1880 are a group of tiny geckonids occurring in the Middle East region (Anderson, 1999; Rastegar-Pouyani et al, 2006, 2007). The main characteristics of these small lizards are described as follows: nocturnal habits; small size (snout-vent length, rarely exceeding 35 mm); slightly angularly bent digits not dilated, not fringed, not webbed, not ornamented, and covered below with a single series of transverse lamellae; uniform, small, homogenous, imbricate to subimbricate dorsal scales; vertical pupil; presence of postanal sacs (Leviton et al, 1992; Anderson, 1999; Rastegar-Pouyani et al, 2006, 2007); usually absence of preanal and femoral pores (two preanal pores in adult male of T. depressus according to Minton and Anderson, 1965 and in male T. steudneri Anderson, 1999). The distribution range of Tropiocolotes ranges from the western Sahara across to northern Africa and to Israel, Sinai, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan (Anderson, 1999; Rastegar-Pouyani et al, 2006, 2007). Steudner's dwarf gecko, Tropiocolotes steudneri, has been reported to have a distribution ranging from Ethiopia, Sudan, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel to Iran (Rastegar-Pouyani et al, 2006, 2007).
The leaf-toed geckos of the genus Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 are a group of geckonids occurring in Africa, southern Europe, southern Asia, Oceania and tropical America. It is now understood that this genus consists of approximately 90 currently recognized species and has its main centre of speciation in Somalia and its adjoining areas (Sindaco et al, 2007, 2009). Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea host more than 40 species of Hemidactylus, most of which are endemics. Their main characteristics are: mainly nocturnal; largely insectivorous; pupil vertical; dorsal scales granular, subimbricate, uniform,...