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Zoology in the
Middle East Volume
62, Issue 3, 2016 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 Group. Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
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The Anatolian
diagonal revisited: Testing the ecological basis of a biogeographic boundary
Hakan Gür
The Asian part of Turkey, i.e. Anatolia, is the region where three of
the world’s 35 biodiversity hotspots meet, and interact: the Caucasus,
Irano-Anatolian, and Mediterranean basin hotspots. One of the most distinctive
biogeographic features that helps in understanding the biodiversity of Anatolia
is the Anatolian diagonal, which has long been
recognised as a biogeographic boundary between the central and eastern
Anatolian floras and faunas, but the processes (i.e. historical,
ecological or some combination of these) responsible for its origin and
maintenance have not been well understood. The aim of this study was to assess whether
the Anatolian diagonal corresponds with a significant environmental barrier. I
used for this purpose ecological niche modelling and associated comparative
metrics. First, I created virtual records in the Anatolian part of the Irano-Anatolian
hotspot, and split these records into two groups: those occurring to the west
and to the east of the Anatolian diagonal. Then, I examined whether the Anatolian
diagonal is associated with a steep environmental gradient. It was found that the
Anatolian diagonal is indeed associated with a steep environmental gradient,
and therefore corresponds with a significant environmental barrier. This steep gradient associated with
the Anatolian diagonal is mainly in temperature seasonality. The models did not
cross-predict each other, either at the Last Glacial Maximum or at the present,
suggesting that during at least the last glacial-interglacial cycle, many of
these populations or taxa were excluded from the other side of the Anatolian
diagonal by environmental rather than non-environmental reasons (i.e.
dispersal, competition).
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 189-199. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Altitudinal variation in the diversity and structure of the desert
rodent community
from Jebel Al Jais, United Arab Emirates
Haemish Melville and Anne-Lise Chaber
In arid areas where organisms are subjected to
environmental extremes, ecological communities are simple and provide useful
models for studying community organisation. We used capture, mark and release
methods between November 2014 and May 2015 to assess the rodent community in
the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaima along an altitudinal gradient from 460 m to
1650 m. We captured three rodent species; Arabian Spiny Mouse, Acomys
dimidiatus, Wagner’s Gerbil, Gerbillus dasyurus and a Black Rat, Rattus
rattus (the latter only represented by a single specimen on one occasion).
The structure of rodent communities varied altitudinally with the relative
abundance of Spiny Mice decreasing and Wagner’s Gerbils increasing with
altitude.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 200-205. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
A new and highly divergent
mitochondrial lineage in the Small Five-toed Jerboa, Allactaga elater, from
Iran (Mammalia: Rodentia)
Saeed Mohammadi, Sandra Afonso, Mohammad Ali Adibi, José
Melo-Ferreira and Rita Campos
The Small Five-toed Jerboa, Allactaga
elater, is a small rodent adapted to desert and semi-arid habitats
with a widespread distribution around the Caucasus. Previous studies have
suggested the occurrence of subspecific variation within the species but, except
for a recent phylogeny of the genus Allactaga,
most of the work done on the taxonomy of the group relies on morphological data
only. To contribute to the current understanding of patterns of genetic
diversity of A. elater we analysed one mitochondrial locus, cytochrome b, from 13
Iranian specimens. Comparing to a recent phylogeny, our results suggest the
existence of two additional mitochondrial lineages, one that clusters within
previously described lineages and a new and highly divergent one. The two novel mitochondrial lineages occur in the
north and form two highly divergent monophyletic groups (Dxy = 14%), which
likely separated during the Pleistocene.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 206-211. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
The stomach content
of a Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus
monachus): finding of Green Turtle (Chelonia
mydas) remains
Arda M. Tonay, Erdem Danyer, Ayhan Dede, Bayram Öztürk
and Ayaka A. Öztürk
The stomach contents of an adult Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) found stranded on the
Turkish eastern Mediterranean coast near Antalya in May 2013 were analysed. In
total, 69 individual food items were counted and nine taxa were identified to
species or family level. Of the identified taxa, Sparidae was the most highly
represented family of prey fish, and one cephalopod species, Octopus vulgaris, was found. Ariosoma balearicum and Argyrosomus regius were encountered for
the first time in the diet of a Monk Seal in the Mediterranean. Several body
parts (three heads, six forelimbs, neck bones and fractured upper forelimb
bones) of Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas)
were also identified, which is the first record of this species in the Monk Seal’s
