We karyotyped six species of Microtus voles collected along the southern edge of their range in northern and western Iran. Diploid and fundamental numbers were as follows: M. socialis and M. paradoxus 2n = 62, FNa = 60,
M. qazvinensis 2n = 54, FNa = 54, M. transcaspicus 2n = 52, FNa = 52, and
M. mystacinus (= M. rossiaemeridionalis) 2n = 54, FNa = 54. Two cytotypes were retrieved in M. irani from its type locality: 2n = 48, FNa = 46 and 2n = 64, FNa = 62. While our results confirmed an early report of 2n = 64 for this vole, the 2n = 48 cytotype remains unexplained. Karyological variability is relatively low in social voles and chromosomal data contribute little to individual species recognition. We argue that Arvicola mystacinus
De Filippi, 1865, described from Lar Valley (north-east of Tehran) is the oldest available name for 2n = 54 voles with the following synonyms:
M. subarvalis Meyer, Orlov & Skholl, 1969, M. epiroticus Ondrias, 1966, and
M. rossiaemeridionalis Ognev, 1924.
Two available subspecific names are used interchangeably for the Balkan lynx. In this contribution I demonstrate that the valid name is Lynx lynx balcanicus Bureš, 1941, and L. l. martinoi Mirić, 1978, is its junior synonym. The type locality of L. l. balcanicus is the Šara Mts. in the Republic of Macedonia. In reaching this conclusion, I refrain from infringing upon taxonomic judgment on whether or not the Balkan lynx is a subspecies in its own right. While addressing the Balkan lynx over the last decade, conservationists have largely ignored the older synonym balcanicus and used instead a junior synonym martinoi.