Zoology in the Middle East Volume 59, Issue 2, 2013 0939-7140 (Print), 2326-2680 (Online) Taylor & Francis Covered in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). Admitted to ISI Master Journal list and covered by the BioSciences Information Service (Biosis Previews) and Biological Preview (abstract/cover page), the Zoological Record and many other review organs. ZME is published by Taylor & Francis Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig |
Atilla Arslan, Apdil Arısoy, and Jan Zima
The chromosome banding pattern in two cytotypes (2n = 36 and 38) of blind mole rats from Turkey (Mammalia: Spalaxidae)
Abstract. Two cytotypes (2n = 36 and 38) of blind mole rats, Nannospalax xanthodon (Nord-mann, 1840), from the Aydın and Manisa provinces in Turkey were investigated. Conventional chromosome staining, Ag-NOR staining and C-banding analysis were carried out. From the cytogenetic point of view, the particular phylogenetic position of these populations is supported by their low diploid numbers only, and the C-banding pattern and the NORs distribution seem generally similar to populations with higher chromosome numbers. Several autosomal pairs with centromeric dark C-bands were observed in the 2n=36 cytotype. One autosomal pair possessed an interstitial dark C-band on the short arm; another pair possessed an interstitial dark C-band on the long arm. Whole C-heterochromatic short arms were observed in three subtelocentric autosomal pairs in the 2n=38 cytotype. Most of the other autosomal pairs possessed centromeric dark C-bands. Distinct dark C-bands were observed also in the presumed X chromosomes of both the cytotypes. The Ag-NOR regions were found on three autosomal pairs of both the cytotypes. These sites were located in telomeric areas of the short arms of two subtelocentric and one submetacentric pair.
Keywords: Nannospalax xanthodon, Ag-NOR staining, C-banding, Aydın, Manisa, western Anatolia.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 95-100. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Boris Krytufek, Mounir Abi-Said, and Matja Hladnik
The Iranian vole Microtus irani occurs in Lebanon (Mammalia: Rodentia)
Abstract. We studied 1140 bp cytochrome b sequences of social voles from three localities in Lebanon. The results were compared with published sequences representing seven species of social voles. New sequences from Lebanon clustered with reference samples of two species: M. guentheri and M. irani. While M. guentheri was already reported for Lebanon, M. irani is a new addition to the fauna of Lebanon, and the third known record for the species. Animals were collected in two localities above Tripolis at 855 m and 1430 m a.s.l., respectively.
Keywords: Cytochrome b, Microtus guentheri, molecular systematics, cryptic species, Arvicolinae.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 101-106. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Omar F. Al-Sheikhly, Iyad Nader, and Filippo Barbanera
Breeding ecology of the Basra Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis, in Iraq (Aves: Passeriformes: Acrocephalidae)
The population of the Basra Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis, which has a limited range confined to the marshlands of central and southern Iraq, has declined sub-stantially due to massive degradation of its main breeding habitat in the Iraqi marshes during the 1980s and 1990s. The breeding habitat and breeding biology is described here. We discovered a remarkable extension of the breeding range in the extreme west of Iraq.
Keywords: Acrocephalus griseldis, Basra Reed Warbler, endemic bird, marshes, Mesopotamia, Iraq.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 107-117. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Erdem Hızal
Diet of the Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, in Central Anatolia (Aves: Strigidae)
Abstract. In a one-year study on the diet of the Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, in the area of Karapınar in Central Anatolia, 5324 prey items were recovered from 3314 pellets collected at monthly intervals. At least 7 species of mammals belonging to Insectivora (Crocidura suaveolens) and Rodentia (Allactaga williamsi, Cricetulus migratorius, Meriones tristrami, Mescocricetus brandti, Microtus guentheri, M. sp., Mus macedonicus) were identified. Rodentia were dominant and contributed 93.8% of the number of prey items of the Long-eared Owl. Microtus guentheri accounted for 83.9% of the rodent remains. The diet pattern was more diverse in summer, when some 24% of the diet consisted of non-mammal prey items (birds, insects).
Keywords: Asio otus, Microtus guentheri, Allactaga williamsi, Cricetulus migrato-rius, Konya, Central Anatolia, Middle East.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 118-122. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Damla Beton, Robin Snape, and Barış Saydam
Status and ecology of the Bonellis Eagle, Aquila fasciatus, in the Pentadaktylos Mountain Range, Cyprus (Aves: Falconiformes)
Abstract. The Bonellis Eagle is endangered in Europe, and the Cyprus population is estimated to be the 4th largest in Europe. During 2011 and 2012, ten active nests were confirmed in Pentadactylos Mountains with 8 additional sites meriting further investigation. Observations suggest a varied opportunistic diet largely based on Black Rat (Rattus rattus). Lowland wetland sites are confirmed as important foraging grounds. Bonellis Eagle is under a variety of anthropogenic threats in Pentadactylos Mountains most significantly hunting and poisoning, evidence for which are discussed.
Keywords: Bonellis Eagle, Pentadactylos Mountains, Cyprus, opportunistic feeder, Red List, threats.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 123-130. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Göran Nilson and Nasrullah Rastegar-Pouyani
The occurence of Telescopus nigriceps (Ahl, 1924) in western Iran, with comments on the genus Telescopus (Serpentes: Colubridae)
Abstract. Telescopus nigriceps, was discovered in the Kermanshah region in Iran, which is the first record of this species in Iran. A comparison is made with the sympatric and parapatric Telescopus tessellatus and T. fallax iberus.
