 |
| Darevskia aghasyani Tuniyev & Petrova, 2019 |
Abstract
A new species of rock lizards of the genus Darevskia Arribas, 1997 – Darevskia aghasyani sp. nov. is described from Urts Ridge in Southern Armenia. This species is characterized by a combination of the following characters: small size L – 49–54 mm, L. cd – 107, Sq – 52–56, Ventr – 26–27, G – 24, P. g. – 32–34, P. fm. – 18–20; it is painted in brownish-beige tones from above; the belly is whitish in both sexes, males in the anal area have yellow with ochre femoral pores; bluish spots appear on the edge of the outer ventral shields at the middle of trunk through one shield; on the sides of the trunk (chest area) there are two blue spots in males and one in females; rostral is separated from frontonasal by nasal shields and it does not touch the nostril; upper postocular is twice wider than upper temporal shield; posterior temporal shields are not pronounced, or slightly pronounced; in front of central temporal (Massetericum), there is one enlarged temporal shield; along the throat from ear to ear fold there are 32-34 scales; two large preanal shields present in front of the anal shield. A comparison of Darevskia aghasyani sp. nov. with other species of the genus from Armenia and representatives of “raddei” complex from neighboring regions of Turkey and Iran (Darevskia dahli (Darevsky, 1957), D. unisexualis (Darevsky, 1966), D. raddei (Boettger, 1892), D. raddei vanensis (Eiselt et al., 1993), D. nairensis (Darevsky, 1967), and D. defilippii (Camerano, 1877)) is given. Conservation status of taxa assessed as CR B2ac(iv) "CRITICALLY ENDANGERED".
Key words: conservation assessment, Darevskia aghasyani sp. nov., South Armenia, Urts Ridge
 |
| Holotype of Darevskia aghasyani sp. nov. |
 |
| View of dorsal (A) and ventral (B) sides of the type specimens of Darevskia aghasyani sp. nov., top – male (holotype – SNP No. 1770a), the female below (paratype – SNP No. 1770b). |
 |
| Pholidosis and coloration of anal and perianal area of the holotype of Darevskia aghasyani sp. nov. |
Family Lacertidae Bonaparte, 1831
Genus Darevskia Arribas, 1997
Darevskia aghasyani Tuniyev et Petrova sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Small sized lizard. It is painted in brownish-beige tones from above (Fig. 4A). The belly is whitish in both sexes, males have yellow with ochre femoral pores in the anal area (Fig. 4B). Bluish spots appear on the edge of the outer ventral shields at the middle of the trunk through one shield. On the sides of the trunk (chest area) there are two blue spots in males and one in females. Rostral is separated from frontonasal by nasal shields and it does not touch the nostril. Upper postocular is twice wider than upper temporal shield. Posterior temporal shields are not pronounced, or slightly pronounced. In front of central temporal (Massetericum), there is one enlarged temporal shield. Along the throat from ear to ear fold there are 32–34 scales. Two large preanal shields present in front of the anal shield.
Etymology. The species is named in honor of the
famous herpetologist – Aram Levonovich Aghasyan,
who studies reptiles of Armenia and has made a huge
contribution to the development of protected areas
(econet) of Armenia.
B.S. Tuniyev and T.V. Petrova. 2019. A New lizard Species of the Genus Darevskia Arribas, 1997 from Southern Armenia. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS. 323(2); 136–148. DOI: 10.31610/trudyzin/2019.323.2.136
