نشریه تنوع زیستی و رده بندی جانوران
سال دوم شماره 1 (شهریور 1401)

Isopods of the genus Tylos occur in the supralittoral sandy beaches from tropical and subtropical coasts around the world. Tylos maindroni Giordani Soika, 1954, is an oniscoid isopod, which commonly found in sandy beaches throughout the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf.In this study, we document the first record of T. maindroni from Faroor Koochak Island. Morphological study reveals that there were no clear morphological differences between Faroor Koochak, Kuwait and Oman populations.In addition, new 16S-rDNA sequences, combined with already available GenBank sequences of some Tylos species were used to hypothesize their relationships.The analyses of 16S rDNA clearly support the existence of only T. maindroni species along the coastal zone of the Persian Gulf area, and a sister taxon relationship between this species and T. exiguus Stebbing, 1910, from the Red Sea coasts and Socotra Island.Keywords: Persian Gulf, Genetic diversity, Molecular phylogeny, Isopoda, Tylos maindroni

This study evaluate the anatomical and histological structure of the female reproductive system in Trapelus agilis of the Agamidae family. Specimens of Trapelus agilis steppe lizard were collected in spring and summer from Shadegan area (Southwest of Khuzestan Province). Samples were anesthetized with chloroform after death (by intraperitoneal injection of Sodium pentobarbitone) and described in the laboratory. After that, their reproductive system was studied anatomically and then removed from the animal's body and tissue passage (dehydration, clarification, impregnation and molding) steps were performed on them. Following the cutting stage with a rotating microtome, serial sections were prepared from the female reproductive system. Following the cutting stage with a rotating microtome, serial sections were prepared from the female reproductive system. The results of this study showed that Trapelus agilis lizards wake up from hibernation in early spring and increase their physical strength to enter the reproductive phase by hunting insects. Histological results showed that lizard's ovaries began to increase in volume in spring and in the months (April and May) with a large number of follicles and in the months (June and July) are ready to ovulate.

A review of the known Middle East species of the genus Asaccus Dixon and Anderson, 1973 is presented. The genus Asaccus is a vicariance group that is distributed in southern Anatolia, eastern Iraq, western and southwestern Iran, Syria, northern Oman and the United Arab Emirates. This genus belongs to one of the least known families of geckos Phyllodactylidae that encompasses 10 genera, 158 species and 46 subspecies.The genus Asaccus is divided into two distinct geographical lineages. The first group is endemic to the Mesopotamian region (western Iran, eastern Iraq, Turkey and Syria), which includes Asaccus andersoni, A. elisae, A. griseonotus, A. granularis, A. iranicus, A. kermanshahensis, A. kurdistanensis, A. nasrullahi, A. tangestanensis, A. zagrosicus, A. saffinae, and A. barani all restricted to the Zagros mountains and neighboring regions. The second group, occurring in the northern Oman Mountains as well as some areas in the United Arab Emirates includes A. arnoldi, A.caudivolvulus, A. gallagheri, A. gardneri, A. margaritae, A. montanus and A. platyrhynchus. Historical and biogeographical events in the Middle East have had a major impact on the distribution and subsequent evolution of Asaccus.

The aim of this study is providing a baseline population data on the vulnerable species of marsh crocodile Crocodylus palustris with no documented information on the population status of the species in Iran. Results of three years population survey and habitat evaluation of marsh crocodile, in westernmost distribution limits of the species at south eastern Iran, Sistan and Baluchistan Province, at Gando Protected Area as the main distribution area for the species has provided here at this study. Totally, 43 stations all located inside Gando Protected Area for this species has visited and evaluated during three years of 2012, 2015 and 2016 and recording 326, 402 and 355 individuals during 2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively, indicating a relatively stable population status in general view. With disjunct suitable habitats, about 43 of 43 visited stations contained the species (but mostly with small and isolated populations less than 5 individuals), but during subsequent years, 17 of 43 stations (during 2015) and 27 of 43 stations (during 2016) were contained crocodile individuals due to fully drought the habitats. The most important reason for the lack of presence and sighting of this species in the years after 2012 in the region is the spread and prevalence of drought periods, which has caused the drying of the waterways' sub-channels and the loss of the viability of this species. Habitat evaluations, potential threats and population status of the species in all visited stations have provided in this study.

