Above. The holotype of Persiophis fahimii. Photo by Roman A. Nazarov.
Rajabizadeh et al. (2020) present an updated phylogeny of colubrid snakes from the Western Palearctic by analyzing a supermatrix of all available global snake species with molecular data and report on the discovery of a new genus and species of colubrine snake from southeastern Iran. They named the new taxon, Persiophis fahimii Gen. et sp. nov. The taxon is nested within a clade containing Middle Eastern and South Asian ground racers (Lytorhynchus, Rhynchocalamus, Wallaceophis, and Wallophis). This species has a derived morphology including an edentulous pterygoid and occurrence of short and blunt teeth on the palatine, maxillae and dentary bones, an elongated snout, and a relatively trihedral first supralabial scale that is slightly bigger than the second, and elongated toward the tip of rostral.
Their information on the biology of Persiophis fahimii is based on the one specimen collected. The holotype was collected at an elevation of 1,350 m ASL on a bare mountainside, while climbing on a vertical rocky wall, at late night (2.30 AM). The mountain is composed of Devonian limestone marbles, at the southeastern edge of the central mountains of Iran, ranging from 1,050 to 1,600 m ASL. Dominant vegetation on the plain in front of the mountain is Calligonum and annual forbs and grasses. At the base of the mountain, the vegetation changes to Calligonum and Ziziphus nummularia. At the type locality, the vegetation is dominated by sparse woody, thorny or aromatic shrubs.
Conservation. Since the first field expedition in 2008 and two more field expeditions in spring 2017 and 2018 in the area of type locality of Persiophis fahimii the authors failed to find any additional specimens. They assume that this snake is a very rare species with limited local distribution. Currently, there is not enough data to evaluate the conservation status of Persiophis fahimii; hence, further expeditions are needed to shed light on the distribution and ecology of this snake. They propose an IUCN Red List status of Data Deficient.
Citation
Rajabizadeh M, Pyron RA, Nazarov R, Poyarkov NA, Adriaens D, Herrel A. Additions to the phylogeny of colubrine snakes in Southwestern Asia, with the description of a new genus and species (Serpentes: Colubridae: Colubrinae). PeerJ. 2020 Apr 21;8:e9016.