diet.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 212-216. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Attributes of trees
used by nesting and foraging woodpeckers (Aves: Picidae) in an area with old
pollarded Oaks (Quercus spp.) in the Taurus Mountains, Turkey
Adam Bergner, Anton Sunnergren, Burcu Yeşilbudak,
Cahit Erdem and Nicklas Jansson
We used three woodpecker species as umbrella species for old deciduous
forests, and analysed their preferences in an area with old pollarded oaks in the
Taurus Mountains, Turkey. Using plot inventories, we physically characterised trees
utilised for nesting and foraging amongst woodpeckers in general and the Middle
Spotted Woodpecker (Leiopicus medius)
in particular. Trees more frequently visited by foraging woodpeckers differed from randomly chosen trees by being taller,
having a larger circumference, greater bark furrow depth and shorter distance
to neighbouring trees. Nesting trees were taller, had a higher proportion of
dead wood but a lower surface area of natural cavities. Our results suggest
that the woodpeckers in the study area rely upon woodlands containing mature
trees, thus have the potential to function as suitable umbrella species’ to
highlight the conservation value of oak forest habitats in southern Turkey.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 217-227. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Phylogenetic relationships
of Eurasian Nuthatches (Sitta europaea
Linnaeus, 1758) from the Alborz and Zagros Mountains, Iran
Masoud Nazarizadeh, Mohammad Kaboli, Hamid Reza Rezaie,
Jalil Imani Harisini and Eric Pasquet
The Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea Linnaeus,
1758) is a resident bird in the Alborz and Zagros deciduous forests. We
investigated the phylogenetic relationships and the taxonomic position of the
Eurasian Nuthatch among other separated lineages of Eurasia with the help of blood
samples collected from 19 individuals belonging to four populations in the Eastern
and Western Alborz, as well as in the Northern and Southern Zagros forests. Genetic
variation was then analysed using complete ND2 gene sequence (1041bp) and phylogenetic
analysis was done using Bayesian and maximum likelihood inference.
Additionally, a median-joining algorithm was used to reveal the relationships
among haplotypes. The results of the phylogenetic and
haplotype network analyses indicated that Eurasian Nuthatch haplotypes from the Alborz and Zagros Mountains form lineages distinct from the Asian,
Caucasian and European haplotypes.
Furthermore, an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) detected significant
(P<0.001) genetic structure among the lineages. The Asian, European, Caucasian and
Alborz lineages diverged from one another by an uncorrected genetic distance
ranging from 0.029 to 0.039, while the Zagros lineage showed a slightly lower genetic divergence from
the Caucasian lineage (0.006), but it did not share any haplotype with the Caucasian
lineage. Thus, we suggest considering five Conservation Significant Units (CSU) for the Eurasian
Nuthatches as the result of used dataset.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 228-237. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Diet of the Worm
Lizard, Diplometopon zarudnyi (Nikolsky, 1907), in Riyadh
province, Saudi Arabia (Reptilia: Trogonophidae)
Mohammad Khalid Al-Sadoon, Bilal Ahmad Paray and Hassan
A. Rudayni
We analysed the diet composition of 133 specimens of the Worm Lizard, Diplometopon zarudnyi, in Riyadh province, Saudi Arabia.
Analysis of stomach contents revealed that 90 specimens (66.6%) had prey items in their gut. The
stomach content consisted mainly of small invertebrate prey (beetles), mainly larvae
of Dermestes sp., but also imagines of Dermestes maculatus and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. Dermestes sp. constitutes over 99% of the total
food items, showing a high selectivity in food intake. The high number
of beetles in the stomach contents indicates that this lizard forages very
frequently. Specimens collected during winter had empty stomachs. The high
proportion of fossorial prey items and the occasional records of other stomach
contents show that D. zarudnyi only occasionally
forages on the surface.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 238-241. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Phylogeny and
biogeography of Arabian populations of the Persian Horned Viper Pseudocerastes persicus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Philip de Pous, Marc Simó-Riudalbas, Johannes Els,
Sithum Jayasinghe, Felix Amat and Salvador Carranza
The Persian Horned Viper (Pseudocerastes
persicus) is distributed from northeast Iraq through the Iranian Plateau to
western Pakistan with isolated populations in the Hajar Mountains of south-eastern
Arabia. Like the other members of the genus Pseudocerastes,
P. persicus is a sit-and-wait ambush
feeder with low vagility, a characteristic that often results in high levels of
population differentiation. In order to clarify the level of genetic variability,
phylogenetic relationships, and biogeography of the Arabian populations of P. persicus we sequenced 597 base pairs
of the mitochondrial cytochrome b of
four individuals from the Hajar Mountains in south-eastern Arabia and inferred
their phylogenetic relationships including 10 samples of P. persicus from Iran and Pakistan, four P. urarachnoides and one P.