Keywords: Reptilia, Telescopus nigriceps, T. tessellatus, T. fallax iberus, Iran.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 131-135. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Adel A. Ibrahim and Moustafa H. El-Naggar
Diet and reproductive biology of the Starred Agama, Laudakia stellio (Linnaeus, 1758) (Squamata: Agamidae), in the northern Sinai, Egypt
Abstract. We quantified sexual size dimorphism, diet and reproduction in the Starred Agama, Laudakia stellio, in northern Sinai. Males were larger than females in snout-vent length and head index. The species is a sit-and-wait predator and feeds on insects, mainly coleopterans. About 30% of stomachs included plant material. No difference between sexes existed in terms of prey size preference. The reproductive season is seen to be year round with no distinctive seasonality. The smallest sexually mature female measured 92 mm SVL, whereas the smallest sexually reproductive male was 89 mm SVL. Clutch size ranged from 6 to 18 eggs.
Keywords: Ecology, Laudakia, Sinai, Egypt.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 136-143. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Alime Bayındır, Mehmet Faruk Gürbüz, Toshko Ljubomirov, and Daniel Pohl
Diversity of digger wasps in Kasnak Oak Forest Nature Reserve, Isparta, Turkey, with records of eight species new to Turkey (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae, Crabronidae and Ampulicidae)
Abstract. Three stations selected for altitude and habitat types within the Kasnak Oak Forest Nature Reserve (Isparta, Turkey) were studied comparatively for species composition, richness and abundance of the Hymenoptera families Ampulicidae, Crabronidae, and Sphecidae. A total of 56 species was recorded, 1 from the family Ampulicidae, 43 from the family Crabronidae and 12 from the family Sphecidae. 8 species are new records for Turkey.
Keywords: Ampulicidae, Sphecidae, Crabronidae, Kasnak Oak Forest, Turkey, Middle East.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 144-147. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Wolfgang Schawaller, Hathal M. Al Dhafer, and Hassan H. Fadl
Boromorphus saudicus sp. n., a new record of the genus from the Arabian Peninsula (Tenebrionidae: Pimeliinae: Boromorphini)
Abstract. Boromophus saudicus sp. n. (subfamily Pimeliinae Latreille, 1802, tribe Boromorphini Skopin, 1978) is described from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Rawdhat Khorim, Riyadh Province). This finding represents the first record of the genus Boromorphus Wollaston, 1854 from the Arabian Peninsula. The species was collected from Acacia trees and from pitfall traps.
Keywords: Tenebrionidae, Boromorphini, Boromorphus, new species, Arabian Pen-insula, Saudi Arabia.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 148-151. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Rüdiger Wagner, Hasan Koç, Okan Özgül, and Alper Tonguç
New moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae) from Turkey
Abstract. Specimens of moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae) were sampled in southwest Anatolia and the European part of Turkey between 2003 and 2009. Samples contained nine species new to science: Ulomyia asiaminorica sp. n., Pneumia pellucida sp. n., Berdeniella turcica sp. n., B. aktashi sp. n., Clytocerus thracicus sp. n., Jungiella afyonica sp. n., J. geniculatoides sp. n., J. barlasi sp. n., and Telmatoscopus remotus sp.n. The new species are described and illustrated. Distributional data for a total of 45 species are provided. 63 species of Psychodinae are now known to occur in Turkey.
Keywords: Diptera, Psychodidae, Turkey, Southwest Anatolia, new species, distri-bution data.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 152-167. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Mohammad Ali Akrami and Forough Ebrahimi
A new species of the genus Pergalumna Grandjean, 1936 from Iran (Acari: Oribatida: Galumnidae)
Abstract. A new species of galumnid mite (Acari: Oribatida: Galumnidae), Pergalumna persica sp. n., is described from Fars province, southern Iran. The new species is characterised by a pointed rostrum, minute interlamellar setae, medium long, setiform sensilla, with finely barbed, slightly dilated head, complete dorsosejugal suture, large, nearly elongate-triangular areae porosae Aa, absence of median pore, and large body size.
Keywords: Oribatida, Galumnidae, Pergalumna, new species, Iran.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 168-172. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Short Communications
Omar F. Al-Sheikhly and David Mallon
The Small Asian Mongoose Herpestes javanicus and the Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii in Iraq (Mammalia: Carnivora: Herpestidae)
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 173-175. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Malek Ali, Adib Saad1, Christian Reynaud, and Christian Capapé
First records of the Round Fantail Stingray, Taeniura grabata (Chondrichthyes: Dasyatidae), off the Syrian coast (eastern Mediterranean)
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 176-178. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Bella S. Galil
Going going gone: the loss of a reef building gastropod (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Vermetidae) in the southeast Mediterranean Sea
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 179-182. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Mehmet Gökoğlu and Yaşar Özvarol
The Southern Brown Shrimp, Farfantepenaeus subtilis (Pérez Farfante, 1967) (Decapoda: Penaeidae), a new migrant in the Mediterranean Sea
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 183-185. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Mahmoud Soufi, Hiva Nasserzadeh, Haji Gholi Kami, Bahram Zehzad, Bahram Hasan Zadeh Kiabi, and Ali Turk Qashqaei
First record of the Truly Aquatic Spider, Argyroneta aquatica (Clerck, 1757) in Iran (Araneae: Cybaeidae)
Zoology in the Middle East 59(2), 2013: 188-188. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
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