Annotated checklist and conservation status of mammals of Fars Province, southern Iran

Our purpose in this study was to gather all previously published data and our own data of extensive field expeditions and camera trapping to present a general view of the Fars mammals. The mammals of Fars Province, southern Iran, comprise of 72 species in 53 genera, 28 families and seven orders. The most diverse order is Chiroptera with 23 species or 31.9% of the mammalian fauna, followed by Carnivora and Rodentia (each with 18 species, 25%). The most diverse family is Vespertilionidae with nine species or 12.5% of the mammalian fauna, followed by Rhinopomatidae and Muridae, each with eight species or 11.1% of the mammalian fauna, Felidae and Canidae (each with five species, 6.9%), respectively. Sixteen families have only one species each. The Fars Province is the type locality of Triaenops persicus Dobson, 1871, Eptesicus serotinus shiraziensis (Dobson, 1871), Microtus irani Thomas, 1921, and Apodemus witherbyi (Thomas, 1902). Five species are listed in the Appendix I, eight species in the Appendix II, and eight species in the Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, three species are considered as endangered and nine species as protected species based on the rules and regulations/laws of the Iranian Department of the Environment (DOE). The Asiatic Lion Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 is extirpated in Iran. Among the reported species, 60 species (83.3%) are considered as Least Concern (LC), two species as Not Evaluated (2.7%), one species as Data Deficient (1.4%), six species (8.3%) as Vulnerable (VU), and three species (4.2%) as Near Threatened (NT) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The current checklist shows that the mammalian fauna of Fars Province is rich and taxonomically diverse, and the provided information will be necessary for the development of competent and pragmatic management plans and effective conservation policies.


INTRODUCTION
The information provided in checklists is necessary for the development of competent and pragmatic management plans and effective conservation policies (Esmaeili et al. 2017). Biodiversity conservation, biogeography, and evolutionary history influence faunal composition. This is also true when postulating interrealms communication routes and dispersal barriers (Lomolino et al. 2006). Faunal composition data, when coupled with geographical, physiographic, and climatological information, can inform hypotheses on the processes of diversification and endemism (Darvish et al. 2014). Faunal documentation is also relevant to public health management (Stenseth et al. 2003), especially in the case of mammals which are considered as pests (Schiller et al. 1999) and reservoirs of zoonotic diseases (Nateghpour et al. 2013).
Zoogeographically, Iran is an interesting country, as much of its area is located in the Western Palearctic, but southern parts are affected by the Indomalayan and Afrotropical elements. Thus, diversity in the mammalian fauna of Iran is such that it can be considered as a collection of European, African, Asian, and Iranian species (Ziaie 1996).
Situated in southern Iran, the Fars Province is the fourth largest province of the country. Besides its idiosyncratic zoogeographic position, a wide range of geographic and physiographic conditions, coupled with climatologically diverse environments in this province, have provided enormous diversity (Esmaeili & Teimori 2017). Among vertebrates, the herpetofauna (Gholamifard et al. 2012) and ichthyofauna (Esmaeili & Teimori 2017) of Fars Province have been well-studied and received more attention. So far, no comprehensive faunistic study has been published on the mammalian fauna of Fars Province. Herein, we present an up-todate checklist of its mammalian species with notes on their taxonomy and conservation status.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study Area: This checklist focuses on the mammals of Fars Province which lies between 27 0 N and 31 0 N and 50 0 E and 55 0 E in southern Iran and covers a total area of about 1,22,608km² (7.4% of the total area of Iran). The map of the study area ( Fig. 1) has been created using Global Mapper 18 (Global Mapper Software, LLC, Olathe, Kansas) and Surfer 11 (Golden Software, LLC). The elevation of Fars Province ranges from 450m in the south to about 4,050m in the north, with a mean of 1,491m. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 150mm to 1,200mm (Gholamifard et al. 2012).
Fars Province possesses three national parks (Bamou, Bakhtegan, and Qatruiyeh), one wildlife refuge (Bakhtegan), eight protected areas (Arzhan and Parishan, Mianjangal, Hormood, Bahram-e Goor, Meleh Galeh, Tang-e Bostanak, Margoon, and Baghe Shadi), minor parts of two other protected areas (Dena and Tarom) and 17 non-hunting areas (Fig. 1). Recommended areas for promotion to protected status are also the Dareh Bagh, Barm-e Firouz, and Gorm Mountains. Thus, the total area of the listed protected areas (both declared and recommended) in this province is about 12,80,386ha (31.1% of the total area).
Fars Province possesses three main terrestrial ecoregions, including the central Persian desert basins in the north and northeast, the Zagros Mountains forest steppe extending from northwest to the southeast, and the Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert ecoregion in the south, as well as numerous aquatic ecoregions including at least 10 lakes and 29 rivers (Olson et al. 2001). A wide range of geographic and geologic conditions coupled with the climatologically diverse environments and consequent habitat types have provided enormous diversity in this part of Iran.

