Zoology in the Middle East Volume 63, Issue 4, 2017 0939-7140 (Print), 2326-2680 (Online) © Taylor & Francis All articles, both print and online versions, are fully copyright-protected. Covered in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE). ZME is published by Taylor & Francis Group. Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig

Nest position, breeding success and diet of the Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax in the Anzali Wetland, Northern Iran (Aves: Ardeidae)

Abbas Ashoori, Hossien Varasteh Moradi, Hamid Reza Rezaiee and Abdolrassoul Salman Mahiny

Breeding ecology of the Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) was studied in a mono-specific colony in the Anzali wetland, Northern Iran during the breeding season of 2016. The breeding period lasted from mid-May to late July. The average clutch size was 3.1±0.6 eggs and the breeding success 77.6 %. No significant differences were found between nests built on trunks and those built on branches of trees. The clutch size and breeding success appeared to be independent of the structural variables of the nesting site (diameter of trees, height from the ground, height of nests from the canopy, nest number per tree, location of nests on trunks and branches). No significant difference was found between the timing of the start of incubation and the height of nests above the ground. The average vertical and horizontal distances between nests was one metre. Fish, particularly Carassius gibelio, dominated the diet of the nestlings.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 283-290.

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Unusual song of an individual Cyprus Scops Owl Otus cyprius (Aves: Strigidae)

Peter Flint

Cyprus Scops Owl, Otus cyprius, has recently been split from Eurasian Scops Owl, Otus scops, partly because of song differences. Spectrographic analysis of a more recent O. cyprius song recording shows that it differs from that of O. scops in phrase length and frequency more than previously analysed recordings. The recorded song is also most unusual in possessing two phrases each containing 11 consecutive quiet notes; these two phrases are also remarkably similar in pattern, timing and amplitude. Previously only three consecutive quiet notes were known from O. cyprius though so far its multiple quiet note phrases have been little studied.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 291-295.

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Geographic variation of Gloydius halys caucasicus (Serpentes: Viperidae) in Iran

Sharifeh Khani, Haji Gholi Kami and Mehdi Rajabizadeh

We compared the morphological characters of populations of the Caucasian Pit Viper, Gloydius halys caucasicus, from different regions of the Alborz mountain range. For this purpose, we studied 7 metric and 21 meristic characters in 12 specimens from the western Alborz, 44 specimens from the eastern Alborz and nine specimens from the central Alborz Mountains. The results of the statistical analyses by npMANOVA, ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests showed significant differences between all three populations, while the western Alborz and the eastern Alborz populations are more distinct from each other. The important characters showing differences between them are: Subcaudals, dorsal scales in anterior part, dorsal scales in posterior part, supralabial scales, scales between gulars, gulars, ventrals, ratio of snout length over snout width, and ratio of snout length over head length.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 296-302.

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Isolated population of the Middle Eastern Phoenicolacerta laevis from the Georgian Black Sea Coast, and its genetic closeness to populations from southern Turkey

David Tarkhnishvili, Mariam Gabelaia, Andrei Kandaurov, Alexander Bukhnikashvili and Giorgi Iankoshvili

The Lebanon Lizard (Phoenicolacerta laevis) occurs on the Levantine coast and scattered populations are found in isolated coastal habitats along the southern and south-western coast of Turkey. We found an isolated but dense population of this species at and around the castle of Anaklia on Georgia’s Black Sea Coast, near the mouth of the river Enguri. The analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence suggests closeness of this population to the populations in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş, Adana and Içel in southern Turkey, rather than to those in Lebanon and Israel. It is thought that the species was introduced from a Turkish region to Anaklia, which was an important trade location at the eastern Black Sea coast until the late 18th century. This is the first established location of this species outside the eastern Mediterranean area. Climate and competition with rock lizards of the genus Darevskia are the most likely reasons preventing expansion of the species into the neighboring areas of Western Georgia.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 311-315.

