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Phrynocephalus vlangalii STRAUCH, 1876

IUCN Red List - Phrynocephalus vlangalii - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAgamidae (Agaminae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesPhrynocephalus vlangalii hongyuanensis ZHAO et al. 1980
Phrynocephalus vlangalii vlangalii STRAUCH 1876 
Common NamesE: Ching Hai Toadhead Agama; pylzowi: Pylzow's Toadhead Agama; geckoides: Gecko Toadhead Agama
Chinese: 青海沙蜥 
SynonymPhrynocephalus Vlangalii STRAUCH 1876: 20
Phrynocephalus vlangalii – BOULENGER 1885: 372
Phrynocephalus vlangalii var. nanschanica BEDRIAGA 1907: 172
Phrynocephalus vlangalii var. nauscranica — BOULENGER 1908: 29 (in error)
Phrynocephalus Vlangalii var. geckoides BEDRIAGA 1909: 466
Phrynocephalus Vlangalii var. parva BEDRIAGA 1909: 468
Phrynocephalus Vlangalii var. Pylzowi BEDRIAGA, 1909: 471
Phrynocephalus Reldoe BEDRIAGA, 1909: 495
Phrynocephalus Vlangalii var. Grombtschewskii BEDRIAGA 1909: 463
Phrynocephalus Vlangalii var. parva BEDRIAGA 1909
Phrynocephalus putjatae BEDRIAGA 1909
Phrynocephalus reldae BEDRIAGA 1909
Phrynocephalus vlaugalii — BOULENGER 1910: 29 (lapsus calami)
Phrynocephalus geckoides — TZAREVSKY 1927: 25
Phrynocephalus parvus — TZAREVSKY 1927: 25
Phrynocephalus pylzowi — TZAREVSKY 1927: 25
Phrynocephalus nanschanicus — TZAREVSKY 1927: 26
Phrynocephalus grombtschewskii — TZAREVSKY 1927: 26
Phrynocephalus reldo — TZAREVSKY 1927: 26 (unjustified emendation)
Phrynocephalus parvus subsp. pylzowi — TZAREVSKY 1927: 304
Phrynocephalus vlangalii — WERMUTH 1967: 91
Phrynocephalus vlangalii — WANG et al. 2003
Phrynocephalus geckoides — BARTS & WILMS 2003
Phrynocephalus (Oreosaura) vlangalii vlangalii — BARABANOV & ANANJEVA 2007
Phrynocephalus geckoides — MILTO & BARABANOV 2012: 165
Phrynocephalus grombtschewskii — MILTO & BARABANOV 2012: 165
Phrynocephalus vlangalii nanschanica — MILTO & BARABANOV 2012: 165
Phrynocephalus parvus — MILTO & BARABANOV 2012: 166
Phrynocephalus vlangalii pylzowi — MILTO & BARABANOV 2012: 166
Phrynocephalus erythrurus parva — ZHU et al. 2016
Phrynocephalus vlangalii pylzowi — JIN et al. 2018
Phrynocephalus vlangalii nanschanica — JIN et al. 2018
Phrynocephalus vlangalii vlangalii — JIN et al. 2018
Phrynocephalus erythrurus parva — JIN et al. 2018
Phrynocephalus (Oreosaura) parvus — SOLOVYEVA et al. 2023
Phrynocephalus (Oreosaura) nanschanicus — SOLOVYEVA et al. 2023
Phrynocephalus (Oreosaura) vlangalii — SOLOVYEVA et al. 2023

Phrynocephalus (Oreosaura) vlangalii hongyuanensis ZHAO et al. 1980
Phrynocephalus vlangalii hongyuanensis ZHAO, JIANG & HUANG in JIANG et al. 1980: 178
Phrynocephalus vlangalii hongyuanensis ZHAO, JIANG & HUANG 1980: 178
Phrynocephalus hongyuanensis WANG & JIANG 1992
Phrynocephalus hongyuanensis — WANG et al. 2003
Phrynocephalus (Oreosaura) vlangalii hongyuanensis — BARABANOV & ANANJEVA 2007
Phrynocephalus hongyuanensis — MACEY et al. 2018 
DistributionChina (Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, NW Sichuan)