RESULTS
The total confirmed mammals of Fars Province comprises 72 species in 53 genera, 28 families, and seven orders (Table 1), living in different habitats (Image 1). The most diverse order is Chiroptera (23 species, 31.9%), followed by Carnivora and Rodentia  (each with 18 species, 25%). The most diverse family is Vespertilionidae (nine species or 12.5%), followed by Rhinopomatidae and Muridae (each with eight species, 11.1%), Felidae and Canidae (each with five species, 6.9%), respectively. Sixteen families have only one species each. Fars Province is the type locality of Triaenops persicus Dobson, 1871, Eptesicus serotinus shiraziensis (Dobson, 1871), Microtus irani Thomas, 1921, andApodemus witherbyi (Thomas, 1902). Among the reported species, 60 species (83.3%) are considered as Least Concern (LC), two species as Not Evaluated (2.7%), one species as Data Deficient (1.4%), six species (8.3%) as Vulnerable (VU), and three species (4.2%) as Near Threatened (NT) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Five species are listed in Appendix I, eight Diagnosis: HB 140-270 mm, T 10-40 mm, HF 33-38 mm, S 38mm and W 400-700 g; ears triangular and longer than the dorsal spines; a bare triangular area between spines on the forehead; body black, with tawny and white forms; face and under parts hairs black in the black forms, spines with black and yellow stripes, but the whole body looks black; ventral area whitish-yellow, and spines tawny with no black coloration in the lighter forms.

Rhinopoma microphyllum (Brünnich, 1782) -Greater Mouse-tailed Bat
Type Locality: Egypt, Giza. Diagnosis: HB 61-102 mm, FA 59-70 mm, T 30-63 mm and W 14-37 g. The largest mouse-tailed bat; tail shorter than forearm; calcar absent; tragus long and bluntly sickle-shaped; feet slender, but larger than those of other two species of Rhinopoma; interfemoral membrane small, posterior border slightly concave and inserted on each tibia distally at about three-quarters of its length; face, lips and upper throat nearly naked; lower back and extreme lower abdomen also naked; back hair pale greyish-brown, slightly paler below; sagittal crest much more developed than that of R. hardwickii; teeth 28.

Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) -Greater Horseshoe Bat (Image 2E)
Type Locality: France. Diagnosis: HB 54-71 mm, FA 51-61 mm, T 31-44 mm and W 13-34 g. Largest horseshoe bat; horseshoe relatively narrow and does not cover the whole muzzle; sella relatively small, constricted in the middle, widened below and narrowed above; lower connecting process pointed; upper connecting process short, bluntly rounded; lancet hastate, tip long and slender; third metacarpal short; in the nominate subspecies, ears and membranes light grey-brown, juveniles distinctly greyer; Rhinolophus ferrumequinum irani paler; pale fawn above, the hair bases pale drab darkening to pale fawn at the tip; underparts pale drab; wraps itself completely in wing membranes when torpid.

Family Emballonuridae Gervais, 1855 Genus Taphozous Geoffroy, 1818
Taphozous perforatus Geoffroy, 1818 -Egyptian Tomb Bat (Image 2H) Type Locality: Egypt, Kom Ombo. Diagnosis: HB 56-73 mm, FA 58-66 mm, T 14-28 mm and W 20-30 g. Morphologically similar to Taphozous nudiventris but distinctly smaller and fully covered with soft and silky fur on both dorsal and ventral surfaces, down to the root of the tail; dorsal hairs bicoloured with white bases and sepia brown tips; ventral side grey or greyish-brown; gular sac abscent; the ears tall and narrow with about 10 transverse ridges; tragus clubshaped; the tail protrudes through the donsal surface of the interfemoral membrane at the mid-point; lessdeveloped calcar than T. nudiventris; the wings are long and narrow and the membranes are brownish; a well-developed pouch of skin on the ventral side of the carpus, between the base of fifth finger and the forearm; the braincase smooth, lacking the powerful sagittal crest of T. nudiventris; the upper incisor minute; the second upper premolar attains the height of the canine.
Comments: The Jahrom record (Fars Province) represents one of the northernmost sites of T. perforatus in the Asian part of the species range (Benda et al. 2012a).
Distribution: Fig. 2  Diagnosis: HB 50-62 mm, FA 44-54 mm, T 21-30 mm and W 6-13 g. Size small; the nose leaf with three distinctive vertical processes above the horseshoe; central process pointed, outer two blunt, tail protruding 3-5 mm beyond the interfemural membrane; ears fairly large, with a very convex outer margin; fur soft, fluffy and dense, variable from reddish or bright orange to pale brownish-grey or pale yellow on the back, paler whitish buff on the belly; small upper premolar absent.

Genus Triaenops Dobson, 1871
Triaenops persicus Dobson, 1871 -Persian Leafnosed Bat Type locality: Iran, Fars Province, Shiraz. Diagnosis: HB 51-64 mm, FA 49-55 mm, T 31-39 mm and W 8-15 g. Slightly larger than Asellia tridens; tail tip does not protrude from the interfemoral membrane; pinna with a conspicuous notch on the inner margin; color light grey brown on the back and pale buff on the belly; some individuals tinted with orange-red; noseleaf with three long vertical projections, fourth one projects from the centre; second phalanx of the fourth digit with a spicule of bone projecting transversely into the wing membrane; a small first upper premolar present. Distribution: Fig. 2

Family Vespertilionidae Gray, 1821 Genus Eptesicus Rafinesque, 1820
Eptesicus serotinus (Schreber, 1774) -Common Serotine Type Locality: France. Diagnosis: HB 66-92 mm, FA 46-58 mm, T 47-56 mm and W 18-35 g. Size large; snout broad; face and ears black-brown; ears moderately tall (14-22 mm), with broad tragus less than half the height of the ear; dorsal fur long (11mm) and silky; hairs dark brown at base, with shiny lighter tips, golden brown in some populations; ventral fur lighter, yellow-brown or greybrown, with no distinct demarcation along the neck; tail tip protrudes from interfemoral membrane by 5-6 mm; calcar half-length of tail membrane; narrow postcalcarial lobe present; wings broad (5th finger longer than 59mm); upper tooth-row (CM 3 ) more than 72mm; southwestern form of the country larger than northern forms, northwestern form darker than southwestern and northeastern forms.
Comments: Except an isolate from Fars Province (E. s. shiraziensis. Type locality: Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran), DeBlase (1980) assigned most of the records from Iran to the nominate subspecies.

