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TAXONOMIC PLACEMENT OF NANORANA ARUNACHALENSIS Besides, our 16S phylogeny and estimates of genetic distances revealed the misclassification of Nanorana arunachalensis. This species had been described as Odorrana arunachalensis (Saikia et al., 2017) but was recently reassigned to Nanorana based on morphological considerations (Qi et al., 2019). We here used the 16S sequence data of two vouchers (ZSIS-M37: MN496464 and ZSIS-M40: MN636773) from the type locality that were uploaded to GenBank (https://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/) in September 2019 by Saikia and colleagues, probably in response to the reassignment proposed by Qi et al. (2019). Based on our data, the species should be reclassified into Odorrana Fei et al., 1990 as long as there are no further molecular and morphological data that support a classification into another genus., Published as part of Hofmann, Sylvia, Schmidt, Joachim, Masroor, Rafaqat, Borkin, Leo J, Litvintchuk, Spartak, Rödder, Dennis, Vershinin, Vladimir & Jablonski, Daniel, 2023, Endemic lineages of spiny frogs demonstrate the biogeographic importance and conservational needs of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, pp. 310-325 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 (1) on page 319, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac113, http://zenodo.org/record/7929815, {"references":["Saikia B, Sinha B, Kharkongor IJ. 2017. Odorrana arunachalensis: a new species of cascade frog (Anura: Ranidae) from Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Bioresources 4: 30 - 41.","Qi S, Zhou ZY, Lu YY, Li JL, Qin HH, Hou M, Zhang Y, Ma J, Li PP. 2019. A new species of Nanorana (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from southern Tibet, China. Russian Journal of Herpetology 26: 159 - 174."]}

GENETIC DIVERSITY OF ALLOPAA HAZARENSIS In contrast to the deeply divergent clades in the phylogeny of the spiny frogs, genetic diversity of Allopaa hazarensis across its known range is small and without a clear distribution pattern of haplotypes, according to their geographic origin. Major haplotypes are present at multiple localities. However, the Indus seems to act as physical barrier, limiting gene flow between populations. The relatively high haplotype and low nucleotide diversity suggest a recent expansion of the species. This is supported by the higher number of unique haplotypes in relation to all haplotypes (Slatkin & Hudson, 1991; Fu, 1997), although this is influenced by sample sizes. Most likely, all of these haplotypes originated from the respective predominant ancestral haplotypes after the expected population expansion. Such a pattern and interpretation has been reported before for other amphibians (Garcia-Gonzalez et al., 2012; Greenwald et al., 2020). Overall, neither genetic distances, nor haplotype networks and nucleotide variability indicate potential cryptic diversity within A. hazarensis. In general, the networks suffer from the low number of sampling sites and, therefore, we consider these results only as preliminary. Because amphibians are predominantly site-loyal and of low vagility (Vences & Wake, 2007; da Fonte et al., 2019), and since Allopaa is highly adapted for a semi-aquatic lifestyle in mountain streams, we assume that colonization by A. hazarensis is mainly facilitated through (small) aquatic corridors (e.g. by rafting), not via terrestrial dispersal routes. Movement of A. hazarensis in natural habitats has recently been addressed using radio transmitters, suggesting almost no overland dispersal (Akram et al., 2022) and movement distances of only a few meters. However, in this study data collection was limited to only eight days in September, and almost 40% of the transmitters were lost during that time, rendering the results less conclusive. Noteworthy, according to some authors [e.g. Frost (2022) and references therein], the genus Allopaa consists of two species, A. hazarensis and Allopaa barmoachensis (Khan & Tasnim, 1989), the latter originally described as Rana barmoachensis Khan & Tasnim, 1989. Based on morphological examination of the holotype, Dubois (1992) and repeatedly Ohler and Dubois (2006) considered this taxon as a junior synonym of hazarensis (as Paa). Given these data, as well as the geographical proximity of the type locality of A. barmoachensis to the main distribution range of A. hazarensis (and an even similar elevation of the species records), we tentatively agree with the opinion that A. barmoachensis is a synonym of A. hazarensis. However, molecular and additional morphological data are required to verify that conclusion., Published as part of Hofmann, Sylvia, Schmidt, Joachim, Masroor, Rafaqat, Borkin, Leo J, Litvintchuk, Spartak, Rödder, Dennis, Vershinin, Vladimir & Jablonski, Daniel, 2023, Endemic lineages of spiny frogs demonstrate the biogeographic importance and conservational needs of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, pp. 310-325 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198 (1) on page 319, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac113, http://zenodo.org/record/7929815, {"references":["Slatkin M, Hudson RR. 1991. Pairwise comparisons of mitochondrial DNA sequences in stable and exponentially growing populations. Genetics 129: 555 - 562.","Fu YX. 1997. Statistical tests of neutrality of mutations against population growth, hitchhiking and background selection. Genetics 147: 915 - 925.","Garcia-Gonzalez C, Campo D, Pola IG, Garcia-Vazquez E. 2012. Rural road networks as barriers to gene flow for amphibians: species-dependent mitigation by traffic calming. Landscape and Urban Planning 104: 171 - 180.","Greenwald K, Stedman A, Mifsud D, Stapleton M, Larson K, Chellman I, Parrish DL, Kilpatrick CW. 2020. Phylogeographic analysis of mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus). Journal of Herpetology 54: 78 - 86.","Vences M, Wake DB. 2007. Speciation, species boundaries and phylogeography of amphibian. In: Heatwole HH, Tyler","da Fonte LFM, Mayer M, Lotters S. 2019. Long-distance dispersal in amphibians. Frontiers of Biogeography 11: e 44577.","Akram A, Rais M, Saeed M, Ahmed W, Gill S, Haider J. 2022. Movement paradigm for Hazara torrent frog Allopaa hazarensis and Murree Hills frog Nanorana Vicina (Anura: Dicroglossidae). BiodiVersity Data Journal 10: e 84365.","Frost DR. 2022. Amphibian species of the aeorld: an online reference, V. 6.1. Electronic database. New York: American Museum of Natural History.","Dubois A. 1992. Notes sur la classification des Ranidae (Amphibiens Anoures). Bulletin Mensuel de la Societe Linneenne de Lyon 61: 305 - 352.","Ohler A, Dubois A. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships and generic taxonomy of the tribe Paini (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae, Dicroglossinae), with diagnoses of two new genera. Zoosystema 28: 769 - 784."]}

Takhar Province of Afghanistan was previously known to harbour only two species of amphibians and eight species of reptiles with no record of snake species. From 2020 to 2021, we collected herpetological data from the Province and identified 14 species and specimens representing species complexes (Bufotes viridis complex and Trapelus agilis complex), with first records of Testudo horsfieldii (Testudinidae), Paralaudakia badakhshana (Agamidae), Pseudopus apodus (Anguidae), Tenuidactylus caspius (Gekkonidae), Eumeces schneideri (Scincidae) and Varanus griseus (Varanidae). In addition, we report the first province records of snakes, including Eryx tataricus (Erycidae), Hemorrhois ravergieri (Colubridae), Natrix tessellata (Natricidae) and the venomous species Naja oxiana (Elapidae). These records connect and supplement previously obtained data of these species from surrounding provinces and neighbouring countries. Our data reveal that Takhar Province is home to at least 20 species of amphibians and reptiles with a strong affiliation to the Turanian chorotype. All these data are a significant source of information for the diversity of herpetofauna in Afghanistan and subsequent biodiversity research in the Central Asiatic region.