Type locality: ad lacum Kuku-nor dictum.

hongyuanensis: China (Sichuan); Type locality: Waqên, Hongyuan County, 33º03’N; 102º37’E, Sichuan Province, China; 3500 m elevation.

geckoides China (Qinghai); Type locality: “Mündung des Tschurmyn; Guidui; Berge bei Guidui und Gomi” (fide WERMUTH 1967). “Einmündung des Tschurmyn in den oberen Choang-ho” (Peters 1984). Terra typica restricta: Estuary of the Tschurmyn River [probably Tschumar, or Qumar He, Qinghai Province], China.

parva: China (Qinhai); Type locality: “D. Tschu und Tibet sept.” (fide WERMUTH 1967).; Terra typica restricta: "Dytschu" or “Dy-cu” [Peters 1984] [= Moron Us and Tuotuo rivers, Qinghai Province, China].

pylzowi: China; Type locality: “Chuanche und Gomi” (fide WERMUTH 1967). Terra typica restricta: "Hoang-ho-Quellgebiet", China.

reldoe: China (Qinhai); Terra typica: "Gomi" [= Balekun omi or Kyikug, near Gong He County (36º20' N, 100º60' E), south of Qinghai (Kuku-Nor) Lake, Qinghai Province, China].  
ReproductionViviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZISP 3946 (vlangalii)
Lectotype (designated by Peters, 1984: 46), ZISP 7084.1. [pylzowi]
Lectotype (designated by Peters, 1984: 46), ZISP 7278.1. [parva]
Lectotype (designated by Peters, 1984). ZISP 6601.1, “Tschurmynmündung” [probably Tschumar, or Qumar He, Qinghai povince, China]. Leg: N. M. Przewalsky, 1880 [geckoides]
Lectotype (designated by Peters, 1984). ZISP 7269.1, “Dabsun-Gobi, also südlich vom Kuku-nor-Gebirge” [Qaidam basin, south of Qinghai Hu mountain, Qinghai province, China]. Leg: N. M. Przewalsky, 1886 [grombtschewskii]
Lectotype (designated by Peters, 1984). ZISP 7081.1, “Nan-shan” [Nanshan mountains, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China]. Leg: N. M. Przewalsky, 1880 [nanschanica].
Holotype: CIB 785795 [hongyuanensis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (Oreosaura). All members of new subgenus can be distinguished from other species of Phrynocephalus by the following combination of characters: (1) fontanel between the frontal and prefrontal bones in their skull (Wang & Macey, 1993); (2) karyotype with 2n = 48 (12 large and 12 small pairs of chromosomes) (Zeng et al., 1997); (3) live-bearing mode of reproduction; (4) dark pigment in the mid-line area of belly in adults; (5) considerable reduction of tail-signaling function. 
CommentSynonymy: WERMUTH 1967 synonymizes P. v. roborowskii with vlangalii. Wang et al. 2002 synonymize P. reldae, P. blanfordi, and P. carinilabris with P. vlangalii. Guo & Wang (2007) synonymized Phrynocephalus hongyuanensis with P. vlangalii and elevated P. putjatia [sic] to full species status. GUO et al. 2012 also suggest to synonymize hongyuanensis with P. v. pylzowi. JIN et al. 2018 do not draw any taxonomic conclusions from their phylogenetic analysis.

Type species: Phrynocephalus Vlangalii STRAUCH 1876 is the type species of the subgenus Oreosaura Barabanov & Ananjeva 2007. Note that Oreosaura is pre-occupied by Oreosaurus PETERS 1863 (type species: luctuosus).

Hybridization: P. vlangalii and P. putjatae hybridize in the Qinghai region (JIN & LIU 2008). 
EtymologyNamed after Major General Aleksandr Georgiyevich Vlangali (1823-1908), a traveler and diplomat who was the Russian Envoy to Peking (Beijing) about 1870. He was also Russian Ambassador in Rome (1894). 
References
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