Title: First Record of Androctonus bicolor Ehrenberg, (Arachnida: Scorpiones) with scorpion records DhiQar Province, Iraq Journal: Article number: e0 How to cite: Status: awaiting proofing Al-Khazali, A.M., Yağmur, E.A. (0): First Record of Androctonus bicolor Ehrenberg, (Arachnida: Scorpiones) with scorpion records DhiQar Province, Iraq. : e0 Date published: BIHAREAN BIOLOGIST Univeristy of Oradea, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology Univeristatii str. No., Oradea 00, Romania Publisher: University of Oradea Publishing House url: http://biozoojournals.ro/bihbiol/ index.html Contact e-mail: bihbiol@gmail.com BIHAREAN BIOLOGIST (International journal of biology) ACCEPTED PAPER - Online until proofing - Authors: Azhar Mohammed AL-KHAZALI; Ersen Aydın YAĞMUR 0
First Record of AndroctonusbicolorEhrenberg, (Arachnida: Scorpiones)with scorpion records DhiQar Province, Iraq Azhar Mohammed AL-KHAZALI and Ersen Aydın YAĞMUR *. Department of Science / Branch Biolgy, College of Basic Education, University of Sumer, DhiQar, Iraq. Alaşehir Vocational School, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey., *Corresponding author, E. A. Yağmur, e- mail: ersen.yagmur@gmail.com Abstract: This study reports on the collection of scorpionsfrom DhiQar province (South of Iraq). 0 A total of scorpion specimenswere collected in 0, and identified;all specimensbelong to six species:androctonusbicolorehrenberg,, Buthacusmacrocentrus(Ehrenberg, ), Compsobuthusmatthiesseni (Birula, 0), Mesobuthusphillipsi(Pocock, ), OrthochirusiraqusKovařík, 00,andAndroctonuscrassicauda(Olivier, 0).All species except the latterare recorded for the first time from DhiQarprovince. AndroctonusbicolorEhrenberg, is recorded for the first time from Iraq. Key words: Fauna, Scorpiones, Buthidae, DhiQar, Iraq. Introduction The scorpion fauna of Iraq is one of re is poorly known. Only few reports on the Iraq scorpion fauna.to date, the following species have been reported from Iraq:Androctonuscrassicauda 0 (Olivier, 0) (Peters, Penther ),Buthacusmacrocentrus (Ehrenberg, ) (Kovařík00), B.leptochelys (Ehrenberg, ) (Whittick, Pringle 0),
Buthusoccitanus(Amoreux, ) (Kovařík ), Compsobuthusmatthiesseni(Birula, 0) (Pringle 0),C.schmiedeknechtiVachon, (as Compsobuthusjudaicus) (Vachon ), C.jakesiKovařík, 00 (Kovařík, 00),Mesobuthuscaucasicus(Nordmann, 0) (Penther 0 ),M.eupeus (C.L. Koch, ) (Whittick, Pringle 0), M.phillipsi (Pocock, ) (as ), H.mesopotamicusLourenço& Qi, 00 (Lourenço& Qi, 00), H.schach (Birula, 0) (Vachon ), H.zagrosensis(Kovařík,)(Al-Azawi 0), Leiurusquinquestriatus(Ehrenberg, ) (Fet& Lowe 000), OdontobuthusbidentatusLourenço&Pezier, 00 (Lourenço&Pezier, 00), Orthochirusscrobiculosus (Grube, )O.iraqusKovařík, 00 (Kovařík, 00) (Buthidae), BothriurusnendaiOjangurenAffilastro& Garcia-Mauro, 00 (Al-Azawi 0) (Bothriuridae), Euscorpiusitalicus(Herbst, 00) (Fet&Kovařík 00) (Euscorpiidae), Hemiscorpiuslepturus Peters, (Pringle 0) (Hemiscorpiidae), CalchasanlasiYağmur, Soleglad, Fet&Kovařík, 0 (Yağmuret al. 0). (Iuridae), Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, (Penther ) Bothriurusnendai,Compsobuthusschmiedeknechti, Buthusoccitanus,Buthacusleptochelys, Leiurusquinquestriatus,Mesobuthuscaucasicus, M.eupeus, Hottentottascaber, H.judaicus, H.zagrosensisand Orthochirusscrobiculosusrequire clarification. Hottentottamesopotamicus and 0 Orthochirusiraqus were described recently and are endemic in Iraq(Lourenço&Pezier, 00; Buthuseupaeusmesopotamicus) (Penther ),Hottentottasaulcyi (Simon, 0) (Simon 0, Pringle 0),H.judaicus(Simon,)(Al-Azawi 0), H.scaber (Ehrenberg, ) (Khalaf, (Scorpionidae). According to us the records of Kovařík, 00). DhiQar province is located in the south of Iraq and its scorpion fauna has not been studied in detail until now. Only some records have been reported by Pringle
(0),namelyAndroctonuscrassicauda, Mesobuthuseupeus, and Orthochirusscrobiculosus from the town of Nasiriyah in DhiQar province. The records of M.eupeus probably refers to 0 M.phillipsi and O.scrobiculosus probably refers to Orthochirusiraqus. Material and Methods The field expeditions were carried out between May 0 and August 0 by the first author. Twenty-onespecimens were collected from four different localities in DhiQar Province: Al-Refai district ( '"N, '"E, m a.s.l.), Al-Nasr town, ( '"N, '"E, m a.s.l.), Al-Shatrah district ( '"N, '0"E, m a.s.l.) and Al-Nasiriyah town (0 '"N, '"E, m a.s.l.) (Fig. ). Scorpions were collected by hand from under stones during the day time. The specimens were identified using a Leica EZ stereomicroscope. Identifications were made after Hendrixson (00), Kovařík (00, 00), Kovaříket al. (0), and Sissom&Fet (). Results A total number of scorpion specimens were collected. Six species and genera belonging to family Buthidae were identified. Family Buthidae C.L. Koch, AndroctonusbicolorEhrenberg,. Figure A. 0 Distribution: A.bicoloris known from Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon?, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia Yemen (Fet& Lowe, 000) and Iraq (Present study).