Takhar Province of Afghanistan was previously known to harbour only two species of amphibians and eight species of reptiles with no record of snake species. From 2020 to 2021, we collected herpetological data from the Province and identified 14 species and specimens representing species complexes (Bufotes viridis complex and Trapelus agilis complex), with first records of Testudo horsfieldii (Testudinidae), Paralaudakia badakhshana (Agamidae), Pseudopus apodus (Anguidae), Tenuidactylus caspius (Gekkonidae), Eumeces schneideri (Scincidae) and Varanus griseus (Varanidae). In addition, we report the first province records of snakes, including Eryx tataricus (Erycidae), Hemorrhois ravergieri (Colubridae), Natrix tessellata (Natricidae) and the venomous species Naja oxiana (Elapidae). These records connect and supplement previously obtained data of these species from surrounding provinces and neighbouring countries. Our data reveal that Takhar Province is home to at least 20 species of amphibians and reptiles with a strong affiliation to the Turanian chorotype. All these data are a significant source of information for the diversity of herpetofauna in Afghanistan and subsequent biodiversity research in the Central Asiatic region.

Identification key to the Pakistani species of the genus Eremias (modified from Masroor et al. 2020a) 1. Subocular bordering mouth............................................................................. 2 - Subocular not bordering mouth................................................................ E. acutirostris 2. A complete row of lateral scales of the 4 th toe forming a distinct fringe or comb on its entire length..................... 3 - Lateral scales of 4 th toe not forming distinct fringe........................................................... 4 3. Row of femoral pores reaches well short of the knee; the median dark dorsal stripes interrupted and form reticulate pattern.............................................................................................. E. scripta - Row of femoral pores reaches to knee; dorsal stripes without any sign of vermiculation................... E. cholistanica 4. Back with 5–11 dark stripes, broader than interspaces, none of the stripes containing light ocelli or spots; stripes persistent in adults, but sometimes indistinct so that back appears almost uniform sandy; usually only single median collar scale distinctly larger than adjacent gulars.............................................................................. 5 - Dark stripes on the dorsum of juvenile breaking up in adults to form spots or broken lines; usually, several collar scales distinctly larger than adjacent gulars...................................................................... 6 5. 4 th toe with two complete rows of subdigital scales and a complete row of sharply pointed lateral scales, i.e., a total of 4 scales counted around penultimate phalanx.......................................................... Eremias fasciata - 4 th toe with one complete row of subdigital scales and a complete row of lateral scales, i.e., total of three scales counted around penultimate phalanx............................................................................. E. kakari 6. Adults with four more or less regular rows of disconnected dark spots on dorsum between dorsolateral broader dark stripes, the latter with white ocelli at the edges and within each stripe; infranasal in contact with the rostral........... E. rafiqi sp. nov. - Adults with seven light stripes on the neck, transforming into disconnected series of white ocelli edged with black; no dorsolateral dark stripes, an outer-most series of white and black ocelli starts behind the eyes on each side, onto tympanum and flanks above the forelimb and hindlimb insertion; infranasal not in contact with the rostral................... E. killasaifullahi sp. nov., Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on page 78, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7003222, {"references":["Masroor, R., Khisroon, M., Khan, M. A. & Jablonski, D. (2020 a) A new species of Microgecko Nikolsky, 1907 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Pakistan. Zootaxa, 4780 (1), 147 - 164. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4780.1.7"]}

Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. (Table 2, Figs. 4, 5, 6) Suggested vernacular name: Rafiq’s Racerunner Pashto name: Holotype. PMNH 856 (cyt b: n/a; Rag1: n/a), an adult male, collected from Tanishpa village, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan (31.1869º N, 68.4126º E; Fig. 1), elevation 2,506 m a. s. l., May 25, 1997, leg. Khalid Javed Baig (Fig. 4). Paratypes. Males: PMNH 855 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: n/a), 857 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: n/a), PMNH 859 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: n/a), PMNH 861 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: n/a), PMNH 4056 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: MT 554487). Females : PMNH 3724 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: MT 554476), PMNH 3735 (cyt b: MT 554461; Rag 1: MT 554477), PMNH 4058 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: n/a). Juveniles : PMNH 837 (cyt b: n/a; Rag 1: n/a), PMNH 3723 (cyt b: MT 554470; Rag 1: MT 554496), PMNH 4053 (cyt b: MT 554457; Rag 1: MT 554485), PMNH 4054 (cyt b: MT 554454; Rag 1: MT 554480). PMNH 857, collected along with the holotype; PMNH 855 and 861, May 26, 1997, Ashewat, Qamar Din Karez, Zhob district (31.3448ºN, 68.6307ºE), leg. Khalid Javed Baig; PMNH 859, May 24,1997, Tanishpa village, Torghar, Killa Saifullah district, leg. Khalid Javed Baig; PMNH 3723–24, October 09, 2017, Khar, Nushki district, Balochistan (29.5879ºN, 65.6609ºE), leg. Muazzam Ali Khan; PMNH 3735, October 21, 2017, Khar, Nushki district, leg. Muazzam Ali Khan; PMNH 4053, September 05, 2018, Zamkai Nala, Tanishpa village, Torghar, Killa Saifullah district (31.1930ºN, 68.4111ºE), leg. Rafaqat Masroor; PMNH 4054, September 01, 2018, Ashewat, Qamar Din Karez, Zhob district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor; PMNH 4056 and 4058, August 30, 2018, Kunder, Torghar, Killa Saifullah district, leg. Ibad ur Rehman (Figs. 5 & 6). Morphological diagnosis. A large-sized lacertid lizard, maximum snout-vent length (SVL) = 99.3 mm, tail 1.67 to 1.89 times longer than body length (SVL), hindlimbs relatively long (HLL / SVL ratio 0.6–0.8); subocular scale reaching to the edge of the mouth, 5–7 (mainly 