Investigation of the Fauna of Lizards in the Dodangeh Wildlife Sanctuary in Mazandaran Province, Iran

With its special ecological zones and various habitats, Iran shows a considerable variety of reptiles, among which the largest variety is related to lizards. The purpose of this study is to investigate the lizard fauna of the Dodangeh Wildlife Sanctuary in Mazandaran province. With an area of 15,673 hectares, DWR is located about 95 kilometers southeast of Sari, Mazandaran. Samples were collected and analyzed from April 2017 to the end of November 2017, and their metric and meristic traits were investigated. In this research, 54 lizard samples were collected. In total, seven lizard species from seven genera and five families, including Paralaudakia caucasia in the Agamidae, Anguis colchica, and Pseudopus apodus in the Anguidae, Tenuidactylus caspius in the Gekkonidae, Ablepharus pannonicus in the Sincidae, Darevskia caspica and Lacerta strigata in the Lacertidae family were identified. The Lacertidae had the most abundance among the families. Among the species, Darevskia caspica showed the highest frequency (24%) and Anguis colchica showed the lowest frequency (6%). Also, the images and key identification of species of the Dodangeh Wildlife Sanctuary were prepared. Considering the increasing development of human activities in the study area, the conservation value of lizards needs more attention.