(Iran's Environment News Agency) The Iranian government has decided to start an oil exploration project in Kavir National Park in the Semnan province, south east of Tehran.
Kavir National Park is one of the most important, or we could say, the most important national park of Iran. It consists of 430,000 hectares (1,500 square miles) of natural landscapes with high levels of animal and plant diversity. Known as “Little Africa” it is home to native goats, sheep, hyenas, wolves, gazelles, the rare Asiatic Cheetah, the Persian Leopard and Kavir Toad . It contains mountains, deserts and a salt lake at its boundary.
Here we introduce very rare species, which is red listed by IUCN, and its natural habitat is in Kavir National park

 
Scientific Name: Pseudepidalea variabilis

Taxonomic Notes:
Stöck et al. (2006) removed this name from the synonymy of Bufo viridis (now Pseudepidalea viridis). However, the taxonomic status of variabilis remains controversial and is currently not widely accepted. We provisionally include information here on populations allocated to Pseudepidalea variabilis by Stöck et al. (2006) pending further revision of the genus Pseudepidalea. The isolated population of Pseudepidalea from the Kavir Desert in Iran was included in the synonymy of Pseudepidalea viridis kermanensis by Stöck, Günther, and Böhme, 2001. However, the species is morphologically (especially the skull) and vocally distinct from populations of Pseudepidalea found surrounding the Kavir Desert (Göran Nilson pers. comm., September 2008).

Geographic Range
This species is mapped by Stöck et al. (2006) as ranging from Greece, eastwards through Turkey, Cyprus to Syria and Lebanon (and possibly south as fragmented populations through Jordan and western Saudi Arabia (although these populations are current unassigned to species by Stöck et al. [2006] and might represent Pseudepidalea boulengeri). It is mapped in Iraq and Iran, and is recorded as being distributed through the Caucasus and Russia to Kazakhstan. Stöck et al. (2006) records a seemingly isolated population in Denmark, southern Sweden and northern Germany. There is a morphologically distinct population in the Kavir Desert known only from the type locality of 'Cheshmeh-ye Sefied Ab, situated about 10 km southwest of Kuh-e Ghal'e-ye Sard mountains and about 30 km south of Siah Kuh mountains in the southern part of the Kavir Protected Region about 200km south of Teheran, Iran' (Andrén and Nilson 1979). The total range of this population consists of a single brackish spring and surrounding grass covered areas of less than 1km2 in total (Andrén and Nilson 1979; Göran Nilson pers. comm., September 2008). The distribution of Pseudepidalea variabilis is considered to be incompletely known with further surveys needed.

Population
There is little information available for populations recognized by Stöck et al. (2006) as Pseudepidalea variabilis. The isolated population indicated by Stöck et al. (2006) from Denmark, Sweden and possibly northern Germany are considered to be rare and declining. The isolated population in the Kavir Desert is very small, possibly only 100 mature individuals, but certainly less than 1,000 animals (Göran Nilson pers. comm., September 2008).

Habitat and Ecology
Although additional details of natural history are needed for populations recognized as Pseudepidalea variabilis, it seems plausible that it can be found in similar habitats to those populations indicated by Stöck et al. (2006) as belonging to Pseudepidalea viridis, including grassland, meadows and steppe habitats, forests and shrubland, and a range of wetland areas or waterbodies. The isolated Kavir Desert population is restricted to the area of a single brackish spring and surrounding grassland within this highly arid environment.

Threats
The threats to the species are poorly known, but in view of the widely reported distribution for Pseudepidalea variabilis it is probable that there are no overall major threats. The key threats to this species in parts of its range are likely to be similar to that of Pseudepidalea viridis, namely the loss (for instance through agricultural expansion) or degradation (pollution) of wetland breeding habitats. The Kavir Desert population is found in an extremely remote area, although there are buildings of the Game Guard Post surrounding the single spring. Although there are no current threats to this population, it is plausible that any alteration of the stream flow (for example through the creation of watering troughs for game animals) could lead to the rapid decline of this morphologically distinct population.

Conservation Actions
Additional taxonomic studies are needed for populations currently indicated as belonging to Pseudepidalea variabilis by Stöck et al. (2006), as are studies into the natural history of these populations. Further details of the distribution are desirable. It seems probable that if Pseudepidalea variabilis is widespread that it will also be present in some protected areas, although this requires confirmation. Further studies are needed to confirm the identity of green toad populations in Jordan. The entire range of the morphologically distinct Kavir Desert population is within the very well-protected Kavir National Park. There is a need to ensure that no development of the limited habitat of this locality is undertaken.

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