6, rarely 5) anterior to subocular; dorsals 56–67; ventrals in 14–17 oblique longitudinal series; frontal separated from supraoculars; the height of the first two to three transverse rows of ventral scales in the pectoral region more than its breadth; 17–21 femoral pores on each side, separated medially by 1–4 scales (mainly 3, rarely 1), the space between the femoral pores less than one–fourth length of each row; toes without fringe, encircled by three scales in a single series of 22–27 unicarinate and bicarinate scales underneath; the tip of the fourth toe reaches to the forelimb and extends to just behind the collar. The adult specimens are grayish in life with four series of longitudinal black ocelli on the dorsum originating from behind the parietals and extending onto the tail; on each lateral side, a broader dark stripe originates from behind the eye and continues onto the tail with disconnected white round ocelli at the margins as well as white ocelli inside the stripe. Molecular data. Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. represents the so-called Zabol clade sensu Rastegar-Pouyani et al. (2010) from eastern Iran and the clade E identified by Khan et al. (2021) from northeastern Balochistan, Pakistan. Whereas Rastegar-Pouyani et al. (2010) identified this clade solely on mtDNA (cyt b, 12S), Khan et al. (2021) used mitochondrial (16S, COI, cyt b) as well as nuclear data (Rag 1) that clearly showed deep differentiation of this new species from other available sequences of the genus. The distinction of Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. is supported by its phylogenetic position (monophyletic clade among other species of E. persica complex, sister to E. fahimii but with weak statistical support; Fig. 1), the differentiation on solely Rag1 dataset (Fig. 2), and the value of the uncorrected p distances reaching from 8.5% (E. fahimii) to 20.7% (E. strauchi) (Table 3). The intraclade genetic diversity (cyt b) is 2 % with six detected haplotypes found in Iran and Pakistan (Fig. 2, Table 3). Etymology. The species epithet “ rafiqi ” is taken from the first name of late Rafique Ahmed Rajput (1968– 2008) to whom the new species is dedicated. The deceased Rajput served in Sindh Wildlife Department from 1986 till his demise. With no formal education in wildlife research, conservation and management, his passion for the conservation of wildlife in Pakistan remain unparalleled. From collecting the first-ever data of Ursus arctos isabellinus in the high-altitude Deosai Plateau, Gilgit-Baltistan, to the faunistic studies in the Indus River Delta and desert areas, he was a symbol of hard work. He also has very sound techniques for the collection of lizards and snakes. Unfortunately, during one such endeavor for gathering faunistic data, he collected a juvenile venomous krait, Bungarus sp. (possibly B. persicus) from Jiwani town, Gwadar District, Balochistan and mistaken its identity with non-venomous Lycodon species. On the morning of October 13, 2008, when he was shifting the live snake from a container to permanently preserve it for research purposes, the snake bit him multiple times.After a couple of hours, Rajput felt severe pain, anxiety and dizziness. He was immediately taken to the hospital in Karachi, where the doctors told his relatives that anti-snake venom is not available and asked them to get it from the pharmacy market. By the time the anti-venom was arranged, Rajput breathed his last. Description of the holotype. SVL: 99.3, TL: 168.0, HL: 26.9, HW: 14.5, HH: 15.5, TrL: 42.5, HLL: 66.8, FLL: 37.3, FrL: 6.3, FrW: 3.4.An adult male preserved in formalin in a good state of preservation (Fig. 4); head and body moderately depressed; tail long, ca. 1.7 times longer than the body, cylindrical and depressed at the base. Head relativelylong (HL/SVL, 0.27) (Fig. 4), ca. 1.7 times longer than wide (HW/HL, 0.58), head height slightly less than head width (HH/HW, 0.89). Limbs strong, hindlimbs ca. 1.8 times longer than the length of forelimbs (FLL/HLL, 0.56), hindlimbs comprise 1.4 times of the body length (HLL/SVL, 0.67). Head slightly broader than the neck.Head shields including nasals,frontonasal,prefrontals,frontal,frontoparietals, interparietal and parietals are smooth and convex. Nasals moderately swollen, three nasals, the lower in contact with two supralabials on both right and left side and in contact with the rostral (Fig. 4D). Supranasals in contact with rostral but lack such contact with first supralabial, the suture between them is 3.7 times the length of frontonasal, whose breadth is slightly more than its length; length of prefrontals 1.6 times its width, forming a median suture; length of frontal ca. 1.8 times as long as broad, its length slightly less than its distance from the tip of the snout, narrow behind; parietals smooth, slightly longer than its width; interparietal smooth, more than half the length of frontoparietals, about equal to the suture of frontoparietal; no occipital. Two large supraoculars, about equal in size, the space anterior to supraoculars filled by few small and three to five larger granules; both supraoculars in contact with frontal of their sides while separated from supraciliaries by a series of granules (Fig. 4C); six supraciliaries, first longest, its length shorter than its distance from the first loreal. Rostral pentagonal, broader than high, narrower beneath than above; anterior loreal slightly higher than wide, shorter than the second loreal which is longer than high; supralabials 10 on the right side, 9 on the left side; subocular keeled just below the eye, bordering the mouth, wedged between sixth and seventh supralabials on the right side and fifth and sixth supralabials on the left side (Fig. 4D). Temporals smooth, a large scale above ear; auricular denticulation indistinct or three small scales forming slight denticulation anteriorly. Lower eyelid covered with numerous small semi-transparent scales. Six infralabials on the right side, seven on the left side, gradually increasing in size posteriorly. Five pairs of chin shields; anterior three completely in contact, the fourth pair separated by 10 to 11 smaller gulars in a straight line, fifth not in contact with infralabials, separated by a single row of scales. Collar curved, free, serrated and composed of ten plates larger than adjacent gulars, the middle one quite enlarged than others. Gular fold distinct, 32 gular scales in a straight line between the symphysis of the chin shields and the collar (Fig. 4B). Dorsal scales granular, smooth, 62 across