The internal origin of reproduction is controlled by biological clocks. In different conditions, there may be a daily, monthly or annual cycle and it depends on the geographical characteristics of the place where the fish lives. Thus, in the present study, the reproductive indices under the influence of species and season in Periophthalmus waltoni and Boleophthalmus dussumieri, which live in Ghanam estuary, Khuzestan province, were investigated. Sampling was performed in two seasons of spring and autumn 1401-1400. A total of 53 fish of both species were caught live by hand and transferred to the laboratory in spring and autumn. After explaining the samples and extracting the sexual gonads, the reproductive characteristics were examined. In this study, the prevalence of P. waltoni in both autumn and spring was higher than the other species. In addition, in both seasons, for both samples, the male gender was dominant and accounted for the highest frequency. For B. dussumieri, although the male population was more abundant in spring, their gonadal index was higher in autumn and the males of this species were more active in reproduction in spring than in spring. However, for both species in the female, sexual maturation peaks in the spring. It can be concluded that due to climate change and the major role of ecological conditions, while increasing temperature and humidity in hot to cold seasons, biological and food activities have increased and the amount of weight has a direct relationship with reproductive capacity.

A variety of organisms are present in Freshwater ecosystems that the knowledge of species distribution is essential to understand the ecological and evolutionary factors that determine patterns of biodiversity. The construction of a species distribution model is an alternative approach for the study of its geographic range. Therefore, in this study, the distribution of freshwater amphipods of the genus Gammarus in Iran was investigated using SDMs distribution models. The ensemble modeling approach (eSDM), GAM, GLM, MARS and RF models were used. AUC and Kappa criteria were used to evaluate the mentioned models. Also, climatic variables, topography, vegetation and soil quality were used for modeling purposes. The results showed that single models predicted the suitable habitat for taxon (AUC=0.90). The increasing level in soil organic carbon (SOC) and Bio18 variables lead to an increase in habitat suitability. Also, they are mostly recorded at an altitude between 1000 to 2500 meters, but, the increase or decrease in height does not have a linear effect on the habitat desirability in this genus. Therefore, the predicted distribution for this genus indicates the combined role of soil biomass, vegetation and precipitation parameters that can determine the distribution range of the genus Gammarus in Iran.

Nutrition and nutritional relationships in amphibian populations are among the most important debates which are of the most significance among herpetologists. Any prolonged changes in food access can leave irreparable damage to amphibian life-history traits. Reduced energy intake can impact amphibians' physical growth, behavior, and habitat. The objective of the present study is to collect detailed information on the feeding habits of 65 specimens of the Mountain frogs (34 ♂, 31 ♀) by analyzing the stomach contents of individuals from 9 populations inhabiting range. The food habit of R. macrocnemis generally varies by the availability of surrounding prey items, and it is a foraging predator, the food of which consists largely of Coleoptera (mainly Carabidae, Dytiscidae and Haliplidae), Diptera (Muscidae) and Hymenoptera (Formicidae). study of stomach contents indicated the presence of terrestrial and aquatic prey items. Statistical results indicated that male and female toads had no significant difference in terms of diet.

Scorpions are a group belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda. They are found under stones and heavy things. Some researchers studied the scorpions of Iran. In the present investigation specimens of Hemiscorpius enischnochela were collected from Manoojan, South of Kerman Province. We used crowers bar and wood to move the stones and heavy tings. To obtain the samples, tongs and forceps were used. Scorpions were gathered from different areas of Manoojan, South of Kerman Province in different seasons. To identify and study morphological characters of specimens, the stereo –microscope Olympus Lica 2000 was used. In the present investigation different external morphological characters of males and females of H. enischnochela were studied. It indicated that there are some sexual dimorphism, between males and females in the mentioned species as follow: A- The length of body in male is longer than of that in female. B- In male mesosoma is longer than of that in female. C- In male metasoma length is longer than of that in female. D- In female pedipalp slightly less slender than in male. E- In male femur length is longer than of that in female. F- In male length of movable finger is more than length of moveable finger female. G- In female chela is more bulky than in male. H- In male poison sac length is more than length in male. I- In male, pectin length is more than pectin length in female. K- Male pectin has 16 teeth (in each pectin), female pectin has 8-9 teeth. J- In female genital operculum composed of a hexagonal plate, divided by a longitudinal furrow, in male genital operculum composed of two ovoid plates. Based on this study there is a distinct degree of sexual dimorphism in the Hemiscorpius enischnochela.

