Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum (P-ISSN: 1017-8678 , E-ISSN: 2311-9799) https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM <h2><strong>Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum</strong></h2> <p><strong><em><u>Aim and Scope</u></em></strong></p> <p>The Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum, that's affiliated with the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum / University of Baghdad, which founded in 1961 and is a peer reviewed, scientific open access journal, publishing original articles, reviwes and short communication in the natural history sciences. This journal is published two times per year (Biannual).<br /><br />Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum publishes 8-12 articles in each issue, according to the priority of manuscript acceptance. The variation in research areas for each issue is considered.</p> <p>The financial support of the Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum comes from the publication fees paid by authors only.</p> <p><br /><u>Subjects:</u><br />Natural history of Biology (Animals, Plants and Fungi), Systematics, Biodiversity, Wildlife Sciences, Comparative Anatomy of Wildlife Animals, Wildlife Ecology, Ecosystems, Natural Resources and Geology that includes: Paleontology, Rocks, Minerals, Geomorphology, Geoparks and Geodiversity.</p> <p>Open Access Policy:</p> <p>Bulletine of the Iraq Natural History Museum is an open access journal, so there are no fees required for downloading any publication from the journal website by authors, readers, and institutions. </p> en-US bnhm@nhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq (Prof. Dr. Razzaq Shalan Augul) jnhm@nhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq (Managing Editor /Assist. Prof. Dr. Harith Saeed Al-Warid) Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 OJS 3.3.0.13 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 MORPHOMETRIC FEATURES OF THE BEETLE ACINOPUS (ACINOPUS) LAEVIGATUS MENETRIES, 1832 (COLEOPTERA, CARABIDAE) IN THE MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEMS OF UZBEKISTAN https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/747 <p>The morphometric parameters of Acinopus (Acinopus) laevigatus Ménétriés, 1832 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) were studied and their altitudinal variability was assessed. The length of head is the most variable, and the smallest value of the coefficient of variation is observed for the width of elytra. The length of body parts (head, pronotum, elytra) were more variable compared to their width. The correlation relationship between the morphometric parameters of different parts of the body was analyzed. A high correlation was found between the elytra length (EL) and the total body length (BL) (r=0.93), and the lowest correlation was found between the elytra width (EW) and the pronotum length (PL) (r=0.57). According to all measurement indicators, high-mountain representatives of beetles were inferior to middle-mountain individuals, and the variation in traits was also less. Only the width of the elytra turned out to be more variable in individuals of the highlands. Statistical analysis showed a rather high reliability of the influence of altitudinal belts on the morphometric parameters of beetles for all studied parameters. However, changes in body proportions in different altitudinal zones were not significant, except for the EW/BL index.</p> Dilnoza F. Zokirova, Fazlitdin Z. Khalimov Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/747 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 STATUS OF COMMERCIAL FISH CATCH IN THE IRAQI MARINE WATERS, ARABIAN GULF https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/748 <p>Commercial fish catch in the Iraqi marine waters from December 2018 to December 2019 was investigated. The study is based on three stations: the first station is located at the Shatt Al-Arab estuary, the second represents the area between the Shatt Al-Arab Estuary and open marine waters, and the third is associated with the Iraqi territorial marine waters. The total weight of the catch was 1881 kg, represented by 500, 654, and 727 kg in the first, second and third stations respectively. The third station was the highest with a majority of the family Sciaenidae by 464 kg, while the lowest was the family Scombridae by 0.5 kg. The total number of species included 37 species, belonging to 27 genera, 19 families, and 6 orders, the largest order represented by a high number of species was the Perciformes and the lowest versatile orders were Oreclotiformes, Nemipterideaformes and Scombridaeformes; while the order Scorpaeniformes was found by only one species.<br><br></p> Ahmed Ch. Al-Shamary, Kadhim H. Younis Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/748 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 NEW RECORDS ON SALTICIDAE AND THERIDIIDAE (ARANEAE) SPIDERS FROM ARMENIA https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/749 <p>New data on jumping spiders (Salticidae) and tangle-web spiders (Theridiidae) of Armenia are provided on the basis of recently collected specimens in various regions of Armenia. One species, Ballus rufipes (Simon, 1868) is recorded as new to the Caucasus Region, in addition to the following species: Neon reticulatus (Blackwall, 1853), Pellenes brevis (Simon, 1868), Salticus scenicus (Clerck, 1757) and Synageles dalmaticus (Keyserling, 1863) that belong to a family Salticidae, are recorded in Armenia for the first time.