Scorpion Fauna of Duhok Province, Iraq, with New Records for the Country (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Abstract

This study of scorpion fauna was conducted in the Duhok province of northern Iraq, from June to October 2024. In this survey 273 specimens were collected from different districts, representing six species: Androctonus sp., Hottentotta saulcyi (Simon, 1880), Orthochirus fomichevi (Kovařík, Yağmur, Fet & Hussen, 2019), Compsobuthus matthiesseni (Birula, 1905), Scorpio kruglovi (Birula, 1910), and Mesobuthus faiki (Yağmur, Kovařík & Fet, 2024). Hottentotta saulcyi was the most abundant species (35.9% of total individuals) followed by Orthochirus fomichevi 29.7%. Compsobuthus matthiesseni, Mesobuthus faiki, Androctonus sp. and Scorpio kruglovi, were less frequent (less than 16 % each). A significant finding was the first-time documentation of Mesobuthus faiki in Duhok province, marking it a new record for Iraq.

Keywords

• Scorpion diversity
• distribution
• identification
• Mesobuthus faiki
• Buthidae

Irak'ın Duhok ilinin Akrep Faunası ve Ülke İçin Yeni Kayıtlar (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Abstract

Bu çalışma Irak’ın kuzeyinde yer alan Duhok ilinde akrep faunasının belirlenmesi için 2024 yılı Haziran ile Ekim ayları arasında yürütülmüştür. Bu araştırmada farklı ilçelerden toplam 273 örnek toplanmış ve altı türe ait bireyler belirlenmiştir. Bunlar: Androctonus sp, Hottentotta saulcyi (Simon, 1880), Orthochirus fomichevi (Kovařík, Yağmur, Fet & Hussen, 2019), Compsobuthus matthiesseni (Birula, 1905), Scorpio kruglovi (Birula, 1910) ve Mesobuthus faiki (Yağmur, Kovařík & Fet, 2024). Hottentotta saulcyi en bol bulunan türdür ve toplam bireylerin %35,9’unu oluşturmuştur, onu %29,7 ile Orthochirus fomichevi takip etmiştir. Compsobuthus matthiesseni, Mesobuthus faiki, Androctonus sp. ve Scorpio kruglovi ise daha az sıklıkta (%16’dan az) gözlemlenmiştir. Bu çalışma kapsamında Mesobuthus faiki’nin Duhok ilinde ilk kez rapor edilmesi, türün Irak için yeni bir kayıt olarak kaydedilmesi açısından önemli bir bulgudur.

Keywords

• Akrep çeşitliliği
• dağılış
• tanımlama
• Mesobuthus faiki
• Buthidae

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