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Zoology in the Middle East Volume 59, Issue 4, 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 |
On the genetic diversity of spiny mice (genus Acomys) and gerbils (genus Gerbillus) in the Arabian Peninsula
Timothy C. Bray, Nigel C. Bennett, Osama B. Mohammed, and Abdulaziz N. Alagaili
Using non-destructive sampling we provide further genetic characterisations for spiny mice (Acomys dimidiatus/cahirinus) and gerbils (Gerbillus sp.) in three regions in Saudi Arabia. All individuals were sequenced for a fragment of the cytochrome b gene, and compared against available conspecifics and closely related taxa. We confirm the existence of a second Acomys dimidiatus/cahirinus lineage specific to the Arabian Peninsula as seen previously. The Arabian Gerbillus nanus is shown to group with Middle Eastern rather than African conspecifics. A second cryptic Gerbillus lineage was also sampled across multiple locations, which may be an uncharacterised G. dasyurus.
Keywords: Acomys; genetic diversity; Gerbillus; rodents; Saudi Arabia.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 283-288. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Population size and breeding success of the Cinereous Vulture, Aegypius monachus, in a newly found breeding area in western Anatolia (Aves: Falconiformes)
Cihangir Kirazlı and Elif Yamaç
A total of 123 nests of the Cinereous Vulture, Aegypius monachus, was found in three different nesting areas in Middle Sakarya Region, Western Turkey, during three years. The number of breeding pairs was 32 in 2010, 46 in 2011 and 42 in 2012. This is the largest Cinereous Vulture colony in Turkey and the most important breeding area in the western part of its distribution outside Spain. Breeding success was 0.78 fledgling per occupied nest in 2010, 0.73 in 2011 and 0.54 in 2012. The most unsuccessful breeding occurred mostly between May and July, when recreational activities and various economic human activities increased in the area.
Keywords: Breeding success, Cinereous Vulture, Eurasian Black Vulture, nesting area, threats.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 289-296. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Sexual dimorphism and female reproductive cycle in the scincid lizard Trachylepis vittata (Olivier, 1804) in Lebanon (Reptilia: Scincidae)
Fida Nassar, Marie Challita, Riyad Sadek, and Souad Hraoui-Bloquet
Sexual dimorphism and the female reproductive cycle were studied in a population of the viviparous lizard Trachylepis vittata at 2000 m a.s.l. on Mount Sannine, Lebanon. Females have larger body sizes than males and males have relatively larger heads than females. Females reach maturity at 56 mm snout-vent length. They spend at least six months in hibernation, from October to March. Adult females emerge from hibernation in April. Fertilization occurs mid-May and gestation lasts for 8-10 weeks. All females collected on the same date had embryos at the same embryonic developmental stage. Females produced 1-4 embryos. There is a significant positive relationship between female body size and number of embryos. Parturition lasts for two weeks and new-borns achieve adult size within about ten months.
Keywords: Vivipary, Scincidae, Mabuya, vitellogenesis, oviductal eggs.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 297-301. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Sexual size dimorphism in Ophisops elegans (Squamata: Lacertidae) in Iran
Hamzeh Oraie, Hassan Rahimian, Nasrullah Rastegar-Pouyani, Azar Khosravani and Eskandar Rastegar-Pouyani
Twenty-three morphological features of 140 specimens of Ophisops elegans were analysed in order to identify sexual dimorphism in west and northwestern populations of Iran. Sexual dimorphism is significant (P<0.05) in nearly all metric features except for trunk length (TL) and length of widest part of belly (LWB), and in only two meristic characters, the number of dorsal scales around mid-body (DSN) and the number of femoral pores (FPN). Males have a relatively longer snout-vent length (SVL) than females and males have generally relatively larger heads compared to females.
Keywords: Ophisops elegans, sexual size dimorphism, descriptive statistics.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 302-307. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
New records and uncommon occurrences of deep-water fishes in the Turkish Mediterranean Sea (Osteichthyes)
Mehmet Cengiz Deval
In monthly surveys carried out between September 2009 and July 2011 in Antalya Bay, five species of fish were found which have hitherto been unknown from the Antalya Bay: Notacanthus bonaparte, Diaphus metopoclampus, Gadella maraldi, Benthocometes robustus and Evermannella balbo. For the latter species it is the first record for the Turkish Seas.