fieldi downloaded from GenBank. The four Arabian samples are genetically
very similar in the gene fragment analysed and are phylogenetically very
closely related to populations of P. persicus
from coastal south Iran. Biogeographically, it appears that colonisation of the
Hajar Mountains by P. persicus took
place from Iran very recently, most probably during the last glaciation, when
most of the Persian Gulf was above sea level and did not represent a barrier
for dispersal.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 242-249 | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
The feminizing effect
of metabolic heating in Green Turtle (Chelonia
mydas) clutches in the eastern
Mediterranean
Betül F. Önder and Onur Candan
Metabolic heating has been poorly investigated in eastern Mediterranean
coastline of Turkey, which host some of the most important Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting sites in the Mediterranean. We studied the effects
of clutch size and embryo numbers on nest temperature and discuss the
feminizing effect of metabolic heating. Two test sites were conducted in Sugözü
Beaches (Turkey). Data loggers were placed in eight nests with different clutch
sizes. Nest temperature was strongly correlated with embryo numbers and
metabolic heating produced by embryos was calculated to be 0.019°C per late
stage embryo and 0.020°C per hatchling. Metabolic heating was calculated to be
0.6°C in the middle third of the incubation period during which sex is
determined. It was estimated that metabolic heating increased 10.4% of female
hatchlings. The heat produced by embryos should be taken into consideration
while estimating sex ratios indirectly by nest and sand temperatures.
Additionally, the metabolic heating value should be known for conservation
measures, such as nest relocation, dividing the nest for controlling nest
temperature, especially related to climate change.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 250-258. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
On the trophic
spectrum of Pelophylax ridibundus
(Pallas, 1771) (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae) in western Iran
Behzad Fathinia, Nasrullah Rastegar-Pouyani, Hamid
Darvishnia, Arya Shafaeipour and Ghodrat Jaafari
Using the stomach flushing technique, a total of 188 specimens of the
Marsh Frog, Pelophylax ridibundus, were flushed, of which 129 had at
least one food item in the stomach. The diet consisted of Annelida, Mollusca,
Arthropoda and Chordata with Arthropoda being the most abundant group. Both
diet volume and number of food items per stomach were significantly larger in
April than in August. The proportion of frequency of occurrence (FOi%) of food
categories did not show a constant food item in flushed materials. Pelophylax
ridibundus prefers Diptera, Coleoptera, Amphipoda and Hymenoptera over
other food categories. The Index of Relative Importance (IRI) for food
categories differs between sexes and seasons. Differences were found in the food
volume and the number of food items between seasons, but not between sexes.
Prey volume is positively correlated with frog size.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 259-266. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Geographic nestedness
of Lyciasalamandra billae (Amphibia: Salamandridae) populations
within L. antalyana and description of
a new subspecies
Olaf Godmann, Mert Kariş and Bayram Göçmen
A new subspecies of the Bille’s Lycian Salamander Lyciasalamandra
billae is described from four localities in the vicinity of Geyikbayɪrɪ
nearby Antalya, Turkey. It is distinguished from the nominotypical subspecies
by colouration and surface pattern. The distribution area of the new subspecies
is nested within the range of Lyciasalamandra
antalyana, with L. a. gocmeni bordering in the north and the
range of L. a. antalyana bordering in
the south. New localities of both L.
antalyana subspecies are reported.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 267-272. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
A new species of Copidosoma (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)
from Iran
George Japoshvili, Hamid Rakhshani and Jahangir Khajehali
Copidosoma isfahan Japoshvili sp.
n. (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of Altenia mersinella (Staudinger, 1879)
(Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on pistachio (Pistacia
vera L.) is described and illustrated from Iran.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 273-275. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Two new harvestmen
species (Arachnida: Opiliones) from the Caucasus
Nataly Yu. Snegovaya and Alexey N. Tchemeris
Two new
harvestmen species of the family Phalangiidae, Rilaena caucasica sp.
n. and Rilaena silhavyi sp. n. are diagnosed, illustrated, and described from the
Caucasus region. Comparative
illustration of the related Rilaena
anatolica (Roewer, 1956), R.
atrolutea (Roewer, 1915) and R.
kelbajarica Snegovaya & Pkhakadze, 2014 are given.
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 276-282. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Short
Communications
A new record of Lagocephalus
guentheri (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) from the north-eastern Aegean
Sea
Okan Akyol and İlker Aydın
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 283-285. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
First record of female
intersex in Litarachna communis Walter,
1925 (Acari: Hydrachnidia) from the Sea of Marmara, Turkey
M. Levent Artüz and Vladimir Pešić
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 286-288. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Description of the hitherto unknown female of Xysticus tenuiapicalis Demir, 2012 (Araneae:
Thomisidae)
Hakan Demirand Hakkı Onur Koçyiğit
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 289-290. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
The Desert Beauty Calopieris
eulimene: a butterfly new to Egypt (Insecta: Lepidoptera)
Ahmed El-Gabbas and Francis Gilbert
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 291-293. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Expression
of Concern
Expression of Concern
Zoology in the Middle East 62(3), 2016: 294. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
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