The genus Mediodactylus has been repeatedly reclassified, with Carinatogekko sometimes treated as a separate genus and sometimes as a synonym. Iranian thin-toed geckos are especially problematic because many taxa were described from few specimens, comparative material is fragmentary, and molecular sampling remains uneven. The Zagros Mountains are a hotspot of reptile endemism and diversification, yet central Iranian populations have received far less attention. Conflicting morphological diagnoses, possible cryptic diversity and unstable generic limits have kept the group's taxonomy in flux. Based on these challenges, deeper integrative research is needed on under-sampled Iranian Mediodactylus populations, especially in central Iran and the Zagros.
Researchers from Hakim Sabzevari University, Aria Herpetological Institute, Moscow State University and partner Iranian institutions published (DOI: 10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2025.0063) the findings in Asian Herpetological Research on 04 June 2026. The paper describes Mediodactylus veshnavahensis sp. nov. from Veshnavah village and compares it with Iranian and extra-Iranian congeners using 17 morphological characters, head-shape landmarks and a 629-base-pair mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cytb) fragment. The team also reports phylogenetic placement and provides an identification key for Iranian species. The species is known so far only from the type locality.
The new species was collected at night on thatched and cement walls in Veshnavah village, about 60 kilometers southeast of Qom, and has not been found in neighboring natural mountain habitats. Diagnostic features include a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) of 41.5 millimeters, smooth ventral and gular scales, three pairs of postmentals with the first pair in contact, and six narrow black crossbars between the limbs; the tail carries 12–14 dark crossbars. It differs from M. stevenandersoni, its closest morphological look-alike, by keeled subcaudal scales, 19–21 smooth subdigital lamellae under the fourth toe and 10–12 rows of enlarged dorsal tubercles. Geometric morphometrics separated the Qom population by the arrangement and relative area of mental and postmental plates. In the mitochondrial tree, the population forms a strongly supported subclade (posterior probability 100%) within the western Iranian clade. Its uncorrected pairwise Cytb divergence is at least 8.2% from other sampled Mediodactylus and more than 19% from M. stevenandersoni. The type series includes males, females and a subadult; the species currently lacks precloacal or femoral pores. The authors also flag unstable generic boundaries and recommend broader sampling across central Iran and the Zagros.
The authors said the Qom gecko is a reminder that cryptic diversity can persist close to people. They described the population as genetically distinct but morphologically close to M. stevenandersoni, and said that DNA, scale geometry and field surveys were most useful when combined. They also said the species’ reliance on old village walls makes rural development a factor worth watching, even though no immediate conservation action is required. They said the finding supports broader integrated surveys rather than single-character taxonomy.
The finding has implications beyond one species. It shows that old rural structures can act as stable microhabitats for reptiles and that development replacing thatched or cement walls could affect local populations. Because the gecko is known only from the type locality, long-term monitoring and targeted surveys in nearby settlements are warranted. The study also strengthens the case for integrated taxonomy in Iran, where morphological similarity can mask deep mitochondrial divergence. More broadly, it suggests that central Iran and the Zagros may still hold unrecognized endemic lineages, and that conservation planning should account for human-modified habitats as well as natural mountain terrain.
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References
DOI
10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2025.0063
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.3724/ahr.2095-0357.2025.0063
Funding information
Iran National Science Foundation (INSF), proposal number 4003852
About Asian Herpetological Research
Asian Herpetological Research (AHR), an international English language journal, is published quarterly by the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CIB), and the Science Press of China, cooperated with the Asiatic Herpetological Research Society (AHRS), with its registered numbers：CN 51-1735/Q and ISSN 2095-0357. The scope of the journal includes all contemporary herpetological research areas including taxonomy, fauna, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, evolution, zoogeography, physiology, ecology, toxicology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles.
AHR aims to provide a forum for herpetologists and related scientists interested in conducting international academic exchanges and joint studies, and a platform for introducing their newly made scientific and technological data, and publishing their research results and achievements in the world, but focusing on the Asian-Pacific Region.