Strauch's Racerunner

Distribution

This species appear to occur as two disjunct populations. The first ranges from southern Armenia and Azerbaijan (in Zuvand, Nakhichevan and south-western Azerbaijan) into northwestern Iran and Turkey (eastern Anatolia region in the vicinities of Igdir and Tuzluca). The second population is present in the Kopet Dagh of northwestern Iran (northern Khorasan and eastern Mazanderan) and southern Turkmenistan. It may also be present in the isolated mountain regions of the Iranian Plateau (Baran and Atatur 1998; Anderson 1999). It is found up to 3,500m asl in Turkey.

Habitat

In Iran, the species has been recorded from silty soil, red sandstone, slopes, ridges and alluvial valleys. The vegetation at known sites is generally sparse, overgrazed dry shrubs and steppe (Anderson 1999). In Turkey, it is found in desert-like, dry open places with pebbly substrates and little vegetation (Baran and Atatur 1998). It hides in cracks and crevices and can also burrow. The female lays two clutches of between three and seven eggs annually.