Keywords: Antalya Bay, deep-water fishes, new records.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 308-313. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Cytherella maremensis sp. n., a new ostracod from the Sea of Marmara (Turkey) (Crustacea: Ostracoda)
M. Levent Artüz, Dinçer Gülen, and Cüneyt Kubanç
Cytherella maremensis sp. n., belonging to the family Cytherellidae, is described as new from a hydrothermal vent, located in the west of Marmara Island on the North Anatolian Fault crossing the Sea of Marmara. It was collected from a sediment core 55 m below sea level. Cytherella maremensis sp. n. is clearly separated from closely related species by its shape, length-height ratio and ornamentation.
Keywords: Ostracoda, new species, Cytherelloidea, Sea of Marmara, hydrothermal vents.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 314-318. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
New records for the bee fauna of Iran (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)
Samad Khaghaninia, Yasemin Güler, and Fatih Dikmen
In a survery of the bee fauna of Horand forests in East Azerbaijan province of Iran during 2008 and 2009, 46 species belonging to the families Anthophoridae, Halictidae and Megachilidae were identified. Eight species are new to the fauna of Iran: Evylaeus albipes (Fabricius, 1781), E. corvinus (Morawitz, 1878), E. israelensis (Ebmer, 1974), Seladonia desertorum (Morawitz, 1876), Heriades crenulatus Nylander, 1856, Hoplitis anthocopoides (Schenck, 1853), H. manicata (Morice, 1901) and H. rufohirta (Latreille, 1811).
Keywords: Anthophoridae, Megachilidae, Halictidae, East Azerbaijan province, fauna, Iran.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 319-325. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
On the eucerine bees of Fars province, Iran (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Eucerini)
Razeyeh Khodaparast and Alireza Monfared
A total of 420 specimens of eucerine bees (tribe Eucerini) belonging to 26 species was collected in the province of Fars, southwest Iran between January 2010 and August 2011. Of these, 19 species are new for the Iranian fauna. Descriptions with illustrations of most species are presented here to facilitate identification.
Keywords: Iran, Middle East, Eucera, Tetraloniella, food plants.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 326-341. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
The genera Cneocnemis Gebien and Cenoscelis Wollaston in Saudi Arabia (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Ulomini)
Wolfgang Schawaller, Ashraf M. El Torkey and Hathal M. Al Dhafer
Cneocnemis arabica sp. n. is described from western Saudi Arabia. The type locality lies disjunct from the large conjunct area of the Asian congeners, probably due to the lack of suitable habitats (?trees) in central and eastern Arabia. C. angustula (Fairmaire, 1893) comb. n. from Indochina is transferred from Uloma to Cneocnemis. Additionally, the first records of Cenoscelis pulla (Erichson, 1843) from Saudi Arabia are listed. The species of Cenoscelis seem at least not to be restricted to arboreal habitats.
Keywords: Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Ulomini, Cneocnemis, Cenoscelis, Saudi Arabia, new species, new combination, taxonomy, zoogeography.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 342-346. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
The spider family Hersiliidae Thorell, 1870 (Arachnida: Araneae) in Iran
Omid Mirshamsi, Yuri M. Marusik and Esmat Jamili
A new species of Duninia Marusik & Fet, 2009, D. darvishi sp. n., is described from northeastern Iran on the basis of males and females. A detailed morphological description and illustrations of the new species are provided. In addition, two other hersiliid species, Duninia baehrae Marusik & Fet, 2009, and Hersiliola sternbergsi Marusik & Fet, 2009 are recorded for the first time for the fauna of Iran and are illustrated. According to the results of this study, Iran has the highest species-richness in the Palaearctic with five reported hersiliid species.
Keywords: Iranian Plateau, Khorasan-e-Razavi, South Khorasan, new species.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 347-352. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Prozercon iranensis sp. n., a new species of Zerconidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Iran
Zsolt Ujvári, Hossein Moradian, and Hadi Ostovan
A new species of Prozercon Sellnick, 1943, P. iranensis sp.n., is described on the basis of material collected in Iran. The new species is morphologically related to P. dominiaki Błaszak, 1979, but can easily be distinguished from the latter by the unusual form of opisthonotal setae and the different position of glands gdZ3.
Keywords: Acari, Mesostigmata, Zerconidae, Prozercon, taxonomy, Iran.
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 353-357. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
Short Communications
First record of the Sand Cat, Felis margarita Loche, 1858 (Mammalia: Carnivora, Felidae), from Iraq
Mohammad K. Mohammad, Saman R. Lahony, and Hayder M. Al-Rammahi
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 358-359. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
New records of Muscidae (Diptera) in the west of Iran
Salah Moradi, Adrian Pont, Mousa Tavassoli, and Soraya Naem
Zoology in the Middle East 59(4), 2013: 360-362. | Access Options: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tzme20/current#.UZ8U1Z3wCig
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Zoology in the Middle East