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A new species of Pomatoschistus (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from Southern Anatolia

Semih Engin and Deniz İnnal

Pomatoschistus anatoliae sp. n. is described from estuary of Göksu River on the Mediterranean coast of the Anatolia. It is distinguished from its congeners by the suborbital papilla pattern, meristic, and ecological features. DNA barcoding based on COI sequences revealed that there is a high nucleotide sequence divergence to the nearest neighbour. Kimura’s two parameter distances between P. anatoliae sp. n. and other species of Pomatoschistus and Knipowitchia have found to be at least 5.1%.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 316-324.

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The diet of native and invasive fish species along the eastern Mediterranean coast (Osteichthyes)

Roni-Lee Gilaad, Bella S. Galil, Ariel Diamant and Menachem Goren

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 enabled the invasion of more than 100 alien fish species into the Mediterranean. The aim of the present study was to compare the diet of native and alien fish species and to identify possibly shared food resources. We examined the diet composition of 13 of the most abundant fish species (6 alien, 7 native) on shallow soft bottom off southern Israel. All 13 species are omnivorous/carnivorous. The native fish exhibited a wider diversity of food types than the aliens. Alien fish prey upon and are preyed by native species as well as by other alien fish. A high level of diet overlap was found among some species, the aliens Saurida lessepsianus and Scomberomorus commerson overlapped with the native Synodus saurus; and the alien Nemipterus randalli with the native species Pagrus caeruleostictus, Lithognathus mormyrus and Pagellus erythrinus. The identified diet overlap is discussed, and the possibility of competitive interactions between these species is considered.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 325-335.

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A checklist of the genus Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) from the Middle East with the description of a new species

Bahareh Majnon Jahromi, Mehdi Gheibi, Majid Fallahzadeh, Christian Kehlmaier and Shahram Hesami

A checklist of 39 species of the genus Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera, Pipunculidae) known from the Middle East is provided. A new species, T. hamata Majnon Jahromi & Kehlmaier sp. n. is described from southern Iran and diagnostic characters of male and female terminalia are illustrated. Tomosvaryella dentiterebra (Collin, 1949) is redescribed and male and female terminalia are illustrated for the first time. A phylogenetic maximum-likelihood analysis and uncorrected pairwise genetic distances of 18 out of 22 Iranian species of Tomosvaryella based on DNA barcodes of the mitochondrial COI gene are presented and also discussed.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 336-347.

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Contribution to the Ichneumoninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) of Iran, with descriptions of three new species

Matthias Riedel and Pardis Aghadokht

In this faunistic survey, we give distributional records for 48 species and subspecies of Ichneumoninae found in Iran, mainly from Golestan and Azerbaijan-e-Grabi provinces. 13 of these taxa are new for the Iranian fauna. Three Iranian species are new to science and described and illustrated, namely Coelichneumon iranicus Riedel sp. n., Coelichneumon melanocastaneus Riedel sp. n., and Coelichneumon nigrifrons Riedel sp. n.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 348-355.

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Hydrochus adiyamanensis sp. n. from Adıyaman Province in south-eastern Turkey (Coleoptera: Hydrochidae)

Gani Erhan Taşar

Hydrochus adiyamanensis sp. n. is described from Adıyaman province in south-eastern Turkey. A species description, scanning electron microscopy image, habitus image, male genitalia and some other morphological characters of the new species are presented and additional notes on Turkish Hydrochidae species are provided.

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 356-361.

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A new species from the Clubiona caerulescens group from the Caucasus (Araneae: Clubionidae)

Kirill G. Mikhailov, Stefan Otto and George Japoshvili

An illustrated description of Clubiona caucasica sp. n., which is closely related to C. caerulescens L. Koch, 1867 is provided. The new species is found in the Caucasus (Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia) and in Turkey (one locality).

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 362-368

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Short Communications

Reproduction of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in Cyprus
(Aves: Strigiformes)

Nicolaos Kassinis and Alexandre Roulin

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 369-371.

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First record of Dusky Warbler, Phylloscopus fuscatus (Aves: Sylviidae), from Iran

Fardin Naziri, Abbas Ashoori and Petri Lampila

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 372-373.

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New record of the European Finless Eel Apterichtus caecus from Iskenderun Bay, eastern Mediterranean Sea

Deniz Erguden, Servet Ahmet Doğdu, Ali Uyan, Mevlut Gurlek and Cemal Turan

Zoology in the Middle East 63(4), 2017: 374-376.

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