The lizard is named after Chagai District, where researchers documented it at four localities. It has a distinctive maze-like pattern of winding brown markings across its back.
Researchers have described a new species of racerunner lizard from the Chagai Desert in western Pakistan, near the borders of Afghanistan and Iran. The species, named Eremias chagaiensis, was identified during field surveys conducted between 2022 and 2025 in Balochistan.
The lizard is named after Chagai District, where researchers documented it at four localities. It has a distinctive maze-like pattern of winding brown markings across its back, unlike the longitudinal stripes typically seen in many related racerunners. Both juveniles and adults retain the patter. It is around 2.2 inches (5.7 cm) in length, with a tail that can exceed twice its body length.
Researchers used DNA analysis, along with comparisons of physical characteristics and scale patterns to establish that the lizard represents a new species. The researchers say it closely resembles Eremias graphica, a species described from Iran in 2023, but genetic analysis confirmed the two are separate evolutionary lineages.
“Balochistan’s deserts are among the least explored places in South Asia. Finding a new lizard here tells us how much is still undocumented,” lead researcher Rafaqat Masroor of the Pakistan Museum of Natural History said in a statement released to the media.
Eremias chagaiensis inhabits loose sand, particularly low dunes and sandy areas near desert shrubs, where it excavates burrows. Researchers did not find it on neighboring gravel plains, which were occupied by another racerunner, Eremias fasciata.
The study also confirms the presence of E. fasciata in Pakistan for the first time using modern specimens and DNA evidence. Although the species was reportedly recorded in Balochistan in 1921, its presence in the country had not been verified for more than a century.
Researchers currently know E. chagaiensis from just four locations. However, similar habitat extends into neighboring Afghanistan and possibly Iran, and additional surveys are needed to determine its full distribution. Because population numbers and potential threats remain unknown, researchers recommend a provisional conservation assessment of Data Deficient.
The findings bring the number of Eremias species documented in Pakistan to eight. The research was published in Zootaxa in a study by Rafaqat Masroor, Muhammad Danish, and Daniel Jablonski.
An abstract of the paper, “At the western edge of South Asia: a new species of Eremias Fitzinger, 1834 (Squamata: Lacertidae) from Balochistan and confirmed records of E. fasciata Blanford, 1874 for Pakistan” can be read on the Zootaxa website.