Eptesicus anatolicus Felten, 1971 -Anatolian Serotine
Type Locality: Turkey, Alanya. Diagnosis: HB 61-77 mm, FA 43-52 mm, T 42-59 mm and W 14-21 g. A medium-sized serotine, smaller than E. serotinus (Schreber, 1774) but larger than E. bottae (Peters, 1869); snout shorter and tragus narrower than in E. serotinus; face, ears and flight membranes deep black and in contrast with the paler fur; dorsal hairs shorter (8.5mm) than in E. serotinus, bicolored with brown base and honey to blond tips; ventral fur whitishgrey; youngsters darker with more grey shades and a less strongly contrasting ventral side; penis broader at the tip; skull wider, braincase higher than that of E. bottae; upper tooth-row (CM 3 ) less than 7mm; second upper incisors small, barely taller than the cingulum on the first incisors.
Comments: DeBlase (1980) reported one site, Darab, Fars Province; Benda et al. (2012a) added further records from Jahrom, Fars Province, southern Iran. Distribution: Fig. 2 (7,11,18,20,27,28 (Schreber, 1774), but smaller and darker with a more pointed nose; tragus short, broad, and mushroom shaped, distally; long fur dark rufous brown on the back, lighter yellowish brown on the ventral; dorsal fur bicolored, hairs with a darker base; ears, nose and membranes dark brown to black; underside of the wing membranes covered with hairs along the body and up along the arms to the fifth finger; tail membrane extends to the ankles with well-developed calcars; tail short and barely protrudes beyond the membrane.

Genus Pipistrellus Kaup, 1829
Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817) -Kuhl's Pipistrelle Type Locality: Italy, Triest. Diagnosis: HB 39-55 mm, FA 30-36 mm, T 30-45 mm and W 5-10 g. Size small, larger than P. pipistrellus (Schreber, 1774); dorsal fur bicolored, dark at base and lighter yellowish-brown at tips; free edge of the wing and tail membrane, particularly between the fifth digit and foot, with a white edge of variable width; ears small, with five transverse folds; tragus rounded, but not wider at the tip; first upper incisors with single cusp, second upper incisors very small; first upper premolars (p 3 ) very small, displaced inside tooth row.

Pipistrellus pipistrellus (Schreber, 1774) -Common Pipistrelle
Type Locality: France, Normandy, Beauvais Cathedral. Diagnosis: HB 36-51 mm, FA 28-34 mm, T 23-36 mm and W 4-8 g. Size small; face and ears dark brown to black, contrasting with the fur, chestnut to dark brown on the back and grey-brown on ventral side; internarial ridge absent; tragus half-length of ear, smoothly curved with round tip; tail membrane with no hair; fifth digit less than 42mm; calcar one third of interfemoral membrane; postcalcarial lobe obvious; penis gray; glans penis with a pale median stripe; first upper incisors bicuspid; second upper incisors as high as the secondary cusp of first incisors; first upper premolars (p 3 ) small and partially concealed by canine, when viewed from the side.

Genus Hypsugo Kolenati, 1856
Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837) -Savi's Pipistrelle Type Locality: Italy, Pisa. Diagnosis: HB 40-54 mm, FA 32-38 mm, T 31-43 mm and W 5-10 g. Size small; dorsal fur long and silky; hairs bicolored, dark bases and tips may vary between pale and dark buff; ventral fur lighter, greyish-brown bases and yellowish-white to silver tips; no distinct line of demarcation along the neck; membranes, face and ears very dark; calcar poorly developed; postcalcarial lobe narrow; tip of tail projects about 3mm beyond interfemoral membrane; first upper incisor bicuspid, with secondary cusp about three-quarters the height of the principal one; first upper premolar (p 3 ) small, or even absent, and hidden by the canine and large upper premolar.

Genus Myotis Kaup, 1829
Myotis blythii (Tomes, 1857) -Lesser Mouse-eared Myotis Type Locality: India, Rajasthan, Nasirabad. Diagnosis: HB 68-81 mm, FA 54-68 mm, T 49-71 mm and W 18-30 g. Largest myotis in Iran, distinguishable from other members based on forearm length; size cline in cranial measurements, culminating in west Iran; ears slightly shorter (22-29 mm) and narrower than in M. myotis (Borkhausen, 1797), with five to six folds along the outer edge; nose narrower and more pointed; feet smaller; thumb long measuring 11.5mm with the claw; tail relatively long; skull shorter but broader; cheek teeth smaller in breadth; color paler than M. oxygnathus Monticelli, 1885; dorsal fur uniform pale wood brown to dull grey; ventral fur lighter and broadly washed with cream buff.

