Iranian journal of animal biosystematics
Volume:18 Issue: 1, Winter-Spring 2022

Snakes are among the predatory reptiles in the wild. Due to the importance of knowing the habitats of these reptiles and their distribution, this study has been done. During the study, the specimen snake was found in the garden of a house in the region of Afus, of Fereydan County, in the west of Isfahan province. The city of Afus is 2800 meters above the sea level, on the roof of Iran. Afus is located at 50°5’, 646 East longitude, and at 33°1’, 464 North Latitude. Afus is a mountainous region with a moderate climate, its winters are cold and snowy while its summers are mild and pleasant. The mountainous nature of Afus and the sudden changes in temperature cause seasonal winds to blow. Temperature changes in this city are such that in winter and especially in January reaches minus 30°C and in summer and on the hottest day of the year will be 31°C. This suitable climate and soil type cause the growth of varieties of herbaceous plants and medicinal herbs in this region. The presence of these plants causes Afus land to be green and fertile in the hot season. After initial identification of this species according to the available sources, its photos and videos were presented to a high expert herpetologist who confirmed the identity of the snake. On the basis of morphological characters, the specimen was Platyceps ventromaculatus belong to the Colubridae family and is considered as a non-venomous snake.

Sea Stars are one of the most incredible creatures in the coastal and open waters. In this study, 11 species of starfishes have been identified which belonging to six genera and five families in northern islands of Persian Gulf during May 2017 to September 2018. Among the species, Astropecten hemprichi (Müller & Troschel, 1842), Astropecten indicus (Döderlein, 1888), Astropecten polyacanthus polyacanthus (Muller and Troschel, 1842), Astropecten polyacanthus phragmorous (Muller and Troschel, 1842), Luidia hardwicki (Gray, 1840), Aquilonastra iranica (Mortensen, 1940), Linckia multifora (Lamarck, 1816), Culcita novaeguineae (Muller & Troschel, 1842) and Pentaceraster mammillatus (Audouin, 1826) have been reported in the past. The species of Aquilonastra watersi (O'Loughlin and Rowe, 2006) and Linckia laevigata (Linnaeus, 1758) are new recordsin the Persian Gulf.

Although mayflies are the key elements to assess the health value of freshwaters, their biodiversity in the Middle East, in particular in Iran, is poorly studied. Baetis braaschi belongs to the subgenus Rhodobaetis Jacob, 2003, with a wide distribution in Europe and Western Asia. The taxonomy of B. braaschi has always been source of disagreement as many species have so far been described by researchers and were synonymized later. The species, Baetis braaschi, is investigated here, using molecular and morphological data using collected specimens from different area in Iran and compared with its conspecific from Eastern Europe. Although Iranian specimens showed 99% molecular similarity with their conspecifics in Eastern Europe, e.g., Ukraine and Georgia, the morphological results showed that Iranian specimens of Baetis braaschi has significant morphological differences with conspecific specimens from Eastern Europe. Patterns of head, femora and size of the first and second teeth of mandibles in B. braaschi are varied from Europe to Iran.

In this checklist 163 aquatic beetles species from 11 families belonging to 46 genera that have been recorded from Azerbaijan are presented. Dytiscidae includes maximum numbers of species This study is based on a generalization of all available literature data.

Iran possesses about 241 species of reptiles, which 55 species of them (22.8%) are endemic to Iran. Agamidae is the important family of reptile in Iran with 22 species, which is poor in terms of chromosomal studies. In this paper, karyological survey was made for four species of the family Agamidae by bone marrow cell preparations. Karyotype of male and female of Laudakia caucasia (2n=34) was consisted of 6 pairs macro and 11pairs of microchromosomrs. Karyotype of Laudakia nupta nupta (2n=36) was including of 6 pairs of macro and 12 pairs of microchromosomes. Karyotype of Phrynocephalus scutellatus (2n=46) was consisted of 22 macro and 24 microchromosomes, which is reported here for the first time. Also, new cytotype of Traplus agilis agilis (2n=49) is reported here for the first time. Karyotype of this species was consisted of 21 large acrocentric and 28 microchromosomes, which one of the acrocentric chromosomes may be a sex chromosome.

The present study investigates the occurrence and the identification of tick species infesting wild songbirds in northern Iran. During the period from 2015 to 2016, 342 songbirds belonging to 15 families and 37 species were captured and examined for tick infestation. Of which, 70 specimens were infested by ticks representing a 20.46% infestation rate. Four tick species detached from examined birds and identified as follow: Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758), I. lividus Koch, 1844, Hyalomma sp., and Rhipicephalus sp. The most common one was I. ricinus. In all infected birds, collected ticks were in immature stages and the number of specimens of the larval stage was more than in the nymphal stage, and no adult tick was found. Following songbirds were introduced as new hosts: Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia (Linnaeus, 1766), Chestnut-shouldered Petronia Gymnoris xanthocollis (Burton, E, 1838), Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Hippolais pallida (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833), Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra Linnaeus, 1758, Common Mynah Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766), Eastern Pied Wheatear Oenanthe picata (Blyth, 1847), Pied Wheatear O. pleschanka (Lepechin, 1770), Desert Finch Rhodospiza obsoleta (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823), Fire-fronted Serin Serinus pusillus (Pallas, 1811), and Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva (Bechstein, 1792) for I. ricinus.

Based on the examination of the materials collected by LED light trap in 2021, from south of Iran (Kerman province), a rare moth species belonging to Xyleninae subfamily (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), Rhiza stenoptera (Boursin), is newly recorded for the country. The external and the genital characters of this species are presented and compared with its close relatives, R. schlumbergeri (Püngeler), collected from Sistan-va-Balouchestan province, Iran and R. commoda, a widely distributed species in the Palearctic region. Notes on the bionomic and distribution of R. stenoptera are given. The taxonomic position of Pseudohadena Alphéraky, s. l. has been changed through the time with the increase of the materials described mainly collected from Central Asia which was resulted in erecting the Pseudohadenina Ronkay & Fibiger, 2007. An inclusive catalogue of Pseudohadenina of Iran is presented. Beside the citation of first description, the distribution range of the members of this subtribe is given worldwide.