Material examined: juv., Abu Gar (Al-Nasiriyah town),.0.0, 0 '"N, '"E, m. Comments:A. bicoloris a new record from Iraq. A. bicoloris already known from Jordan and 0 Syria (El-Hennawy, ) and its existence was expected for Iraq. A. bicolordiffers from its congeners present in the Middle East with its thin chela manus and long and yellow chela fingers. Al-Azawi (0) recently published a paper on the scorpions of Iraq. Among the species, pictures of Hottentottazagrosensis, H.judaicusand B.nendaias appear similar toa. bicolor. Probably, these species do not exist in Iraq and these records concern A. bicolor. Androctonuscrassicauda(Olivier, 0) Figure B. Distribution:A. crassicaudais known from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt (Sinai), Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (Fet& Lowe 000, Hendrixson 00). A. crassicauda was recorded from Balad and Al- Shirqat towns (Salah AL-Dine), Tel-Afar town (Nineveh), Nasiriyah town (DhiQar), Rawa and and Baqubah towns (Diyala), Badra town (Wasit),Amara town (Maysan), Baghdad, Hilla and Basra Provinces in Iraq (Peters, Penther, Whittick, Pringle 0, Khalaf, Rutba towns (Anbar),Aqra and Sulaf towns (Dohuk), Ain Al-Tamr town (Karbala), Khanaqin Khalaf, Al-Azawi 0). Material examined:, Abu Gar, (Al-Nasiriyah town),.0.0, 0 '"N, '"E, 0 m;,, Al- Caar region (Al- Nasr town),.0.0, '"N, '"E, m.
Comments:A. crassicauda was recorded from DhiQar Province (Nasiriyah town) by Pringle (0) previously. This species is widespread in Iraq. Buthacusmacrocentrus(Ehrenberg, ) Figure C. Distribution:B. macrocentrusis recorded for the first time from DhiQar province. Some Buthacusleptochelys records originate from Iraq but B. leptochelysprobably does not occur in Iraq and these records belong to B. macrocentrus. Therefore, the records provided for B. leptochelyswereaccepted asb. macrocentrus in this study. Material examined:, Al-Caar region (Al-Nasr town),.0.0, '"N, '"E, 0 m. Comments:B. macrocentrusis known from Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates(Fet& Lowe 000, Kovařík 00, Lourenço 00). It is known frommosul, Makhmur, Tel Afar towns, (Ninawa), Al-Shirqattown (Salah AL-Dine provinces in Iraq) (Whittick, Pringle 0, Khalaf, Khalaf ). Compsobuthusmatthiesseni(Birula, 0) Figure D. Distribution:C. matthiesseniis known from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria (Birula 0, Pringle 0, Farzanpay&Pretzmann, Farzanpay, Sissom&Fet, Kovařik, 00). It is 0 known from Khanaqin and Baqubah towns (Diyala), Baghdad, Kirkuk and Salah Al-Dine provinces in Iraq (Penther, Whittick, Pringle 0, Khalaf, Khalaf ).