Myotis capaccinii (Bonaparte, 1837) -Long-fingered Myotis
Type Locality: Italy, Sicily. Diagnosis: HB 42-57 mm, FA 38-44 mm, T 35-47 mm and W 7-10 g. A medium-sized myotis with large and strong feet with long bristles; nostrils markedly protrude forward; dorsal fur and wing membrane grey; ventral fur light grey or white; youngsters inconspicuously grey; face reddish-brown; ears and membranes grey; ears length medium (14-17 mm); tragus lanceolate, slightly S-shaped, reaching about half the height of the ear; wing membrane attached to tibia above ankle; dorsal and ventral sides of interfemoral membrane covered with downy hair to about centre; calcar straight, extending to one third of the interfemoral membrane.
Diagnosis: Fig. 2 (17-20 mm), with a distinct notch at about two-thirds height; tragus pointed and more than half the length of the ear; fur dense and wooly; dorsal hairs tricolored, with a grey base, buff centre section and orange-brown tips; ventral fur yellow-grey; face, ears and membranes reddish-brown; calcar about half length of interfemoral membrane, fringed with short and soft hairs; individuals from southeast of Iran slightly larger and lighter.
Comments: Iranian populations assigned to M. e. desertorum (Benda et al. 2006). Distribution: Fig. 2 (1 , 7, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 23, 26, 27, 29, 30 Diagnosis: HB 58-67 mm, FA 43-48 mm, T 56-66 mm, W 10-19 g. Size medium; snout short (CM 3 less than 6.2mm); forehead high domed; baculum absent; ears short (9-12 mm) and triangular, widely separated and not projecting above the top of the head; tragus short and curved, with a round tip; head and dorsal fur greyish-brown, paler and greyer than M. schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817); ventral side greyish-white; no demarcation line along the sides of the neck; wings long and narrow, with the second phalanx of the third finger about three times as long as the first phalanx; at rest, the third and fourth fingers fold inwards at the joint between the first and second phalanx; tail very long; calcar reaches less than half the length of the interfemoral membrane; postcalcarial lobe absent; teeth 38; vestigial anterior premolar typical of the family.
Comments: The elevation of traditional subspecies M. s. pallidus Thomas, 1907 to full separate species status is confirmed by recent genetic and biogeographic studies and all Iranian populations affiliate taxonomically to it (Furman et al. 2010;Karami et al. 2016).
Distribution: Fig. 2 (all provinces).  -Scott 1951). Iranian populations are uniform in the size and shape of skull (Khosravi et al. 2012). Khosravi et al. (2013) and Aghbolaghi et al. (2014) concluded that hybridization between C. l. pallipes and C. familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) is sporadic in the country and can be a threat to wolf populations.
Distribution: Fig. 2  Head, body and tail shorter than those of the common fox, but ears larger and wider; digitigrade; soles of the feet fully covered with hair; fore and hind feet relatively short; fur soft and dense, sandy or yellowish light orange, becoming grayish dark brown on the upper side and turning to white on the lower parts; tail slightly darker than the body and is whitetipped; sides of the face and cheeks white; a dark tearline runs from the corner of the eye to the mouth.
Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) -Red Fox Type Locality: Sweden, Uppsala. Diagnosis: HB 50-90 cm, T 30-50 cm, SH 35-45 cm and W 2.5-10 kg. Body medium sized; muzzle slender; ears long and pointed; tail long, bushy and white-tipped; coat varies from brownish-gray or reddish-brown to light cream; ventral lighter than the dorsal and creamy; backs of the ears black or brown; lips, face sides and cheek white; a black tear-line runs from the eyes to the mouth.
Comments: Iranian specimens assigned to three subspecies, V. v. pusilla Blyth, 1854, V. v. flavescens Gray, 1843and V. v. splendens Thomas, 1902(Witt & Deblase 1983. Distribution: Fig. 2  Diagnosis: HB 55-90 cm, T 22-34 cm, SH 40-50 cm and W 18kg. Female relatively smaller; slender, yet muscular with long, triangular ears with highly developed apical black tufts (almost 6cm); limbs long and slender; tail medium without a black tip; footpads wide; pelage uniform light sandy brown to a darker red-brown on the back; ventral and areas around the eyes and under the chin white; no pattern or spots on the body.
Diagnosis: HB 55-94 cm, T 20-31 cm, SH 35-40 cm and W 5-12 kg. Larger than the wildcat; pelage grey to brownish-red with no distinctive marking on the body, except for occasional dark bands or spots on the limbs; tail tip with 2-3 black rings.
Felis margarita Loche, 1858 -Sand Cat Type Locality: Algeria. Diagnosis: HB 39-57 cm, T 28-35 cm, SH 24-30 cm and W 1.3-3.4 kg. Fur pale sandy to yellow over most of the body, with pallid bars, and white on the chin and ventral; black tipped tail with 2-3 black bands; two reddish lines run across the cheeks from the outer corners of the eyes; long hairs growing between toes that create a cushion of fur under the footpads; ears large and widely spaced.
Felis silvestris Schreber, 1777 -Wild Cat Type Locality: Germany. Diagnosis: HB 50-80 cm, T 25-35 cm, SH 30-40 cm and W 3-6 kg. Tail long and bushy with widened black tip; muzzle short; eyes large; ears large and triangular shaped; fore and hind feet long and slender; body brown to grey; well-pronounced spots present on the body; body larger than that of a domestic cat, with more spots.
Distribution: Fig. 2  Distribution: Fig. 2 (all provinces). Although the species has a wide distribution in Iran, it has a low abundance. In Bamu National Park, seven adult leopards were identified and a density of 1.9 leopards/ 100km 2 was estimated (Khorozyan 2008  round and small; fore and hind limbs short with long non-retractable and strong claws; snout elongated and pointed; eyes small; body covered with long and dense hairs which are light brown to red fawn on the back and lighter on the belly; tail color similar to that of the body with a dark reddish tip. Comments: Khoobdel et al. (2016) documented the negative impacts of introduced H. edwardsii on biodiversity in the Abu-Musa Island, southern Iran. Distribution: Fig. 2 (21 , 27, 28, 29, 30). Conservation status: IUCN: Least Concern; CITES: Appendix III; DOE: unsupported.