the middle of the body. Ventral plates broader than long (except for outermost series), forming oblique longitudinal series of 16 plates across mid-belly and 29 transverse rows counted from behind collar to vent; first three rows of ventral scales in the pectoral region behind collar longer than broad, the first row is twice as long as broad. Precloacal region with a pair of the enlarged median plates just above the vent, surrounded by six large scales. Forelimb ca. 1.4 times longer than the head, the upper surface of the arm with rhombic, smooth scales. Scales on the upper surface of hindlimbs similar to dorsals, equal in size; ventral surface of hindlimbs covered by enlarged plates, the ventral surface of the tibia with one row of very large and one comparatively smaller plates; the tip of the fourth toe reaches to the forelimb and extends to just behind the collar; 21 femoral pores on the right side, most of the left side damaged, the two femoral pore series separated by two scales, length of the interfemoral space not greater than one–fourth length of each row. Toes slender, compressed, with no fringe; subdigital lamellae unicarinate, in a single row of 25 scales under the 4th toe, a total of three scales around the 4 th toe. Upper caudal scales oblique, truncate, strongly and diagonally keeled, 30 scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus behind the postcloacal granules. Coloration in life. The adult specimens are grayish in life with four more or less regular rows of black spots on the light dorsum, originating from behind the parietals, smaller on the nape, larger on the middle of the dorsum, disappearing on proximal one-fourth of the tail. The middle two rows of black spots have white spots along each black spot of the rows. On each lateral side, a broader dorsolateral dark stripe originates from behind the eye and continues onto the tail with disconnected white ocelli at both margins as well as white ocelli inside the stripe; next to the broader dark stripe, a lateral-most stripe is composed of disconnected black ocelli, originating from behind tympanum and reaching to the hindlimb. Upper parts of both hindlimbs and forelimbs with white and black ocelli. Head gray without any markings or spots; labials white with black markings. Belly and underside of tail creamy white, tail dorsum sandy grayish. The juveniles and subadults are nearly similar in coloration to the adults except for the following details; four longitudinal dark stripes on the body, the outermost originate from anterior parietals on the outer side and continue onto the tail, the innermost originate from the posterior of parietals and merge after running a while on the tail. A broader lateral stripe on each side originates from behind the eye and continues on the lateral side of the body and tail with interspersed white ocelli between the forelimb and hindlimb. The dorsal forelimb and hindlimb are dark gray with white ocelli. Variations in paratypes. The paratypes of E. rafiqi sp. nov. agree with the holotype with some differences given in Table 2 (Figs. 5, 6). Besides sex, the specimens differ in the arrangement of supralabials i.e. subocular wedged between 6 th and 7 th in all the type series except PMNH 861 (between 7 th and 8 th) and PMNH 3724 (between 5 th and 6 th). The arrangement of postmentals has a similar pattern in the paratypes except PMNH 855, 861, 837, 3723, 3735 and 4054, where the fifth chin shield is in contact with the infralabials. The contact of postmental shield with the supralabials varies in the paratypes; PMNH 855 and 3724, the fifth postmental shield is in contact with 7 th supralabial; PMNH 837 and 3735, the fifth postmental shield is in contact with sixth supralabial; PMNH 861, the fifth postmental shield is in contact with 7 th and 8 th supralabials. The infranasal scale in PMNH 837, 855, 859, 861, 3723, 3735, 4053–4054 and 4058 rests on first, second and third supralabials. The scale count of dorsals, ventrals, gulars, collars, caudals at 9 th –10 th annuli and lamellae under 4 th toe, however, show a unique value for every specimen within a certain range. Sexual and age dimorphism. Apparently, males attain larger sizes than females in E. rafiqi sp. nov.: male SVL to 99.3 mm, female SVL 82.1 mm. Moreover, males have generally longer hindlimbs and shorter trunks as compared to females. For a larger female having SVL of 98.1 mm (PMNH 4058), the hindlimb is 56.0 mm against a smaller-sized male (PMNH 855, SVL 92.2 mm) which has a hindlimb length of 57.1 mm. Similarly, the trunk length of a smaller female (PMNH 3724, SVL 75.1 mm) is 36.8 mm against a larger male (PMNH 857, SVL 78.5 mm) which has a trunk length of 34.5 mm. The dorsal body color and pattern, however, varies in juveniles and adults of both genders (Figs. 5, 6). Comparison. The new species Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. is strikingly different from species exhibiting striped and ocellate patterns in the subgenus Aspidorhinus (E. kopetdaghica Szczerbak, 1972, E. lalezharica Moravec, 1994, E. papenfussi Mozaffari et al., 2011, Eremias persica Blanford, 1874, E. regeli Bedriaga, 1905, E. fahimii Mozaffari et al., 2020, E. isfahanica Rastegar-Pouyani et al., 2016, E. montana Rastegar-Pouyani & RastegarPouyani, 2001, E. nikolskii Bedriaga, 1905, E. velox Pallas, 1771) and ocellate pattern (E. killasaifullahi sp. nov., E. afghanistanica Böhme & Szczerbak, 1991, E. roborowskii Bedriaga, 1912, E. strauchi Kessler, 1878, E. suphani Başoğlu & Hellmich, 1968). The new species E. rafiqi sp. nov. can also be differentiated from the geographically closely-distributed members of the subgenus Eremias having striped and ocellate pattern (E. aria Anderson & Leviton 1967) and ocellate pattern (E. nigrocellata Nikolsky 1896) by the arrangement of subocular scale which borders the mouth (Supplementary Tab. 1; see published data in Lantz 1928, Szczerbak 1974, Bischoff & Böhme 1980, Böhme & Szczerbak 1991, Anderson 1999). A brief of morphological differences is provided (the material used for a first-hand comparison is listed in parentheses at each species; see also Table 2 and S 1). Besides striped and ocellate body pattern (vs. ocellate), E. rafiqi sp. nov. can be distinguished from E. afghanistanica by its larger size (SVL up to 99.3 mm vs. 67.0 mm), higher count of dorsals (56–67 vs. 44–46), gulars (30–36 vs. 25–28), femoral pores (17–22 vs. 16–18), caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (24–33 vs. 22–25), 5–7 supralabials (mainly 6, rarely 5) located anterior to subocular (vs. 