<br>A further 7 species of Theridiidae are recorded in Armenia for the first time Kochiura aulica (C. L. Koch, 1838), Steatoda albomaculata (De Geer, 1778), Steatoda bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1758), Steatoda castanea Clerk, 1757, Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838), Steatoda paykulliana Walckenaer, 1806 and Steatoda triangulosa (Walckenaer, 1802).<br><br></p> Noushig Zarikian Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/749 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 FIRST RECORD OF TWO PARASITOID WASPS OF THE FAMILY CHALCIDIDAE (HYMENOPTERA) IN IRAQ https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/750 <p>The family Chalcididae (Order: Hymenoptera) is known as one of the large chalcidoid wasps with some distinct morphological characters. The first occurrence of two parasitoid species belonging to this family was reported in the Al-Husayniya district Karbala Province, Iraq; which are: Brachymeria podagrica (Fabricius, 1787) and Chalcis myrifex (Sulzer, 1776). Both species were collected by using the sweeping net from orchards during July 2020.<br><br></p> Ali A. Kareem, Hossein Lotfalizadeh, Ayad Alsendi, Raad Kareem Aljaafari, Sienaa M. Al-Zurfi* Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/750 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 FIRST RECORD OF THE LARGE-BILLED CROW CORVUS MACRORHYNCHOS WAGLER, 1827 PREDATING ON THE VULNERABLE INDIAN ROOFED TURTLE PANGSHURA TECTA (GRAY, 1831) IN INDIA https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/751 <p>The Vulnerable Indian Roofed Turtle Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) (Testudines: Geoemydidae) occurs in the Sub-Himalayan lowlands of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Little is known about its natural history, no studies have been conducted revealing its natural predators. In this study, a group of Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 (Passeriformes: Corvidae) was observed hunting and predating on an Indian Roofed Turtle carcass in the bank of river Kuakhai, Bhubaneswar, India. The first record of this predation behaviour is reported and substantiated by photographic evidence.<br><br></p> Arjun M. S, Bibhu Prasad Panda, Satyaranjan Behera Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/751 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 FIRST RECORD OF TWO DIPLECTANID MONOGENOIDS FROM THREE SPARID FISHES IN IRAQI MARINE WATERS https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/752 <p>Parasitological examination of gills of three species of sparid fishes in the territorial waters of Iraq was performed, two diplectanid monogenoids were isolated and described; Lamellodiscus indicus Tripathi, 1959 from both Haffara seabream Rhabdosargus haffara (Forsskål, 1775) and Goldline seabream R. sarba (Forsskål, 1775) and Protolamellodiscus senilobatus Kritsky, Jiménez-Ruiz and Sey, 2000 from King soldierbream Argyrops spinifer (Forsskål, 1775). The record of the parasites is considered new to the parasite fauna of Iraq. The redescription of L. indicus for the first time which is collected from a new distribution area (Arabian Gulf). R. haffara is considered a new host record .<br><br></p> Ali A. R. Al-Darwesh, Atheer H. Ali, Hussein A. Saud Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/752 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 NEW RECORDS OF FREE-LIVING PROTOZOA (SARCODINA) FROM BAGHDAD CITY, IRAQ https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/753 <p>Studies in Iraq that concerned identification of free-living Protozoa (sarcodina) are scarce; so the current study deals with these protozoan communities inhabiting the Tigris River in Baghdad City. Sampling collection stations have been selected at each of AL-Gheraiˈat and AL-Adhamiyah area adjacent to the river. Monthly intervals sampling with three samples were collected from each station from June to September 2020. Total of 23 sarcodina taxa were listed, out of them 5 taxa were new record to the Tigris River in Baghdad: Difflugia urceolata Carter, 1864 (Arcellinida, Difflugiidae), Heleopera perapetricola Leidy, 1879 (Arcellinida, Heleoperidae), Rhaphidiophrys pallida F.E. Schulze, 1874 (Centrohelida, Raphidiophridae), Saccamoeba sp. (Amoebida, Hartmannellidae) and Thecamoeba sp. (Amoebida, Thecamoebidae).<br><br></p> Zahraa Y. Kadhim Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/753 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 ECOLOGY OF LEECHES AND GASTROPODS OF THE LOWER AK-BUURA RIVER, FERGANA VALLEY,UZBEKISTAN https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/754 <p>This study was conducted on species composition, morphology, ecological characteristics, biotope distribution, ecological groups, biodiversity indicators and zoogeography of leeches and gastropods distributed in the lower Ak-Buura River. According to the results, it was found that 7 species of leeches belonging to 4 families and 6 genera and 10 species of fresh-water gastropods belonging to 3 families and 6 genera live in the lower Ak-Buura River. In the river, it was observed that leeches are mainly distributed in muddy biotopes, and gastropods are widespread in muddy, stony and sandy biotopes with a lot of plants. Biodiversity indices of leeches and gastropods in the Ak-Buura River were analyzed using the Shannon index. As a result, it was determined that the biodiversity index of the Ak-Buura river is lower than other rivers in the Fergana valley (H' = 0.81-1.17). This is mainly due to the eutrophication of some parts of the river and the instability of the water hydro-regime. Most of the leeches distributed in the river are carnivores, and gastropods are phytophages. According to the zoogeographical analysis, it was found that leeches are Holarctic, Palearctic, Western Palearctic, and gastropods are composed of European-Siberian, Palearctic and Central Asian species.