Lizards are one of the important elements of desert and dry ecosystems. In this research the lizard fauna of Sarpolzahab town and its outskirts was studied. During several field works a number of 82 specimens of lizards were collected from the study area. The specimens were transferred to the laboratory where they were fixed and their metric and meristic features were carefully examined using a Vernier calipers and a stereomicroscope. Later, according to these features and by the help of recent identification keys the family, genus, species and in some cases, the subspecies of each sample were identified individually. In general, in this survey 10 species of lizards belonging to10 Genera and seven Families were collected and identified based on 17 morphological characters as follows: From Agamidae, Laudakia nupta nupta and Trapelus lessonae ; from Gekkonidae, Cyrtopodion scabrum; from Phyllodactylidae , Asaccus elisae; from Lacertidae, Ophisops elegans and Acanthodocthylus nilsoni; From Uromastycidae, Saara loricata; and from Scincidae, Ablepharus pannonicus and Heremites vittatus were identified. Overall, based on the species collected here and other reports that the taxa of Lacerta media, Varanus griseus, Heremites urata and Pseudopus apodus have also been found in this area, it seems that the study area is rich in lizard fauna and it is expected that new findings will be reported in future studies.

At least two species and three subspecies of the genus Laudakia Gray, 1845, as one of the representatives of the western radiation of the Agamidae, occur on the Iranian Plateau. L. nupta is one of the largest rock-dwelling agamids occurring in Afghanistan and Pakistan eastwards through Iran into northeastern and eastern Iraq. The most northeastern dispersal limit of L. nupta is Peyghambar Mountain in Zamanabad village of Semnan province, and the most northwestern dispersal limit of it is 2km northwestern of Ghaleeji village in Kurdistan province. we aimed to investigate biosystematics and geographical variation of l. nupta complex in different areas of Iranian Plateau, and the reached information were analysed in the aspect of taxonomical and biogeographycal. These specimens were collected during field work on the Iranian Plateau and were also borrowed from various museum collections. We used statistical methods like: Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Cluster Analysis (CA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA=CVA). According to this investigation, the populations that were collected from different areas in Iran did not show resolution various and distinguish like a new taxon, and the patterns of the geographical variation in the most of the metric and meristic characters in the almost of the case were Clinal variation

Honry-scaled Agama (Trapelus ruderatus) is widely distributed throughout northwest to southeast of Iran. In the present research, we studied its sexual size dimorphism along with reproductive activities of some populations. To perform these tasks 21 specimens of this taxon (including 11 females and 10 males) were collected during two seasons of spring and summer from their natural habitat in Dorood, Aligodars and Azna towns. Later their sexuality was determined and then to assess the sexual dimorphism 15 metric and meristic characters were measured. The provided data were then analyzed using SPSS 19 and statistical tests. Afterwards some specimens were dissected and gonads used for anatomical and histological examinations. The results of univariate analysis showed that there were three metric characters Snout-vent length, Gular fold to vent length and Forelimb-hindlimb length that can be used for discrimination of sexual differences as the values of these character were larger in female than males. Moreover, the anatomical and histological findings demonstrated that in spring the males have large testes while an active spermatogenesis process is happening in the thick epithelium of seminiferous tubules. On the contrary, the testes were smaller in summer and the seminiferous epithelium is thin with a few sperms in the lumens of the tubules. Similarly, in females large ovaries with mature follicles were observed in spring but in summer ovaries were small with many arthritic follicles. Overall, the results showed that in this taxon, females have a lager trunk for spacing the eggs, also in both sexes the maximum gametogenesis activity occurs in spring.

Roe deer and Persian Squirrel are among indicator species of Zagros forests in the Bozin and Marakhil protected area. The aim of this study is to use vegetation indexes for investigate the trend of changes in vegetation indexes in the areas that species are present and also to compare their dependence on vegetation cover. 11 series of Landsat 8 satellite images during the period from 2013 to 2018 were used. Required pre-processing was carried out and then the NDVI and LAI were calculated for all of the mentioned images. Analysis was conducted in ENVI 5.3. Values of these indexes for the presence of each spices are provided and used along with the non-parametric Mann-Kendall method to determine the trend. K-mean clustering method was used to study the similarities of 2 species presence regions based on vegetation indexes. In order to clustering R3.5.2 was used.Results showed that there was a significant decrease in NDVI index in presence areas of Roe deer (P> 0.05) while based on the results, there was no significant change for Persian Squirrel. Changes in LAI in Roe deer habitat did not have a significant trend, but changes of this index for Persian Squirrel has an incremental and meaningful trend (P> 0.05). The results of clustering showed that the mentioned species have the possibility of coexistence in the central and northeastern parts of the region. The results demonstrated that vegetation indices can be used to monitor habitat changes.