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The present work provides a list of all amphibians and reptiles recorded from Iraq up to 2014. It includes 115 species (105 species of reptiles and 10 species of amphibians) dating back to 25 families (20 families of reptiles and 5 families of amphibians). Conservation status of each species was mentioned.

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An extensive review on the taxonomic status, occurrence, geographical distribution, and the IUCN conservation status of 122 species/taxa (10 amphibians and 112 reptiles) belonging to 71 genera (8 genera of amphibians and 63 of reptiles) and to 25 families (5 families of amphibians and 20 families of reptiles) was made. As a part of Iraq’s unique biota, the knowledge of the herpetofauna of Iraq is poorly discovered and requires extensive field surveys, further research, and explorations in order to create full frame knowledge of its status and conservation.

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Thirty-two species of amphibians and reptiles were reported during this study, including 16 families (Ranidae, Geoemydidae, Cheloniidae, Gekkonidae, Sphaerodactylidae, Phyllodactylidae, Agamidae, Lacertidae, Scincidae, Varanidae, Trogonophidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Psammophiidae, Viperidae and Elapidae). Family Geckkonidae was represented by the highest number of species (8), followed by families Agamidae and Scincidae (four species for each). Trachylepis tessellata is reported for the first time to the herpetofauna of Saudi Arabia.

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The ultrastructure of the nuclei in the ovarian follicular cells has been examined in the lizards Acanthodacylus scutellatus hardyi, and Eremias brevirostris. During certain growth stages, the nuclei of the intermediate and the pyriform cells become large and conspicuous, and usually contain numerous morphologically variable nucleoli. The latter may be nucleolonemal, compact, ring-shaped, “filamentous”, “fine-filamentous”, “amorphous” or “course-granular” in type, and the number and type in each nucleus seems to be related to the developmental stage. The type of nucleolus may indicate different phases of activity in the nucleus and may also suggest an association with the production of different types of RNA.

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The lizard fauna of Jordan is very diverse and forms 55.5% of the terrestrial herpetofauna of the country. Lizard species of Arabian origin form the highest percentage (43%) of the lizards, followed by Saharo-Sindian (35%), Palaearctic (20%) and only 2% with Afrotropical affinities. 69.1% of the lizard species inhabit two ecozones: Badia (Eastern Desert); and Wadi Araba and Wadi Rum. The Badia may form the focal point for the evolution of certain Acanthodactylus species. Jordan forms the southernmost limit of the distribution of some Palaearctic species (i.e. Lacerta media, L. laevis, Pseudopus apodus) and they inhabit the Mediterranean ecozone. The presence of diverse habitats in Jordan allowed certain allopatric congeneric species of the genus Ptyodactylus to live in isolation from one another. Southern Jordan and Wadi Rum are part of the Levantine land bridge and act as a “biogeographical filter”. Most of the species found in Wadi Rum are of Arabian affinities and their distribution does not extend towards the west.

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Mitochondrial DNA sequences consisting of 645 sites from the 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes were used to estimate the phylogeny of 15 of the 32 species of spiny-footed lizards Acanthodactylus. The resultant tree has similarities to that produced from a differentially weighted data set of 32 morphological characters but there are also significant differences. However, combined analysis of molecular and morphological data sets produces the same tree topology as DNA sequence alone. The molecular data confirm that there are distinct eastern and western clades within Acanthodactylus, but place A. boskianus in the former while the A. scutellatus group constitutes a third clade. Species for which only morphological information is available were integrated with the combined tree to give a provisional phylogeny for 31 species. This phylogeny indicates that the ancestor of existing Acanthodactylus probably originated in south-west Asia and that North Africa was invaded by more than one lineage of the genus. It also suggests that soft aeolian sand habitats may have been independently occupied more than once. Molecular data provide independent evidence that the differential weighting of morphological characters in past analyses was appropriate.

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The distribution of herpetofauna on the Arabian Peninsula is generally poorly known, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The King Abdulaziz Royal Nature Reserve (KARNR) in east-central Saudi Arabia is in an area predicted to have high reptile species richness, yet there is no baseline reptile checklist for the reserve. Knowing which species occur within a protected area is vital for ensuring that conservation strategies and long-term monitoring are effective. Here, we provide the first detailed list of reptile fauna occurring in the KARNR. This study recorded a total of 31 species from 1,551 observations, including 25 lizards and six snakes. A desktop study identified three additional species, bringing the total number of herpetofaunal species known in the KARNR to 34. Two of the species found in the reserve are of conservation concern: Uromastyx aegyptia (VU) and Tropiocolotes wolfgangboehmei (DD). Through species accumulation curves we were able to determine that the sampling methods implemented during the survey were adequate, and we predicted that the species richness of the reserve is likely as much as 38 species. Prior to this study, only 82 reptile records (30 species) were known from the study area, so we add a significant number of new records to the reserve and an additional four species that were previously unknown from the region.

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Jordan has a very diversified morphology, which is reflected also in the diversity of its herpetofauna. A total 90 amphibian and reptilian species is known to inhabit Jordan. Of those three are amphibians, with the fourth species most probably already extinct, 47 are lizard species, 35 are snake species and five turtle species. The amphibians are represented by three different families, lizards and snakes both by seven families and turtles by four families. The distribution, ecology and systematics for most species are given.

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Acanthodactylus hardyi Haas, 1957 has traditionally been treated as a subspecies of the widely distributed A. scutellatus, but was recently elevated to specific rank. The occurrence of A. hardyi in Jordan was discovered very recently. Four specimens collected from Batn al Ghul and Al Hazim have the diagnostic features of A. hardyi and are therefore assigned to this taxon. This finding is considered as further proof of the validity of the taxon and of its recognition at the specific level. Ecological requirements and niche partitioning are discussed in the light of the co- occurrence of A. hardyi with A. schmidti and/or A. opheodurus.

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Acanthodactylus lizards are among the most diverse and widespread diurnal reptiles in the arid regions spanning from North Africa across to western India. Acanthodactylus constitutes the most species-rich genus in the family Lacertidae, with over 40 recognized species inhabiting a wide variety of dry habitats. The genus has seldom undergone taxonomic revisions, and although there are a number of described species and species-groups, their boundaries as well as their interspecific relationships are largely unresolved. We constructed a multilocus phylogeny, combining data from two mitochondrial (12S, cytb) and three nuclear (MC1R, ACM4, c-mos) markers for 302 individuals belonging to 36 known species, providing the first large-scale time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the genus. We evaluated phylogenetic relationships between and within species-groups, and assessed Acanthodactylus biogeography across its known range. Acanthodactylus cladogenesis is estimated to have originated in Africa due to vicariance and dispersal events from the Oligocene onwards. Radiation started with the separation into three clades: the Western and scutellatus clades largely distributed in North Africa, and the Eastern clade occurring mostly from Arabia to south-west Asia. Most Acanthodactylus species diverged during the Miocene, possibly as a result of regional geological instability and climatic changes. We support most of the current taxonomic classifications and phylogenetic relationships, and provide genetic validity for most species. We reveal a new distinct blanfordii species-group, suggest new phylogenetic positions (A. hardyi, A. masirae), and synonymize several species and subspecies (A. lineomaculatus, A. boskianus khattensis and A. b. nigeriensis) with their phylogenetically closely-related species. We recommend a thorough systematic revision of taxa exhibiting high levels of intraspecific variability as well as clear evidence of phylogenetic complexity such as A. guineensis, A. grandis, A. dumerilii, and A. senegalensis and the pardalis and erythrurus species-groups.