A new distribution record of Eirenis walteri (Boettger, 1888) (Ophidia: Colubridae), In Yazd province, Central Iran

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

1 Yazd Provincial Office of Department of Environment,Daneshjoo Boulevard, Yazd, Iran

2 Department of Biology, Faculty of science, Ferdowsi university of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

3 Pars Herpetologists Institute, 1st Floor, No. 5, Corner of thirdJahad alley, Arash Street, Jalal-e Ale-Ahmad Boulevard,Tehran, Iran

4 Venomous Animals and Antivenom Production Department, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, AgriculturalResearch, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

10.32592/ARI.2024.79.6.1375

Abstract

Eirenis is one of the genus of snakes of the Colubridae family in Iran, all of which are small in size and their maximum body length is 90 cm. The snakes of this family are close to the snakes of the genus Dolicophis and Hierophis. This is because the snakes of these two species have large sizes. Therefore, these genera share a common ancestor, so it can be concluded that pygmy snakes evolved from larger snakes.
One of the species of this family is Eirenis walteri Rajabizadeh et al., 2014, the specimen was collected by field investigation and after identification, it was included in the snake fauna list of Yazd province for the first time. According to the Specimen and report in this research during June 2019, this species of snake was included in the checklist of snakes in Yazd province.
Considering that the distribution of the genus Eirenis in Iran is associated with a great challenge, therefore new reports of the distribution of its species can provide an accurate map of the distribution of the species of this genus.
Eirenis walteri is distributed throughout eastern Iran, and in this study, the first distribution record of Eirenis walteri in Bafaq mountain protected area, Qatrum village (Bafaq city), Yazd province, Iran is presented. Therefore, we can prepare a distribution map of Eirenis walteri with data collected by direct observation. Examining Eirenis walteri populations and their distribution range helps us to distinguish between them. Now we are sure of the wide distribution of this taxon in the central and eastern regions of Iran.
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Archives of Razi Institute
Volume 79, Issue 6
November and December 2024
Pages 1375-1380

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