Taxonomic Synopsis of the Slender Racer Snake Genus Platyceps Blyth, 1860 (Reptilia: Colubridae), from Iran

The slender racer snake genus Platyceps Blyth, 1860, with about 33 valid species, is distributed in northern and northeastern Africa, southern and southeastern Europe, Central Asia, southwestern Asia, and India. Among colubrid non-venomous snakes, the genus Platyceps is distinguished by such characteristics as high speed in movement, round pupils, loreal scales present, the uppermost scale in front of the eye connected to the frontal scale, seven or more upper labial scales, and 19 dorsal scales, smooth or slightly serrated. Five species of this genus occur on the Iranian Plateau as follows: Platyceps karelini (Brandt, 1838), P. mintonorum (Mertens, 1969), P. najadum (Eichwald, 1831), P. rhodorachis (Jan, 1863), and P. schmidtleri (Schätti & Mccarthy, 2001). Based on morphological and molecular characteristics, the taxonomic status of the subspecies P. k. mintonorum and P. n. schmidtleri was changed to a full species. The data used for the distribution maps were based on all available bibliographic records and personal field observations. The results showed that among the five species located in Iran, P. rhodorachis has the most widespread distribution and habitat diversity, and P. mintonorum has a very limited distribution along the border of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.