Herpestes javanicus (Geoffroy, 1818) -Small Asian Mongoose
Type Locality: Indonesia, Java. Diagnosis: HB 22-46 cm, T 22-29 cm, HF 4.4-5.2 cm, E 2-2.5 cm and W 0.3-1 kg. Male somewhat bigger with a wider head; distinguished from H. Edwardsii by its smaller size and less dense hair; head elongated; ears short; body slender; legs short; plantigrade with five toes on both front and hind legs; the soles of the front and hind feet naked and dark; body and tail grayish-brown spotted with small golden or olive dots; fur under the chin and throat creamy-buff; eyes relatively small with a brown ocular ring.
Distribution: Fig. 2 (18, 27). Diagnosis: HB 112-184 cm, T 25-47 cm, SH 60-94 cm, and W 25-55 kg. Head and jaws large; ears long and narrow with bluntly pointed tips; neck bent downwards; forelimbs longer and stronger than the hind limbs; tail length medium, covered with long hair; a dense, tall mane extends from the back of the head to the beginning of the tail; pelage creamy white to gray with black or dark brown stripes; snout and around the eyes black; a black patch present on the throat; dorsal hair long, dense and gray in winter; digitigrade with four toes on the front and hind legs; moves the front and hind limb of each side of the body simultaneously while walking. Distribution: Fig. 2 (5 , 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30).

Genus Meles Brisson, 1762
Meles meles (Linnaeus, 1758) -Eurasian Badger Type Locality: Sweden, Uppsala. Diagnosis: HB 56-90 cm, T 15-20 cm, HF 9-11 cm, E 3-5.5 cm, SH 30cm and W 10-16 kg. Head small; tail short and thick, snout narrow; ears small but quite visible; neck short; limbs short and strong; feet bottoms covered with soft hairs; claws on the forelimbs strong, elongated with an obtuse end; back and flanks fur long and coarse, generally silvery-gray; belly and legs black; two black bands pass along the head, starting from the upper lip and passing upwards to the base of the ears; a wide white band extends between the two dark bands, from the nose tip through the forehead and crown.

Order Artiodactyla Owen, 1848 Family Suidae Gray, 1821 Genus Sus Linnaeus, 1758
Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 -Wild Boar (Image 6A) Type Locality: Germany. Diagnosis: HB 100-185 cm, T 16-30 cm, SH 60-110 cm and W 50-300 kg. Body big; head large; neck short and thick; hand and feet with four digits extended to hoofs, but only middle toes reach to the ground; eyes small; muzzle long and cylindrical with nostrils on its flat tip; hair shaggy long, brown to grey in color but sometimes creamy yellow; youngsters with yellow and brown stripes; canines present in both upper and lower jaws; males with more developed canine teeth, visible as half-circle shaped tusks emerging from the mouth.
Distribution: Fig. 2  numbers of points correlated with age; antlers shed in the winter and start growing in spring; length of antlers and their branches 50-70 cm and 7-20 cm, respectively; antlers in old males shorter and sometimes with no branches; body covered with reddish orange short hairs on the back and flanks in summer; white spots present on the back and flanks which turns to the white line on the latter; body hair longer in winter and grey in color.
Comments: Suggested Iranian subspecies is D. d. mesopotamica (Brooke, 1875). The original habitats of Persian Fallow Deer in Iran were open landscapes with scattered trees and shrubs in Zagros Mountains in western Iran and woodlands in southwestern province of Khuzestan, however, habitat destruction and extensive hunting wiped out or severely reduced their populations. Now the small free remaining herds are scattered in woodlands along Karkheh and, perhaps, Dez rivers. Presently, the majority of Persian Fallow Deer in Iran live on Ashk Island in Urmia Lake and several enclosures throughout the country, including the Miankotal, Arzhan, and Parishan protected areas in Fars Province (Karami et al. 2016).
Distribution: Fig. 2 (2 , 4, 7, 15, 18, 20, 24, 27 (Gueldenstaedt, 1780); winter fur in eastern populations dark grayish sandy, often with a distinct brown band edging the white underparts; summer fur reddish-brown; western populations larger, lighter, and lack the dark mid-facial region of the eastern populations; horns rather parallel with tips, sometimes turning in; horns longer in males; tail black, conspicuous against the white buttocks when raise in scape.
Diagnosis: HB 90-115 cm, T 16-20 cm, SH 70-80 cm and W 20-45 kg. Males horns reach 25-45 cm in length, black and sharply diverging, and form an S-shaped, bending up backward and turning in at the tips; females lack horns, but in western Iran females with short horns observed; males with a goiter-like bulge on the throat during the mating season; legs long; tail quite short; fur short and sandy during the warm season, replaced by thick and brownish fur in winter, and becomes lighter with increasing age.

