contribution to the taxonomic knowledge of acanthodactylus (squamata, lacertidae): description of a new lacertid lizard species from eastern anatolia, turkey

Acanthodactylus wiegmann, 1834 is one of the most diverse and widespread lizard genus in the palearctic realm. here, we describe a new species, - acanthodactylus ilgazi sp. nov. - from the anatolian peninsula. this new species ranges approximately 250 km north from the closest population of this genus in turkey. compared to other fringe-fingered lizards, the new species is phylogenetically close to a. robustus, a. tristrami and a. orientalis but it has some distinct morphological characteristics: reddish coloration under the tail, a sharp white or grayish stripe in the middle of the dorsum, and four plates in a row on the 4^th finger. moreover, phylogenetic molecular data, based on cyt b gene fragment, verifies that the new species is phylogenetically a member of the tristrami species group with 13.03%, 17.35% and 20.56 genetic distance respectively from a. orientalis, a. tristrami and a. robustus. lastly, the known range of this species, located in yazıhan, malatya in eastern anatolia, is restricted by a dam, thus habitat loss endangers its continuity. therefore, the conservation status of this species should be assessed immediately.