Modelling the potential distribution of Mesalina watsonana (Stoliczka, 1872) (Reptilia: Lacertidae) on the Iranian Plateau

Abstract

The Persian Long-tailed Desert Lizard, Mesalina watsonana, is one of the most common and most widely distributed lizards on the Iranian Plateau extending from Iran to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The species is frequently encountered in various types of habitats. We collected over 600 distributional records from available literature, museum collections, and our own field work and used bioclimatic and land cover characteristics to develop a model of potential distribution for M. watsonana. According to the model, the most important factors limiting the distribution of M. watsonana are: precipitation in wettest quarter exceeding 250–300 mm, precipitation in coldest quarter lower than 40 mm and exceeding 250 mm, altitudes above 2500 m and slopes steeper than 10.5°. The model suggests that most of the Iranian Plateau is suitable for the species except for some isolated areas such as the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in Iran, Helmand basin in Afghanistan, the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, the western Chagai-Kharan deserts of Pakistani Balochistan, and Thar and Cholistan deserts in eastern Pakistan. The most important factor in these regions appears to be the extremely low rainfall during coldest quarter of the year. The outer boundary of the distribution of M. watsonana follows important biogeographic barriers that are also clearly delimited by climatic conditions.

Keywords:

• Middle East
• Iran
• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• Maxent
• habitat suitability
• potential distribution

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the following museum curators for providing access to museum collection catalogues: Patrick Campbell (BMNH), Heinz Grillitsch (NHMW), Jiří Moravec (NMP); and Roberto Sindaco for providing museum catalogues (MZUF, MRSN) and for distribution data from publications difficult for us to access. We thank Hamzeh Oraei, Azar Khosravani, Ali Khani, Aghil Keyvanlou, Mojtaba Ranayi, Ali Rahimi, Mohammad Zarrintab, Saleh Mahmoudi, Yaser Gholami, Hamzeh Sajed, Ali Rezaei and Karam Sheykhi for their help with the field work. Philip de Pous kindly provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript. We are indebted to David Cundall for correcting and improving the English of the manuscript. Our special thanks go out to Mohammad Hosseinian and Hadi Mollaei, who assisted during all field work as drivers. We thank the Hakim Sabzevari University authorities for financial support of the field work in Iran. The work of JS was financially supported by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic (DKRVO2013/14, National Museum, 00023272).