Explore the vast range of titles available.

The Baluch Mountain Frog, Chrysopaa sternosignata (Dubois and Khan 1979), is one of the least known amphibian species in the Hindu Kush–Himalayan region. It is endemic to an area on the edge of the Palearctic region with harsh environment and with the long-term complicated security situation, where biodiversity research is difficult or virtually impossible. Thus, very little is known about the life history, ecology, and distribution of this frog, representing the monotypic genus Chrysopaa (Dicroglossidae). Similarly, data about the larva of this taxon are scarce. Thus, we provide the first detailed imagery and description of the larval stage of C. sternosignata (Dubois and Khan 1979) from Afghanistan. One tadpole was obtained from Jabul Saraj, Charikar, Afghanistan. Morphological and genetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA confirmed the identity of the larva as C. sternosignata. Tadpole characters were illustrated by photos. Basic measurements and details on oral apparatus provide relevant characteristics to delimit the larva of this species from other spiny frogs. This information should facilitate the identification of C. sternosignata larvae in museum collections and in the field.

Influenced by rapid changes in climate and landscape features since the Miocene, widely distributed species provide suitable models to study the environmental impact on their evolution and current genetic diversity. The dice snake Natrix tessellata, widely distributed in the Western Palearctic is one such species. We aimed to resolve a detailed phylogeography of N. tessellata with a focus on the Central Asian clade with 4 and the Anatolia clade with 3 mitochondrial lineages, trace their origin, and correlate the environmental changes that affected their distribution through time. The expected time of divergence of both clades began at 3.7 Mya in the Pliocene, reaching lineage differentiation approximately 1 million years later. The genetic diversity in both clades is rich, suggesting different ancestral areas, glacial refugia, demographic changes, and colonization routes. The Caspian lineage is the most widespread lineage in Central Asia, distributed around the Caspian Sea and reaching the foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan, and Eastern European lowlands in the west. Its distribution is limited by deserts, mountains, and cold steppe environments. Similarly, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan lineages followed the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya water systems in Central Asia, with ranges delimited by the large Kyzylkum and Karakum deserts. On the western side, there are several lineages within the Anatolia clade that converged in the central part of the peninsula with 2 being endemic to Western Asia. The distribution of both main clades was affected by expansion from their Pleistocene glacial refugia around the Caspian Sea and in the valleys of Central Asia as well as by environmental changes, mostly through aridification.

We document the first confirmed record of Calotes vultuosus (Harlan, 1825) from Pakistan, based on three specimens from Keamari, Sindh. DNA barcodes (16S, COI) and morphological traits place the studied material firmly within C. vultuosus, clearly distinct from related congeners. This finding extends the species’ distribution westward from India into coastal Pakistan and highlights the biogeographic significance of southern Pakistan and integrative approaches for resolving the distribution of the C. versicolor complex in South Asia.

Little is known about the life history, ecology, and distribution of the genus Allopaa (Dicroglossidae) and far less recent data are available about the larvae of this taxon. Here, we provide data on the larval stage of Allopaa hazarensis (Dubois & Khan, 1979) from northern Pakistan based on the examination of three tadpoles. Specimens were obtained from two sites in Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Morphological and genetic analysis (mtDNA and nDNA) confirmed the identity of the tadpoles as A. hazarensis . Tadpole characterizations were illustrated by detailed imagery. Basic measurements and details on oral apparatus provide relevant taxonomic characteristics to distinguish the tadpoles of this species from other spiny frogs. The illustration and description of the tadpole of A. hazarensis should facilitate the identification of this species in the field.

We report the first records of the Himalayan Ratsnake, Elaphe hodgsonii (Günther, 1860), from Pakistan, which are the first confirmed occurrences of the genus in the country. Several observations from May–June 2025 allowed us to document the species from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Region, extending the known range westward from India. One juvenile specimen was deposited in the Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH 5164). These findings confirm earlier published predictions and highlight the Himalaya as a transitional biogeographic zone, while underscoring the need for further surveys and phylogeographic studies.

Heretofore, the populations of the genus Sphaerotheca Günther, 1859 (Dicroglossidae) in their northern and western borders laying in Pakistan have been assigned to two species, S. breviceps (Schneider, 1799) and S. strachani (Murray, 1884). The genus originated in the Oriental zoogeographic region and comes to close geographic proximity with the Palearctic region in Pakistan. The recent molecular studies have on one hand restricted the distribution range of S. breviceps to the eastern coastal plains of India and, on the other hand, revealed the northern- and westernmost population in India as a separate species, S. pashchima Padhye et al., 2017. This species has recently been synonymized with S. maskeyi (Schleich and Anders, 1998). These taxonomic changes, however, warranted the need for validation of Pakistani Sphaerotheca based on genetic data. We sequenced and analyzed 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene from specimens originating from the Himalayan foothills of Pakistan and compared these with all available GenBank sequences of the genus. Based on this data, we conclude that the Himalayan foothills of Pakistan are occupied by S. maskeyi. Simultaneously, we bring the first record of this species for the Palearctic region. We further suggest that more genetic material from across Pakistan is required to ascertain the validity of S. strachani and for the phylogeographic evaluation of western and northern border populations of the genus. Our geographically wide and revisited molecular phylogeny shows that the genus exhibits genetic diversity suggesting further taxonomic changes. The low level of genetic divergences between S. breviceps and S. magadha Prasad et al., 2019 compared to other species of the genus, indicates that the taxonomic status of S. magadha is questionable. Moreover, we found that S. magadha and S. swani (Mayers and Leviton, 1956) are genetically conspecific with S. breviceps and both should be thus considered its junior synonyms. On the other hand, S. dobsonii and populations from Myanmar need further detailed investigations.

