We provide an integrative analysis of the diversity of the E. multiocellata—E. przewalskii species complex in Central and Middle Asia using morphological and molecular (COI DNA-barcoding) data. We report preliminary data on mtDNA variation within this group and clarify the taxonomic status and distribution of the members of the species complex. We also provide a description of a new Eremias species from Eastern Kazakhstan and western Mongolia, where it occurs in sympatry with E. multiocellata sensu stricto, from which it can be clearly differentiated using both morphological and molecular characters. The new species, described as Eremias dzungarica sp. nov., is assigned to the subgenus Pareremias on the basis of the following features: subocular not reaching mouth edge; one frontonasal; two supraoculars; the row of small granular scales between supraoculars and frontal with frontoparietals absent; distance between the femoral pore rows being wide; femoral pore rows not reaching knee-joint; coloration pattern with light colored ocelli with black edging. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners on the basis of the following morphological attributes: a medium-sized lacertid lizard, maximum snout-vent length (SVL) = 64.5 mm, tail being ca. 1.5 times longer than body length (SVL), hindlimbs relatively long (hindlimb length to SVL ratio 0.46); subocular scale not reaching mouth edge, in touch with 6–8 supralabials; males with bright coloration consisting of 2–3 dorsolateral rows of light-colored ocelli with thick black edging; the ventral row of ocelli in life is greenish to bluish; dorsal pattern consisting of black irregular blotches along the middorsal line. We also report on the high genetic and morphological diversity of E. multiocellata in Mongolia and China, synonymize E. m. bannikowi with the nominative form E. m. multiocellata, discuss variation within E. przewalskii, synonymize E. p. tuvensis with the nominative form E. przewalskii, provide new data on E. cf. reticulata and E. m. tsaganbogdensis, confirm validity and clarify distribution ranges of E. stummeri, E. szczerbaki and E. yarkandensis and discuss further progress on taxonomic studies of the E. multiocellata—E. przewalskii species complex.

The Levant represents one of the most important reptile diversity hotspots and centers of endemism in the Western Palearctic. The region harbored numerous taxa in glacial refugia during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations. Due to the hostile arid conditions in the warmer periods they were not always able to spread or come into contact with populations from more distant regions. One large and conspicuous member of the Levantine herpetofauna is the legless anguid lizard Pseudopus apodus. This species is distributed from the Balkans to Central Asia with a portion of its range running along the eastern Mediterranean coast. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences, microsatellite genotypes, and morphology show that populations in this region differ from the two named subspecies and presumably had a long independent evolutionary history during the Quaternary. Here we describe the Levantine population as a new subspecies and present biogeographic scenarios for its origin and diversification. The new subspecies is genetically highly diverse, and it forms a sister lineage to Pseudopus from the remaining parts of the range according to mtDNA. It is the largest-bodied of the three subspecies, but occupies the smallest range.

Using a nearly range-wide sampling, we investigated phylogeographic differentiation and mitochondrial diversity of Testudo horsfieldii, the only tortoise species confined to Central Asia. We identified three major haplotype clades with mainly parapatric distribution that do not correspond well to the currently recognized three subspecies. One clade is restricted to the Fergana Valley and seems to represent a previously overlooked evolutionarily significant unit. Another clade, consisting of several largely parapatrically distributed haplotypes, occurs in the north and the central southern part of the species' range. The third clade, likewise comprising several largely parapatrically distributed haplotypes, was identified from the southeastern corner of the Caspian Sea in the west, from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east and from two more northerly sites in western and south-eastern Uzbekistan. It is possible that this clade also occurs in eastern Turkmenistan and adjacent Afghanistan, regions not sampled for the present study. The generally parapatric distribution of individual haplotypes, even within each of the three major clades, suggests advanced lineage sorting, either due to limited dispersal abilities, glacial isolation in distinct local microrefuges or both acting in accord. The localized distribution of endemic haplotypes in the northern and central plains as well as in the mountainous eastern and southern parts of the distribution range supports the existence of multiple microrefuges there. Records of haplotypes of distinct clades in sympatry or close geographic proximity are likely the result of Holocene range expansions. In recent years, thousands of confiscated steppe tortoises were released into the wild. The detected mitochondrial differentiation offers a powerful tool for nature conservation, as a means of determining the geographic origin of confiscated tortoises and selecting suitable reintroduction regions.

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