Genus Capra Linnaeus, 1758
Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777 -Wild Goat (Image  6E) Type Locality: Russia, NE Caucasus, Dagestan. Diagnosis: HB 120-160 cm, T 15-20 cm, SH 70-100 cm and W 25-120 kg. Males with long scimitar shaped horns marked with annual growth rings that could reach 152cm in length; females with short horns (few centimeters); body stocky and muscular; fur brownish or yellowish gray; males darker; adult males with a beard and a black stripe running from the withers down the front of the shoulders merging with the black chest; become pale with increasing age, and cream-white on the sides and flanks in an advanced age; front of their feet with black hairs; fur paler in winter; males with special sebaceous glands under the tail.
Comments: Iranian subspecies are the nominate one and C. a. blythi Hume, 1875.

Genus Ovis Linnaeus, 1758
Ovis orientalis Gmelin, 1774 -Mouflon (Image 6F) Type Locality: Iran, Eastern Alborz Mountains. Diagnosis: HB 140cm, SH 80cm, and W 20-65 kg. Males larger, with horns shorter than the horns of male Urial Wild Sheep and with somewhat elliptical cross sections; horns curve in the same plane towards the neck; chest and throat hairs rough, short and range from brown to black; females lack horns or with short and slightly curved horns; males with a white or gray saddle patch in winter.
Comments: Four subspecies are recognized in Iran, O. o. laristanica Nasonov, 1909, O. o. isphahanica Nasonov, 1910, O. o. gmelinii Blyth, 1841and O. o. arkal Eversmann, 1850(Ziaie 1996 to Laristan rams but with a large body size. Distribution is limited to areas surrounding Shiraz, especially Bamou National Park (Karami et al. 2016). Based on a molecular study, Rezaei et al. (2010) concluded that wild sheeps in Iran form two monophyletic groups (O. orientalis in western parts and O. vignei in eastern parts of the country) and other populations throughout Iran are hybrids of these two species.

Allactaga elater (Lichtenstein, 1828) -Small Fivetoed Jerboa
Type Locality: Western Kazakhstan, Kirgiz Steppe. Diagnosis: HB 90-128 mm, T 148-185 mm, HF 46-58 mm, E 25-38 mm and W 32-73 g. Smallest jerboa in Iran; muzzle short and wide; ears long, when folded forward, extend beyond the muzzle; pelage dark grey on the back with buff tipped hairs; flanks lighter and venter white; a white bar on the thigh, which unites with the white color on the venter; tail tuft with three colors of hair, short off-white hairs, followed by 3cm black hairs and 2cm long white hairs at the tip; hind feet with five fingers; feet soles naked; a pair of small premolars on the upper jaw; small incisors with no grooves.
Diagnosis: HB 70-92 mm, T 82-100 mm, HF 20-23 mm, E 19-26 mm and W 10-24 g. Body small; ears long and tail bushy; snout rounded; eyes large; hind feet delicate with five toes; part of the feet soles covered with white hair, while the rest naked; body orange brown on top and white underneath; flanks dark; ears long, bare, light and covered with scattered hairs; the frontal base of the ears with a small white patch; upper parts of the fore and hind limbs white; lower part of the tail pure white.
Comments: Akbarirad et al. (2016) revealed the existence of four groups in Iran and concluded that the Zagros Mountains has promoted geographic isolation in the genus Calomyscus. Group B includes the samples from the southeastern part of the Zagros including Fars Province.

Family Cricetidae Fischer, 1817 Genus Arvicola Lacépède, 1799
Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) -Eurasian Water Vole Type Locality: England. Diagnosis: HB 146-186 mm, T 100-136 mm, HF 30-33 mm, E 15-17mm and W 80-200 g. Largest vole in Iran; head large; muzzle wide and short; eyes small; ears short and hide among hairs; dorsal hairs dark brown mixed with orange and grey; flank darker, turning to black; ventral grey, sometimes tinted with orange yellow; tail long and almost half of the head-body length, covered with short hairs; cartilaginous scales visible; soles of fore and hind limbs bare; incisors yellow-orange; molar teeth grow continuously as incisors.
Diagnosis: HB 110-140 mm, T 50-70 mm, HF 18-22 mm, E 16-18 mm and W 38-50 g. Tail long yellow, almost half the head-body length; fur long and dense, which is light brown mixed with gray, gradually gives away to gray on the sides; ventral fur white gray; soles of fore and hind limbs naked; claws white and pointed; pinna small.
Distribution: Fig. 2 (5, 15, 19, 23 Comments: To date, five different cytotypes were reported for this species that made it a notorious example of an unstable taxonomy (Zima et al. 2013).
Distribution: Fig. 2 (27). The first report was from an orchard near Shiraz at 1,700m. It was described by Thomas, 1921 from the southern border of Microtus species range (Shiraz-Iran) (Karami et al. 2016). A recent study on chromosomal data of Microtus species from Iran have revealed two different cytotypes (2n=48, 64) from the type locality (Mahmoudi et al. 2014). Mahmoudi et al. (2014) also confirmed the limited scope of M. irani irani just to the type locality (Shiraz), and showed more extended range of M. i. karamani between Iran, Lebanon and Turkey.

Genus Cricetulus Milne-Edwards, 1867
Cricetulus migratorius (Pallas, 1773) -Gray Dwarf Hamster Type Locality: Western Kazakhstan, lower Ural River. Diagnosis: HB 85-115 mm, T 20-35 mm, HF 14-19 mm, E 15-20 mm and W 35g. Body small; face wide; muzzle pointed; fur gray on the back and white underneath; between upper and lower fur marked; tail creamy and very short, about quarter of body length; tail terminates with a tuft; ears long and if folded forward would reach the eyes; pinna gray and ellipsoid, with short and thin hairs on the outer surface.