Takhar Province of Afghanistan was previously known to harbour only two species of amphibians and eight species of reptiles with no record of snake species. From 2020 to 2021, we collected herpetological data from the Province and identified 14 species and specimens representing species complexes (Bufotes viridis complex and Trapelus agilis complex), with first records of Testudo horsfieldii (Testudinidae), Paralaudakia badakhshana (Agamidae), Pseudopus apodus (Anguidae), Tenuidactylus caspius (Gekkonidae), Eumeces schneideri (Scincidae) and Varanus griseus (Varanidae). In addition, we report the first province records of snakes, including Eryx tataricus (Erycidae), Hemorrhois ravergieri (Colubridae), Natrix tessellata (Natricidae) and the venomous species Naja oxiana (Elapidae). These records connect and supplement previously obtained data of these species from surrounding provinces and neighbouring countries. Our data reveal that Takhar Province is home to at least 20 species of amphibians and reptiles with a strong affiliation to the Turanian chorotype. All these data are a significant source of information for the diversity of herpetofauna in Afghanistan and subsequent biodiversity research in the Central Asiatic region.

The Himalaya-Tibet orogen (HTO) presents an outstanding geologically active formation that contributed to, and fostered, modern Asian biodiversity. However, our concepts of the historical biogeography of its biota are far from conclusive, as are uplift scenarios for the different parts of the HTO. Here, we revisited our previously published data set of the tribe Paini extending it with sequence data from the most western Himalayan spiny frogs and and using them as an indirect indicator for the potential paleoecological development of Tibet. We obtained sequence data of two mitochondrial loci (16S rRNA, COI) and one nuclear marker (Rag1) from samples from Kashmir Himalaya as well as sequence data from the Hindu Kush available from GenBank to complement our previous data set. A Maximum likelihood and dated Bayesian gene tree were generated based on the concatenated data set. To resolve the inconsistent placement of , we performed different topology tests. Consistent with previous results, the Southeast Asian genus is sister to all other spiny frogs. The results further reveal a basal placement of relative to and with an estimated age of 26 Mya. Based on the topology tests, the phylogenetic position of as a sister clade to seems to be most likely, resulting in a paraphyletic genus and a separation from the latter clade around 20 Mya, although a basal position of to the genus cannot be entirely excluded. Both, the placements of and support the presence of basal Paini lineages in the far northwestern part of the HTO, which is diametrically opposite end of the HTO with respect to the ancestral area of spiny frogs in Southeast Asia. These striking distributional patterns can be most parsimoniously explained by trans-Tibet dispersal during the late Oligocene (subtropical ) respectively early Miocene (warm temperate ). Within spiny frogs, only members of the monophyletic + clade are adapted to the colder temperate climates, indicating that high-altitude environments did not dominate in the HTO before 15 Mya. Our results are consistent with fossil records suggesting that large parts of Tibet were characterized by subtropical to warm temperate climates at least until the early Miocene. They contradict prevalent geological models of a highly uplifted late Paleogene proto-Plateau.

The Brahminy blindsnake, Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803) complex, is a small, parthenogenetic typhlopid widely distributed across tropical and subtropical Asia and represented by numerous introduced populations worldwide. Although reported from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, its occurrence in Afghanistan has remained unverified. During field surveys in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan, we collected a specimen morphologically consistent with I. braminus complex and generated mitochondrial DNA sequences (16S, COI, cytochrome b). Phylogenetic analyses, incorporating newly sequenced material from Pakistan, revealed that the Afghan and Pakistani samples form a distinct, well-supported clade within the I. braminus complex that is also known from southern India (I. cf. braminus II), and is genetically distinct from both I. braminus sensu stricto and the globally widespread introduced clade I. cf. braminus I. This constitutes the first genetically and morphologically confirmed record of Indotyphlops Hedges et al., 2014 from Afghanistan and the first published genetic data for the genus from Pakistan. Our findings extend the documented northwestern range limit of the I. braminus complex on the Indian subcontinent, with its occurrence in Afghanistan apparently associated with low-elevation subtropical river corridors and limited northwards by the high-elevation and arid landscapes of the Hindu Kush region. In addition, our global synthesis of genotyped records provides an “out-of-India” perspective on the worldwide introductions within the complex.