S Akbarirad - Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
J Darvish - Rodentology Research Department, Institute of Applied Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
M Aliabadian - Zoological Innovations Research Department, Institute of Applied Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
C.W. M. Kilpatrick - Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT ۰۵۴۰۵-۰۰۸۶, USA

We use a combination of traditional and geometric morphometric plus phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences to confirm the presence in theKopetdagh Mts. of northeastern Iran (North Khorasan province) of the Great Balkhan brush-tailed mouse, Calomyscus mystax Kashkarov, 1925 previously regarded as endemic to the Nibit-Dag region of southwestern Turkmenistan. We further compare C. mystax to other brush-tailed mice species in eastern and northern Iran and provide diagnostic external and craniodental characters for each and to examine the affinities with C. grandis with which C. mystax shares a similar karyotype.

Calomyscus mystax; Kopetdagh Mts.; northeastern Iran