Occurrence of Scincus conirostris (Squamata: Sauria, Scincidae) on Sheedvar Island: Insights from preliminary mitochondrial analysis

Articles in Press

Document Type : Short Communications

Authors

Hamzeh Oraie ¹

Asghar Mobaraki ²

¹ Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

² Natural Environment Deputy, Wildlife Conservation and Management Bureau, Department of Environment, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/ijab.2026.100700.1134

Abstract

The scincid lizard, Scincus conirostris Blanford, 1881, is distributed across the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, but Iranian populations were not included in the most recent multi-locus systematic revision, leaving their phylogenetic placement unresolved. Here, we report the first record of S. conirostris from Sheedvar Island and the first record from any Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. Partial mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome b sequences from two voucher specimens were analyzed phylogenetically. The Sheedvar Island specimens were recovered within the S. conirostris sensu lato clade, which includes specimens from the UAE and Oman and is sister to S. hemprichii. High mitochondrial divergence separates Iranian and Arabian populations (ca. 9.0% in cyt b and 4.0% in 16S uncorrected p-distance). However, reciprocal monophyly was poorly supported (UFBoot = 42.4; BPP = 0.66). These results highlight the need for further sampling and investigation in the region.



































===========================

Scincus conirostris Blanford, 1881, is distributed across the Arabian Peninsula

Keywords

Iranian Islands

Scincidae

mtDNA

sandfish skinks

taxonomy

Subjects

• Molecular Systematics

---