Preliminary Faunistics study of lizards in Serisha-Gouji protected area of Torbat-Heydariyeh in Khorasan Razavi Province, northeast Iran

Protected area of Serisha-Gouji with an approximate area of 100 square kilometers is located in north of Torbat Heydarieh city of Khorasan Razavi province. Its minimum height is 1482 m above sea level and its maximum height is 2522 m. In this field study, which was conducted in the spring and summer of 2011, the area was divided into 8 stations and identified by sampling in a survey of lizards. A total of 75 samples were collected which were identified after transfer to the laboratory using valid keys and metric and meristic traits. The identified species were: Paralaudakia caucasia, Paralaudakia microlepis, Paralaudakia erythrogastra, Trapelus agilis and Trapelus megalonyx from the Agamidae family; Cyrtopodion scabrum from the Gekkonidae family; Eremias persica; Eremias fasciata; Mesalina watsonana from the Lacertidae family; and Eumeces schneiderii princeps From the family of Scincidae. The most frequent species is Laudakia caucasia.