<br><br></p> Khayrulla Solijonov, Farrukh U. Umarov Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/754 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 HOTTENTOTTA POOYANI SP. NOV. (SCORPIONES, BUTHIDAE) FROM THE KHUZESTAN PROVINCE, IRAN https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/755 <p>A new species, Hottentotta pooyani sp. nov. is described and illustrated using two female specimens collected from the Khuzestan Province in Iran. This species is compared with the closely species including H. khoozestanus Navidpour, Kovařík, Soleglad &amp; Fet, 2008; H. pellucidus Lowe, 2010 and H. saxinatans Lowe, 2010 that were previously described in Iran and Oman.<br><br></p> Mohammad Moradi, Ersen Aydın Yağmur, Abolfazl Akbari Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/755 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 A SURVEY OF ECTO AND ENDO-PARASITES OF HOUSE MOUSE MUS MUSCULUS LINNAEUS, 1758 OF ERBIL CITY, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/756 <p>In the present survey 18 species of endo and ecto-parasites were recorded during the examination of 50 Mus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) among 10 localities in Erbil city, of which 7 species were protozoan and as follows : Chilomastix bettencourti (da Fonseca 1915)82%; Giardia muris (Filice, 1952) 68%; Tritrichomonas muris (Grassi,1879)36%; Entamoeba histolytica (Schaudinn,1903) 24%; Entamoeba coli (Grassi,1879)32%; Eimeria sp. 28% and Trypanosoma musculi (Kendall,1906)2%; and 8 species were helminthes as follows: 4 Cestodes: Rodentolepis nana (von Siebold, 1852) 8%; Hymenolepis diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819)2%; larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786)8%, Cysticercus fasciolaris (Rudolphi, 1808)6%, 4 Nematodes: Aspiculuris tetraptera (Nitzsch, 1821)8%; Syphacia obvelata (Rudolphi, 1802)36%; Syphacia muris (Yamaguti, 1935)2% and Trichuris muris (Schrank, 1788)10%; and 3 species of ectoparasites were diagnosed as follows: the Oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild, 1903)2.0%, the spined rat louse Polyplax spinulosa (Burmeister, 1839)16.0%, and the mite Laelaps nuttalli (Hirst, 1916)4.0%. Endo-multiple infections had been noticed, as single (26%); double 50.0%; triple (22.0%) and tetra infections 2.0%. No significant differences were found between the sexes and weights of mice. The mice of Hayaskary and Langa were high infected with parasites. In the current study, we recorded the infection of the liver of Mus musculus with larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (hydatid cyst) as the first natural infection in Iraq.<br><br></p> Trifa Khurshid Malla, Louis Abdulahad Saida Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/756 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 DISTRIBUTION AND PHYLOGENETIC OF FRESHWATER MUSSEL UNIO TIGRIDIS BOURGUIGNAT, 1852 (BIVALVIA, UNIONIDAE) FROM GREATER ZAB RIVER, IRAQ https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/757 <p>Freshwater mussels are a guild of stationary, suspended-feeding species; they perform significant ecological functions like nitrogen cycling, bioturbation that gives oxygen and habitat that other creatures need to survive, and increasing water clearance by filtration. Knowledge of the freshwater mussel Unio tigridis Bourguignat, 1852, distribution, and molecular study in Iraq was inadequate. In the current study, this species of freshwater Mussels belonging to the family Unionidae was collected from different locations in the Greater Zab River, from April 2022 to November 2022. The average water temperature of the site was arranged between (17.8 to 36.1 C°). All previous studies in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq were based on morphological characters and the current study was the first report of Unio tigridis that was confirmed by molecular genetics and COI gene, analyzed phylogenetically using Maximum Likelihood and Maximum Parsimony Methods.<br><br></p> Shwan Khursheed Bashê Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/757 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000 SURVEY AND UPDATING CHECKLIST OF DIPTERAN SPECIES WITH FORENSIC IMPORTANCE https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/758 <p>In the present investigation, 24 adult dipteran species with forensic importance belonging to 13 genera and 8 families that were collected from different localities of Iraq. The specimens were identified by different taxonomical keys; in addition the date and localities of collecting specimens were recorded.<br><br></p> Razzaq Shalan Augul, Hanaa H. Al-Saffar, Haider Naeem Al-Ashbal Copyright (c) 2022 https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/article/view/758 Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000