Family Muridae Illiger, 1811 Genus Gerbillus Desmarest, 1804
Gerbillus nanus Blanford, 1875 -Baluchestan Gerbil Type Locality: Pakistan, Gedrosia. Diagnosis: HB 70-90 mm, T 108-125 mm, HF 19-22 mm, E 11-13 mm and W 10-15 g. Size small; tail long (1.5 times of the head-body length) and covered with hair throughout its length, ends with a small tuft; fur long, soft and dense; eyes large; muzzle narrow; moustaches well grown and black and white; each foot with five toes and naked soles; body upper parts light brown with a shadow of gray; face covered with lighter fur; a white crescent area present above the eye and the base of the ear; under parts fur, from cheeks to tail, pure white; between upper and lower parts on the flanks quite demarcated.
Comments: Sympatric occurrence of long-tailed and short-tailed morphotypes has been reported in the country (Siahsarvie & Darvish 2007).

Genus Meriones Illiger, 1811
Comment: For a morphometric study of the genus in Asia and northern Africa see Darvish (2009).

Meriones hurrianae Jerdon, 1867 -Indian Desert Jird
Type Locality: India, Delhi, Hurriana District. Diagnosis: HB 125-142 mm, T 138-145 mm, HF 30-34 mm, E 12-13 mm and W 50-70 g. Size medium; hairs short and rough; fur on upper part sandy grayish-buff, on fore and hind feet lighter and on ventral side grayish or creamy; no demarcation line between fur color on back and lower side; tail as long as head-body length; color of the upper part of the tail same as upper part of the body, and lower side lighter; fore-and hind feet thick with long black claws; ears short and somewhat triangular; eyes relatively small. Distribution: Fig. 2    mm, E 20-25 mm and W 55-100 g. Tail longer than head-body length; back color yellowish brown with a brown or black shade; ventral side white from chick to tail; hairs gradually become taller in the final third part of the tail which terminates with a tuft at the end; tail upper side with the same color as the back of the body, lower side white and wheat brown; ears large and triangular; pinna covered with short hairs on outer surface, but inner surface bare; hind limbs tall; the soles of the hind feet bare, only on the fringes of heals and near toes covered with white hairs; hind limbs claws white; a white patch obvious above the eyes.
Comments: Subspecies in Fars Province is M. p. ambrosius Thomas, 1919;Dianat et al. (2016) concluded that it is close to the nominate subspecies, thus additional analyses are needed to validate its status.
Distribution: Fig. 2 (throughout the country with the exception of deserts, northern and southern coastal areas).
Diagnosis: HB 125-190 mm, T 145-205 mm, HF 20-38 mm, E 20-36 mm and W 100-225 g. Size relatively big and rat-like; tail thick, bushy and longer than headbody length; hairs become longer at the tip of the tail, establishing a small terminal tuft; upper part of the body light brown with a black shadow; under part white; boundary between upper and lower part obvious; tail dark above and below, and pale along the sides; fore and hind feet long; the soles of the feet naked; ears long with rounded pinnae.
Comments: Two main phenetic groups occur in the Iranian populations, northern vs. southern (Mirshamsi et al. 2007).

Genus Acomys Geoffroy, 1838
Acomys dimidiatus (Cretzschmar, 1826) -Eastern Spiny Mouse Type Locality: Egypt, Sinai. Diagnosis: HB 85-110 mm, T95-120 mm, HF 17-20 mm, E 15-19 mm and W 30-60 g. Similar to house mouse, but somewhat larger; tall and rough hairs (spines) cover soft hairs of the back; tail bare, scaled and longer than head-body length; eyes and ears relatively large; pinna grey and its upper edge covered with soft, short hairs; the soles of the feet and hands bare; the hairs on the back and lower parts yellowish-brown and white, respectively; a white spot present under eye and ear.

Genus Apodemus Kaup, 1829
Comments: Radiation and distribution of Apodemus in the eastern Mediterranean is probably influenced largely by vicariance events during the Neogene including the uplifting of the Zagros Mountains and the Anatolian Plateau, climate oscillations, and formation of the Hyrcanian forests (Darvish et al. 2015).

Apodemus witherbyi (Thomas, 1902) -Steppe Field Mouse
Type Locality: Southern Iran, Fars Province, Shul. Diagnosis: HB 93-104 mm, T 93-110 mm, HF 20-23 mm, E 15-17 mm and W 15-30 g. Body size and morphology similar to the house mouse, but hind feet longer and slender, eyes and ears larger, and upper incisors without cusps; fur light brown with a tint of russet; fur on abdominal side and limbs white; demarcation line along flanks very distinct; scales on tail easily visible; short, thin hairs cover tail sides and the terminal part of the tail; tail brown on upper part and white on abdominal side, with a clear demarcation line between them.

Genus Mus Linnaeus, 1758
Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 -House Mouse Type Locality: Sweden, Uppsala. Diagnosis: HB 65-100 mm, T 60-105 mm, HF 15-18 mm, E 11-15 mm and W 12-30 g. Tail long and thin; tail length exceeds head-body length; fur short, thin, soft and grey-brown above; a shadow of the golden yellow present above the body in some specimens; under parts of the body white; between darker back and lighter below demarcated; pinna well-developed and round above, covered with thin hairs; eyes small; snout relatively sharp; tail covered with short and thin hairs, but rings conspicuous; the soles of the feet, with the exception of lateral part, bare.