5) and lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (29–33 vs. 37–38). From E. persica, that is partly close in dorsal coloration, pattern and size, E. rafiqi sp. nov. differs in the length of interparietal to the length of suture of parietals (longer vs. shorter), length of frontonasal to its width (longer vs. as long as wide), size of the second loreal scale to first loreal scale (more than three times vs. two times), supracaudals (strongly keeled vs. weakly keeled) and tail coloration in the juveniles (sandy grayish vs. bluish). Besides distant distribution, Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. differs from the recently described E. fahimii by its larger size (SVL up to 99.3 mm vs. 56.0 mm), more SDLT 4 th (22–27 vs. 20–21), the greater number of scales separating the femoral pores (1–4 vs. 1) and the dorsal color and pattern in adults (dorsal stripes broken into ocelli vs. dorsal stripes persistent throughout life). From E. isfahanica, E. rafiqi sp. nov. differs in the following morphological characters apart from its distant distribution: higher count of supralabials (8–10 vs. 6–8), 5–7 (mainly 6, rarely 5) of them located anterior to subocular (vs. 5), lower count of collars (8–12 vs. 12–15) and the dorsal color pattern in adults (dorsal stripes broken into ocelli vs. dorsal stripes persistent throughout life). Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. differs from E. kopetdaghica in having a higher count of dorsals (56–67 vs. 48–59), gulars (30–36 vs. 19–28), caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (24–33 vs. 20–26) and collars (8–12 vs. 7) and the dorsal color and pattern in adults (presence of a broader dark stripe on each lateral side above flanks with disconnected white ocelli at the margins as well as white ocelli inside the stripe vs. no such lateral broader stripes). Eremias rafiqi sp. nov. can be distinguished from E. lalezharica in having a higher count of dorsals (56–67 vs. 54–59), femoral pores (17–22 vs. 15–19), pair of chin shields/ submaxillary shields (5 vs. 4), lower number of collars (8–12 vs. 13–15), contact of gulars with second pair of submaxillary shields (none vs. 1-2 rows of gulars with the second pair of submaxillary shields) and dorsal color and pattern. Apart from its peculiar distribution in the remote valley in Torghar Mountains, a part of the Palearctic region, E. rafiqi sp. nov. can be differentiated from E. montana in the following set of characters: larger size (SVL up to 99.3 mm vs. 58.5 mm), higher count of ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–17 vs. 13–14), number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (29–33 vs. 27–28), gulars (30–36 vs. 23–25), infralabials (6–10 vs. 4–6), number of supralabials anterior to the subocular (5–7 vs. 4–5), generally more SDLT 4 th (22–27 vs. 18–25), generally higher count of scales separating the femoral pores (1–4 vs. 2) and dorsal color and pattern. From E. nigrocellata, E. rafiqi sp. nov. differs in dorsal body pattern (striped and ocellate vs. ocellate), higher count of dorsals (56–67 vs. 42–56), lower number of ventral scales in a row across mid-belly i, Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on pages 70-75, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7003222, {"references":["Rastegar-Pouyani, E., Rastegar-Pouyani, N., Kazemi-Noureini, S., Joger, U. & Wink, M. (2010) Molecular phylogeny of the Eremias persica complex of the Iranian plateau (Reptilia: Lacertidae), based on mtDNA sequences. Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 158, 641 - 660. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.2009.00553. x","Khan, M. A., Jablonski, D., Nadeem, M. S., Masroor, R., Kehlmaier, C., Spitzweg, C. & Fritz, U. (2021) Molecular phylogeny of Eremias spp. from Pakistan contributes to a better understanding of the diversity of racerunners. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 59, 466 - 483. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / jzs. 12426","Szczerbak, N. N. (1972) New subspecies of Eremias strauchi - Eremias strauchi kopetdaghica ssp. nova (Sauria, Reptilia) from Turkmenia. Vestnik Zoologii, 6, 83 - 86 [in Russian]","Moravec, J. (1994) A new lizard from Iran, Eremias (Eremias) lalezharica sp. n. (Reptilia: Lacertilia: Lacertidae). Bonner zoologische Beitrage, Bonn, 45, 61 - 66.","Mozaffari, O., Ahmadzadeh, F. & Parham, J. F. (2011) Eremias papenfussi sp. nov., a new lacertid lizard (Sauria: Lacertidae) from Tehran Province, Iran. Zootaxa, 3114 (1), 57 - 62. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3114.1.6","Bedriaga, J. V. (1905) Neue Saurier aus Russisch-Asien. Annu. In: Nikolsky, A. M. (Ed.), Herpetologia rossica. Memoires de l`Academie imperiale des sciences de St. Petersbourg, XVII (1), pp. 1 - 518.","Mozaffari, O., Ahmadzadeh, F. & Saberi-Pirooz, R. (2020) Fahimi's racerunner, a new species of the genus Eremias Fitzinger, 1834 (Sauria: Lacertidae) from Iran. Zootaxa, 4768 (4), 565 - 578. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4768.4.7","Rastegar-Pouyani, E., Yousefkhani Hosseinian, S. S., Soolmaz, R., Kami, H. G., Mehdi, R. & Wink, M. (2016) A new species of the genus Eremias Fitzinger, 1834 (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Central Iran, supported by mtDNA sequences and morphology. Zootaxa, 4132 (2), 207 - 220. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4132.2.2","Bedriaga, J. von (1912) Wissenschaftliche Resultate der von N. M. Przewalski nach Central-Asien unternommenen Reisen, Zoologischer Theil. Band III, Abtheilung 1. Amphibien und Reptilien. Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg, 769 pp. [in Russian and German]","Kessler, K. F. (1878) Transcaucasian voyage. Travaux de la Societe des Naturalistes de St. Petersbourg, 8 (Supplement), 1 - 200. [in Russian]","Basoglu, M. & Hellmich, W. (1968) Eine neue Eremias - Form aus Ost-Anatolien (Reptilia, Lacertidae). Ege Universitesi Fen Fakultesi Ylmi Raporlar Serisi, Bornova-Yzmir, 67, 3 - 7.","Anderson, S. C. & Leviton, A. E. (1967) A new species of Eremias (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from Afghanistan. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, 64, 1 - 4.","Nikolsky, A. M. (1896) Diagnoses reptilium et amphibiorum novorum in Persia orientali a N. Zarudny collectorum. Annuaire Musee Zoologique de l'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de St. - Petersbourg, 1, 369 - 372.","Lantz, L. A. (1928) Les Eremias de l'Asie Occidentale. Bulletin du Museum de Georgie, 4, 1 - 136.","Szczerbak, N. N. (1974) Racerunners of the Palaearctic. Naukova Dumka Press, Kiev, Ukraine, 296 pp. [in Russian]","Bischoff, W. & Bohme, W. (1980) Der systematische Status der turkischen Wustenrenner des Subgenus Eremias (Sauria: Lacertidae). Zoologische Beitrage, 26, 297 - 306.","Anderson, S. C. (1999) The Lizards of Iran. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Oxford, Ohio, 442 pp.","Masroor, R., Khisroon, M., Khan, M. A. & Jablonski, D. (2020 b) A new species of Eremias Fitzinger, 1834 (Squamata: Lacertidae) from the arid mountains of Pakistan. Zootaxa, 4786 (1), 101 - 121. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4786.1.8"]}

Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. (Table 1, Figs. 3, 5, 6) Suggested vernacular name: Killa Saifullah’s Racerunner Pashto name: Holotype. PMNH 3613 (cyt b: MT 554460; Rag1: MT 554498), an adult male, collected from Kunder, Torghar Mountains, Killa Saifullah district, Balochistan (31.3247º N, 68.5452º E; Fig. 7D), elevation 1,920 m a. s. l., March 23, 2017, leg. Rafaqat Masroor (Fig. 3). Paratypes. Males: PMNH 3614–3616 (cyt b: MT554466, MT554456, n/a; Rag1: MT554478, MT554482, n/a). Females: PMNH 4046 (cyt b: MT 554453; Rag1: MT 554479), PMNH 4050 (cyt b: MT 554473; Rag1: MT 554483), PMNH 4055 (cyt b: MT 554455; Rag1: MT 554481). Juveniles: PMNH 3673 (cyt b: n/a; Rag1: n/a), PMNH 4045 (cyt b: MT 554467; Rag1: MT 554486), PMNH 4052 (cyt b: MT 554459; Rag1: MT 554497). PMNH 3614–16, 3673 collected along with the holotype; PMNH 4045, 4052, September 5, 2018, Zamkai Nala, Tanishpa, Killa Saifullah district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor; PMNH 4046, 4055 August 31, 2018, Ashewat, Qamar Din Karez, Zhob district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor; PMNH 4050, September 1, 2018, Zamkai Nala, Tanishpa, Killa Saifullah district, leg. Rafaqat Masroor (Figs. 5, 6). Morphological diagnosis. A medium-sized lacertid lizard, maximum snout-vent length (SVL) = 70.5 mm, tail 1.67 to 1.97 times longer than body length (SVL), hindlimbs relatively long (HLL / SVL ratio 0.6–0.8); subocular scale reaching to the edge of the mouth, 5–7 (mainly 6, rarely 5) anterior to subocular; dorsals 53–63; ventrals in 14–18 oblique longitudinal series; frontal separated from supraoculars; the height of the first two to three transverse rows of ventral scales in the pectoral region more than its breadth; 17–24 femoral pores on each side, separated medially by 1–5 scales (mainly 2–4, rarely 1), the space between the femoral pores less than one–fourth length of each row; toes without fringe, encircled by three scales in a single series of 21–25 unicarinate and bicarinate scales underneath; tip of the fourth toe reaches to the forelimb and extends to just behind the collar. The adult specimens are creamy beige in life with seven light stripes appearing on the neck which transforms into ocelli and vermiculation behind the neck. No dorsolateral broader dark stripes, an outer-most series of white and black ocelli starts behind the eyes on each side, onto the tympanum and flanks above the forelimb and hindlimb insertion. ......continued on the next page TABLE 1. (Continued) ......continued on the next page TABLE 2. (Continued) ......continued on the next page TABLE 2. (Continued) ......continued on the next page TABLE 2. (Continued) Molecular data. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. represents a newly detected evolutionary lineage (Fig. 1) of the genus Eremias (Aspidorhinus) that was firstly detected by Khan et al. (2021) as the clade F (with subclades F1, F2) based on four studied genetic markers (16S, COI, cyt b, Rag1). This lineage was detected occurring in NE Balochistan in Pakistan and represents local microendemism (Fig. 2). The lineage deeply diverges and is sister to all other lineages of such called E. persica complex (see Khan et al. 2021 and Fig. 1 in this study) and well differentiated in the Rag1 dataset (Fig. 2). The lineage genetically (uncorrected p distances) differs from 14.5% (E. strauchi) to 21.6% (E. velox) (Table 3) among species of the subgenus Aspidorhinus. Its average intraclade genetic variability (cyt b) is 3% (Fig. 2). Despite a very small known range of distribution, the distances between F1 and F2 subclades sensu Khan et al. (2021) reached 4.6% and the haplotype network based on cyt b dataset showed six different haplotypes. High allele diversity was also detected by analyzing the Rag1 marker (Fig. 2). Etymology. We derived the name of the new species from Killa Saifullah (Pashto:; also Qilla Saifullah), a city and district in northwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan that represents the area, from where this newly discovered endemic species of Eremias (subgenus Aspidorhinus) is currently known. The region plays an important role for producing fruits, nuts and vegetables in Pakistan. The discovery of this species of lizards thus highlights the importance of this region from the biodiversity point of view. Description of the holotype. SVL: 65.3, TL: 109.7, HL: 17.4, HW: 10.2, HH: 8.1, TrL: 28.3, HLL: 44.8, FLL: 26.6, FrL: 4.6, FrW: 2.3.An adult male of E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. preserved in ethanol in a good state of preservation (Fig. 3); head and body moderately depressed; tail long, ca. 1.7 times longer than the body, cylindrical and depressed at the base. Head relativelylong (HL/SVL ratio 0.27) (Fig. 3), 1.7 times longer than wide (HW/HL ratio 0.59), head height less than head width (HH/HW, 0.79). Limbs strong, hindlimbs 1.6 times more than the length of forelimbs (FLL/HLL, 0.59), hindlimbs comprise 1.4 times the body length (HLL/SVL, 0.69). Head broader than the neck; nasals, frontonasal, prefrontals, frontal, frontoparietals, interparietal and parietals are smooth and convex. Nasals are moderately swollen, three nasals, the lower in contact with three supralabials on the right and left side, its contact with the rostral lacking (Fig. 3D). Supranasals in contact with rostral and first supralabial, the suture between them is four times the length of frontonasal, whose breadth is ca. 1.1 times its length; length of prefrontals 1.4 times its width, joined by a median suture; frontal two times as long as broad, its length slightly less than its distance from the tip of the snout, narrow behind; parietals smooth, slightly longer than wide; interparietal smooth, more than half of the length of frontoparietals; no occipital. Two large supraoculars, about equal in size, the space anterior to supraoculars filled by few small and