The first record of the genus Microgecko Nikolskii, 1907 for Iraq

Abstract

The genus Microgecko Nikolskii, 1907 (Gekkonidae) currently includes eight species distributed from western Iran to north-western India and Pakistan. During field research in Iraq, we found a population of the genus near to the Darbandikhan Lake in the north-eastern part of the country. Because members of the genus are characterized by a higher level of morphological and genetic diversity, we investigated the population using both morphological and molecular approaches. The phylogenetic analyses based on a fragment of the mitochondrial marker cytochrome b and morphological characters showed that our investigated population belongs to M. helenae fasciatus. This is the first record of the genus and species for Iraq. Moreover, the phylogenetic structure within M. helenae shows divergences that suggest the elevation of M. h. fasciatus to species level.