Acanthodactylus cantoris Günther, 1864

SYNTYPES. BMNH 1946.8.4.15–20 .

TYPE LOCALITY. Ramnuggar [= Ramnagar], India.

DISTRIBUTION. Extreme SE Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, NW India.

DISTRIBUTION IN IRAN. Fig. 72. Sistan and Baluchistan Prov.

HABITAT. Loose sand with vegetation dominated by Tamarix and annual shrubs.

REMARKS. Recorded from Iran relatively recently (Mozaffari 2010). Acanthodactylus cantoris was thought to be closely related to A. blanfordii which was, in fact, originally described as a variety of the former. Although the species differ only in minor osteological and hemipenial features, phylogenetic analysis of the genus suggests that A. cantoris is sister to A. masirae Arnold from Oman (Harris & Arnold 2000).

REFERENCES. Salvador (1982); Arnold (1983); Harris & Arnold (2000); Mozaffari (2010); Heidari et al. (2012b).