three to five larger granules; both supraoculars in contact with frontal of their sides while separated from supraciliaries by a series of granules (Fig. 3C), behind the two large spraoculars a single, comparatively medium-sized, granule exist; six supraciliaries, first longest, its length shorter than its distance from the first loreal. Rostral pentagonal, broader than high, narrower beneath than above; anterior loreal slightly higher than wide, shorter than the second loreal which is longer than high; supralabials 8; subocular keeled just below the eye, bordering the mouth, wedged between fifth and sixth supralabials (Fig. 3D). Temporals smooth, a large scale above ear; auricular denticulation indistinct or three small scales forming slight denticulation anteriorly. Lower eyelid covered with numerous small semi-transparent scales. Six infralabials, gradually increasing in size posteriorly. Five pairs of chin shields; anterior three completely in contact, the fourth one separated by six smaller gulars, the fifth one is in contact with fifth and sixth infralabials on both sides. Collar curved, free, serrated and composed of 10 plates larger than adjacent gulars, the middle one slightly enlarged than others. Gular fold distinct, 20 gular scales in a straight line between the symphysis of the chin shields and the collar (Fig. 3B). Dorsal scales granular, smooth, 60 across the middle of the body. Ventral plates broader than long (except for outermost series), forming oblique longitudinal series of 16 plates across mid-belly and 25 transverse rows counted from behind collar to vent; first three rows of ventral scales in the pectoral region behind collar longer than broad, the first row is twice as long as broad. Precloacal region with an enlarged median plate just above the vent, surrounded by four large scales. Forelimb ca. 1.5 times longer than the head, upper surface of the arm with rhombic, smooth scales. Scales on the upper surface of hindlimbs similar to dorsals, varying in size; ventral surface of hindlimbs covered by enlarged plates, the lower surface of the tibia with one row of very large and one comparatively smaller plates, the tip of the fourth toe reaches to the forelimb and extends to just behind the collar; 17 femoral pores on the right side, the left side damaged, the two series separated by two scales, length of the interfemoral space not greater than one-fourth length of each row. Toes slender, compressed, with no fringe. Subdigital lamellae unicarinate, in a single row of 21 scales under the 4th toe, a total of three scales around the 4 th toe. Upper caudal scales oblique, truncate, strongly and diagonally keeled, 26 scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus behind the postcloacal granules. Coloration in life. The adult specimens (Fig. 7E) are creamy beige with ocellate body pattern. Seven light stripes appear on the neck which transforms into ocelli and vermiculation behind the neck. Of the seven, the lateralmost light stripe originates from behind the eye and runs on the outer edge of the parietal, transforming into a disconnected series of white ocelli edged with black, running up to anterior one-third of the tail. Next to the lateralmost, the paravertebral light stripe originates from behind the parietal and transforms into closely-connected white ocelli edged with black and runs on the tail short of lateral-most ocelli. Next to paravertebral light stripe, there exists a light nuchal stripe on each side and the light vertebral stripe, the three joins behind the neck and transform into white ocelli edged with black in the pattern of vermiculation. In addition to seven light stripes on the neck, an outermost series of white and black ocelli starts behind the eyes on each side, onto the tympanum and flanks above the forelimb and hindlimb insertion. The upper parts of both hindlimbs and forelimbs are provided with white and black ocelli. Head gray with black mottled markings or spots; supralabials white with black markings. Belly and underside of tail creamy white, tail dorsum grayish. The juveniles and subadults (Fig. 6) are nearly similar in coloration to the adults except for the following details; seven longitudinal light stripes on the neck, the lateral-most originate from behind the eye, running on the outer parietals and continuing onto the dorsum in the form of connected small white ocelli, terminating on the one-third of the tail, the paravertebral light stripe originates from the posterior of parietals, and merge short of the lateral-most stripe on the tail, the nuchal of each side and vertebral light stripe merge after the neck to form light vermiculation up to the base of the tail. An additional outer-most light stripe originates from behind the tympanum and is produced in the form of disconnected white ocelli above the insertion of forelimbs and hindlimbs. The upper parts of hindlimbs and forelimbs are provided with white and black ocelli. Head gray with black mottled markings or spots; supralabials white with black markings. Belly and underside of tail creamy white, tail dorsum creamy grayish. Variations in paratypes. Paratypes of E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. agree with the holotype with some differences given in Table 1 and Figs. 5, 6. Besides sex, the specimens differ in the arrangement of supralabials i.e. subocular wedged between 6 th and 7 th supralabials in all the type series except PMNH 4055 where it is wedged between 5 th and 6 th supralabials. The arrangement of postmentals has a similar pattern in the paratypes except PMNH 3673, where the fifth chins shield is not in contact with the infralabials. In all the type series including the holotype, the fifth chin shield is in contact with the infralabials. The scale count of dorsals, ventrals, gulars, collars, caudals at 9 th –10 th whorl and lamellae under 4 th toe, however, show a unique value for every specimen within a certain range. The infranasal is not in contact with the rostral in all type specimens including the holotype (Figs. 3, 5, 6). Sexual and age dimorphism. Apparently, males attain larger sizes than females in E. killasaifullahi sp. nov.: male SVL to 70.5 mm, female SVL 58.1 mm. Moreover, males have generally longer hindlimbs and shorter trunks as compared to females. For a larger female having SVL of 58.5 mm (PMNH 4050), the hindlimb is 37.9 mm against a same-sized male (PMNH 3616, SVL 59.4 mm) which has a hindlimb length of 43.1 mm. Similarly, the trunk length of a smaller female PMNH 4050 (SVL 58.5 mm) is 29.0 mm against a larger male (PMNH 3614, SVL 67.9 mm) which has a trunk length of 28.1 mm. The dorsal body color and pattern are, however, similar in juveniles and adults of both genders (Figs. 3, 5–7). Comparison. The new species Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. is strikingly different from species exhibiting striped and ocellate pattern (E. aria; E. kopetdaghica; E. lalezharica; E. papenfussi; Eremias persica; E. regeli; E. fahimii; E. isfahanica; E. montana; E. nikolskii; E. velox) and ocellate pattern (E. afghanistanica; E. nigrocellata; E. strauchi; E. suphani; Table 1 and S1). Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be distinguished from E. afghanistanica by a higher count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 44–46), caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (24–33 vs. 20–26) and a lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 37–38). From E. persica, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs by its smaller size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 98.0 mm), size of the second loreal scale to first loreal scale (more than two times vs. two times), supracaudals (strongly keeled vs. weakly keeled), the dorsal color and pattern in adults (ocellate without broader lateralmost stripe vs. striped and ocellate with broader lateralmost stripe) and tail coloration in the juveniles (creamy grayish vs. bluish). Besides distant distribution, Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from the recently described E. fahimii by its comparatively larger size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 56.0 mm), more SDLT 4 th (21–25 vs. 20–21), lower count of caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (22–27 vs. 31), the greater number of scales separating the femoral pores (1–5 vs. 1) and the dorsal color and pattern in adults (dorsal stripes broken into ocelli without broader lateralmost stripe vs. dorsal stripes persistent throughout life with broader lateralmost stripe). From E. isfahanica, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs in the following morphological characters apart from its distant distribution: higher count of supralabials (8–11 vs. 6–8), 5–7 of them (mainly 6, rarely 5) located anterior to subocular (vs. 5), lower count of collars (10–12 vs. 12–15), number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 30–33) and the dorsal color pattern in adults (dorsal stripes broken into ocelli vs. dorsal stripes persistent throughout life). Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from E. kopetdaghica in having comparatively higher count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 48–59), collars (10–12 vs. 7) and the dorsal color and pattern in adults. Eremias killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be distinguished from E. lalezharica in having a lower number of ventral scales in a single row from posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 30–33), gulars (20–33 vs. 33–40), collars (10–12 vs. 13–15), generally higher count of femoral pores (17–24 vs. 15–19), pair of chin shields/ submaxillary shields (5 vs. 4), contact of gulars with second pair of submaxillary shields (none vs. 1-2 rows) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellate vs. ocellated and striped). Apart from its peculiar distribution in the remote valley in Torghar Mountains, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be differentiated from E. montana in the following set of characters: comparatively larger size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 58.5 mm), lower count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 63–68), higher number of ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–18 vs. 13–14), infralabials (6–10 vs. 4–6), number of supralabials anterior to the subocular (5–6 vs. 4–5), generally higher count of scales separating the femoral pores (1–5 vs. 2), three scales around the penultimate phalanx of 4 th toe (vs. 4) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellated vs. striped and ocellate). Besides having a subocular scale bordering mouth and ocellate dorsal pattern, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from E. nigrocellata by its smaller size (SVL up to 70.5 mm vs. 83.0 mm), higher count of dorsals (53–63 vs. 42–56) and the number of femoral pores on each side (17–24 vs. 11–13). E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs from E. nikolskii by having a higher count of ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–18 vs. 14), lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 28–32) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellate vs. striped and ocellate). Besides the dorsal color and pattern, our new species stands distinguished from E. papenfussi by having a lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of the collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 30–33), 5–6 (mainly 6) number of scales anterior to subocular (vs. 5), generally higher count of scales separating the femoral pores (1–5 vs. 1–2). From E. regeli, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs in having three scales around the penultimate phalanx of 4 th toe (vs. four scales), higher count of gulars (20–33 vs. 14–24), ventral scales in a row across mid-belly in the widest part (14–18 vs. 13), generally higher count of caudal scales in the 9 th –10 th annulus (22–27 vs. 17–25) and dorsal color and pattern (ocellate vs. striped and ocellate). The new species E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. can be easily differentiated from E. strauchi by its distant distribution, lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 28–33), and 5–6 (mainly 6) number of scales anterior to subocular (vs. 7). From E. suphani, E. killasaifullahi sp. nov. differs by its distant distribution, lower number of ventral scales in a single row from the posterior edge of collar to the vent (25–29 vs. 29–34) and arrangement of gulars (2 rows of gulars reaching to the second pair of chin

Subgenus Aspidorhinus Eichwald, 1841 Type species: Eremias velox (Pallas, 1771), Published as part of Masroor, Rafaqat, Khan, Muazzam Ali, Nadeem, Muhammad Sajid, Amir, Shabir Ali, Khisroon, Muhammad & Jablonski, Daniel, 2022, Appearances often deceive in racerunners: integrative approach reveals two new species of Eremias (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Pakistan, pp. 55-87 in Zootaxa 5175 (1) on page 58, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5175.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7003222