Family Gliridae Muirhead, 1819 Genus Dryomys Thomas, 1905
Dryomys nitedula (Pallas, 1778) -Forest Dormouse Type Locality: Russia, Lower Volga River. Diagnosis: HB 80-113 mm, T 80-111 mm, HF 19-24 mm, E 10-17 mm and W 30-60 g. Body smaller than dormouse; two black stripes, encircling the eyes, visible on the face; eyes large; ears small and the upper part round without hairs; whiskers well developed, in 3-4 cm long; upper parts of the body in forested areas, olive brown and under parts light yellow, but in open areas back side yellowish gray and underside white; tail long, bushy; forelimb with four and hind limb with five fingers; soles of fore and hind limbs, except feet heels, naked.

DISCUSSION
Our purpose in this study was to gather all previously published data and our own data of extensive field expeditions and camera trapping to present a general view of the mammals of Fars. The current checklist shows that the mammalian fauna of Fars Province is rich and taxonomically diverse. Based on this checklist, mammalian fauna of Fars comprises 72 species in 53 genera, 28 families, and seven orders, a number which is equivalent to about 38.9% of all terrestrial mammal species recorded throughout the country (i.e., 185 species, Karami et al. 2016) and approximately 32.9% of all terrestrial mammal species recorded in Europe (i.e., 219 species, Temple & Terry 2007). Asiatic Lion P. l. persica Meyer, 1826 is extirpated in Iran with no decisive records in more than 70 years. It was widespread in Iran in the far remote past, covered a very significant part of the country throughout the western half, reaching Tehran in the north and Makran in southeast; however, in the last two centuries they were confined to southwest provinces of Khuzestan, Fars and Bushehr (Karami et al. 2016). In the late 1800s, the valley of Dasht-e Arzhan and Miankotal area in Fars Province were famous for their lions (Blanford 1876, Nowell & Jackson 1996. Main causes of extinction were habitat loss, poaching, and persecution. A reintroduction program was in place in mid-1970s in order to establish a sustainable population of P. l. persica in Arzhan and Parishan protected area, west of Shiraz, but abandoned afterward (Karami et al. 2016).
Iran is the confluence point of major zoogeographic realms (Coad 2017). It has been infiltrated by many mammal species coming from different zoogeographic regions, which have advanced to a greater or lesser depth within the country. The result is thus a composite mammalian fauna, in which native species are mixed with Palearctic elements, as well as with others of Oriental and Ethiopian origin. From the biogeographic perspective, southern Iran has acted as a bridge between Oriental and Ethiopian realms (Frey & Probst 1986;Coad & Vhlenkin 2004;Madjnoonian et al. 2005). The mammals of Fars must in general be regarded as Palearctic, however, genera such as Acomys Geoffroy, 1838, Meriones Illiger, 1811, and Gerbillus Desmarest, 1804, are equally prevalent in the Sahara and must therefore be regarded as only marginally Palearctic. Many non-Palearctic species have made their way into southern Iran by different routes. Indian fauna entered the country mainly from Balochestan region, southeastern Iran. The introduction of African elements was probably in the region of Bandar Abbas (Hormozgan Province), south of Fars (Fig. 2), and the penetration must have occurred during the Quaternary, when the mainland was still continuous across the present Strait of Hormuz, which is now 34 miles wide. The African species did not infiltrate very far into the country, settling mainly in Baluchestan region (e.g., Acomys dimidiatus) (De Misonne 1968). Acomys dimidiatus entered southern Iran from the west passing northern edge of Persian Gulf reaching south of Pakistan (Etemad 1978, Firouz 1999, Frynta et al. 2010. Connection was made between India and Iraq through southern Iran by some elements (e.g. Tatera indica), originally belonging to hot regions, and the degree of their infiltration northward depended on their capacity for adapting to the cold (De Misonne 1968).
Besides its large area (i.e., 1,22,608km² or 7.4% of the total area of Iran, making it the fourth largest province in the country) and special biogeographic position which we discussed above, biodiversity in Fars Province also has an ecologic background (Esmaeili & Teimori 2017). Fars Province possess three main terrestrial ecoregions, including the central Persian desert basins in the north and northeast, the Zagros Mountains forest steppe extended from northwest to the southeast, and the Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert ecoregion in the south, as well as numerous aquatic ecoregions including at least 10 lakes and 29 rivers (Olson et al. 2001). A wide range of geographic and physiographic conditions, coupled with climatologically diverse environments in this province, have provided enormous habitat diversity for many mammalian species with different physiologic adaptations.
Unlike high species diversity, population trend for most mammalian species in Iran is declining. Among 72 reported species here, 60 species (83.3%) are considered as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List. The reason for this large number of species categorized as LC is the scanty of data about the species at national level. This shows the necessity of reconsideration of global categories and application of the IUCN Red List criteria at the national level (Esmaeili et al. 2017). It seems that habitat destruction, illegal hunting, road accident, restricted habitats and severe drought, especially in the recent years due to climate changes are the main anthropogenic and natural factors affecting mammals of Fars Province (e.g., Tatin et al. 2003;Hamadanian 2005;Ghoddousi et al. 2008bGhoddousi et al. , 2009Ghoddousi et al. , 2016Ashayeri & Newing 2012;Zareian et al. 2012;Ghadirian et al. 2016). www.threatenedtaxa.org The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of articles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.