Material examined:, Al-Caar region (Al- Nasr town),.0.0, '"N, '"E, m. 0 Comments: Compsobuthusmatthiesseniis recorded for the first time from DhiQar province. This species is widespread in Iraq. Mesobuthusphillipsi(Pocock, ) Figure E. Distribution:M. phillipsiis known from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria (Pocock, Penther, Kovařík et al. 0). It is known from Salah AL-Dine (Al-Shirqat town), Mosultown (Nineveh), Khanaqin and Baqubah towns (Diyala), Hillatown (Babylon), Nasiriyah town (DhiQar), and Salah Al-Din provinces in Iraq (Penther, Pringle 0, Khalaf, Khalaf ). Material examined:,, Al-Caar region (Al-Nasr town),.0.0, '"N, '"E, m;, Sayed Hamad village (Al-Shatrahdistrict),.0.0, '"N, '0"E, 0 m. Comments:M. phillipsiwas recorded by Penther () as ButhuseupaeusmesopotamicusPenther,. Buthuseupaeusmesopotamicus was synonymized with Mesobuthuseupeusphillipsii (Pocock, ) by Kovaříket al. (0) and was subsequently elevated to species level by Mirshamsiet al. (0). Mesobuthuseupeusrecords reported from Iraq probably belong to M.phillipsi;M.eupeusdoes not exist in Iraq. Therefore, the records ofmesobuthuseupeusare 0 accepted as records of M. phillipsiin this study. M. phillipsiis recorded for the first time from DhiQar province.
OrthochirusiraqusKovařík, 00 Figure F. Distribution: This species is endemic to Iraq. It is known only in Najaf (Kovařík 00) and DhiQar province (Present study). Material examined:, Al Masifavillage (Al-Rifia district),.0.0, '"N, '"E, m;, Al-Caar region (Al- Nasr town),.0.0, '"N, '"E, m. Comments:O. iraqus was described by Kovařík (00) from Najaf Province. This species was 0 reported as O. scrobiculosus by Khalaf () and Khalaf ()from southern Iraq. Kovařík () recordedo. innesifrom Iraq but this record was corrected by Kovařík (00) and this reported as O. scrobiculosus. This species had been known from one locality up to now, which is its type locality. It has been reported for a second time since it was described and is a new record Pringle 0, Vachon, Kovařík, 00, Khalaf,, Lourenço& Qi, 00, Lourenço&Pezier, 00, Kovařík, 00, Yağmuret al. 0), some of these records are doubtful. 0 population was reported as O. iraqus. Besides,the O. scrobiculosus record by Al-Azawi (0) as appears to beo. iraqus. It is probable that all records ofo. iraqus from southern Iraq were for DhiQar province. Discussion Although there are many records of scorpion species from Iraq (Penther, Kovařík00, According to us, Androctonuscrassicauda, ButhacusmacrocentrusCompsobuthusmatthiesseni, C.jakesi, Mesobuthusphillipsi, Hottentottasaulcyi, H.mesopotamicus, H.schach,
Odontobuthusbidentatus, Orthochirusiraqus, Euscorpiusitalicus, Hemiscorpiuslepturus, Calchasanlasiand Scorpio maurus records are valid. Five of these species were recorded in 0 Androctonuscrassicauda andbuthacusmacrocentrus are wide spread in Iraq and already known in DhiQar Province. Compsobuthusmatthiesseni, Mesobuthusphillipsi TeacherAdel Mohammed for their help during field trips, and to thank Victor Fet for providing papers, Dr. Rahşen S. Kaya and two anonymous reviewers for corrections and suggestions. Al-Azawi, N.N.Z. (0): List of Scorpions Recorded For the First Time in Iraq. Ibn AL- DhiQar province Androctonusbicolor, Birula, A. A. (0): BeiträgezurKenntnis der ScorpionenfaunaPersiens (DritterBeitrag). Bulletin de l AcademieImperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg ( ):. Androctonuscrassicauda,Buthacusmacrocentrus, Compsobuthusmatthiesseni, MesobuthusphillipsiandOrthochirusiraquswere identified in DhiQar Province. andorthochirusiraqushave been recorded for the first time in DhiQar Provinceand Androctonusbicoloris a new record for the scorpion fauna of Iraq. Acknowledgments We wish to express our gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Captain Hussein Mohammed and References Haitham Journal For Pure and Applied Science (): -.
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Figure Caption: 0 Figure. Map showing the four scorpion sampling localities sites in DhiQar province, southern Iraq. Figure. Dorsal and ventral views of the scorpions. A: Androctonusbicolor. Juvenile;B:Androctonuscrassicauda. Female; C:Buthacusmacrocentrus. Male; D:Compsobuthusmatthiesseni. Male;E:Mesobuthusphillipsi. Male; F: Orthochirusiraqus. Female.
Figure.Map showing the four scorpion sampling localities sites in DhiQar province, southern Iraq.
Figure. Dorsal and ventral views of the scorpions. A: Androctonusbicolor. Juvenile;B:Androctonuscrassicauda. Female; C:Buthacusmacrocentrus. Male; D:Compsobuthusmatthiesseni. Male;E:Mesobuthusphillipsi. Male; F: Orthochirusiraqus. Female.