Survey Of Fauna Research Articles

Two New Records of Cerceris Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Crabronidae) from Iraq

In a survey of the crabronid fauna of Iraq during June to October 2022; 9species belonging to the genus Cerceris Latreille, 1802 were identified. Twospecies are new record of the fauna of Iraq: C. dorsalis Eversmann, 1849 and C. priesneri Mochi, 1939. Brief description, diagnostic characters, some collecting information, and photographs of each species are provided. As well provides a key to the species depending on many morphological features especially: propodeal enclosure, semicircular plate at base of second gastral sternites and free margin of clypeus. Moreover, this study observed that most collected specimens belonging to Cerceris hortivaga Kohl, 1880 and the least to C.dorsalis Eversmann, 1849, C. priesneri Mochi, 1939, C. tricolorata Spinola,1829 and C. straminea Dufour, 1854

Water beetles (Coleoptera) associated with Afrotemperate Forest patches in the Garden Route National Park, South Africa.

Southern Afrotemperate Forest is concentrated in the southern Cape region of South Africa and whilst it is relatively well known botanically, the fauna, specifically the aquatic invertebrate fauna, is poorly documented. The majority of remaining intact forest habitat is contained within the Garden Route National Park (GRNP), which straddles the provincial boundary between the Western and Eastern Cape. This study undertakes a survey of the water beetle fauna inhabiting the GRNP. The aquatic ecosystems within temperate forests of the region are poorly researched from an ecological and biodiversity perspective, despite being known to harbour endemic invertebrate elements. We collected water beetles and in situ physico-chemical data from a total of 31 waterbodies across the park over two seasons (summer and late winter) in 2017. The waterbodies sampled were mostly small freshwater perennial streams and isolated forest ponds. A total of 61 beetle taxa was recorded (29 Adephaga, 32 Polyphaga) from these waterbodies. The water beetle fauna of these forests appears to be diverse and contains many species endemic to the fynbos-dominated Cape Floristic Region, but very few of the species appear to be forest specialists. This is in contrast to the fynbos heathland habitat of the region, which harbours a high number of water beetle species endemic to this habitat, often with Gondwanan affinity. Our study is the first to document the water beetles of Afrotemperate Forests in the southern Cape region and provides an important baseline for future work on such habitats in the region and in other parts of southern Africa.

A preliminary checklist of the Rhopalocera of Majathal wildlife sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, India (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

The current study results from a two-month faunal assessment survey of the Majathal Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. In total, 54 species from six Lepidoptera families were documented. Herein we present a preliminary checklist procured from the data collected during the short duration of two months. This checklist establishes a baseline for the Rhopalocera diversity of Majathal Wildlife Sanctuary.

Three new species of Otacilia Thorell, 1897 (Araneae, Phrurolithidae) from South China.

Three new Otacilia species were collected from Jiangxi Provinces, China during a survey of the spider fauna of the region: Otaciliaanfu Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), O.guanshan Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), and O.mingyueshan Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀). All species are described and illustrated with photographs and SEM micrographs, and their distribution is also mapped.

A regional scale study of parasites in Percichthys trucha, an endemic fish of southern South America: insights on diversity and distribution from two decades of field surveys.

The current conservation status of Percichthys trucha (Creole perch) is Least Concern, although the population trend is considered to be decreasing. We conducted an extensive survey of parasite fauna in this species over two decades in its distribution range in Argentina. Fish were collected using gill and trawl nets. Parasites were collected, identified, and counted to calculate prevalence and mean intensity. The present work reports the parasite species infecting P. trucha, using data from our own survey and from previously published records. This information enables us to evaluate infection and distribution patterns, assess the role of P. trucha as host, determine the specificity of the parasites, and evaluate the threat represented by introduced, invasive parasites. The data set consists of a total of 453 host-parasite-locality records, of which only 15 are exclusively bibliographic. We found 44 parasite taxa: 19 digeneans, 4 monogeneans, 5 cestodes, 8 nematodes, 4 acanthocephalans, 3 crustaceans, and 1 mollusk. The most represented families were Diplostomidae, Heterophyidae, and Dactylogyridae. This study increases the number of parasite species known from 25 to 44. It can be concluded that this parasite fauna is characterized by high diversity, particularly of digeneans, and most of the parasites reproduce within this host, a pattern which is related to the top position of this fish species in the trophic webs. Six parasite species (Allocreadium patagonicum, Homalometron papilliferum, Acanthostomoides apophalliformis, Duplaccessorius andinus, Pseudodelphys limnicola, and Hysterothylacium patagonense) exhibit high host specificity (only matures in Creole perches) and are widely distributed, which could now be considered as "biogeographical core helminth fauna." Some P. trucha populations are affected by the invasion of alien fishes like Cyprinus carpio and pathogenic parasites like Lernaea cyprinacea and Schizocotyle acheilognathi. Our findings emphasize the need for further research.

Intertidal calcareous tubeworms (Annelida: Serpulidae) of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

The Serpulidae is a large family of sedentary polychaete annelids characterized by calcareous tubes. This family includes species of significant economic and ecological relevance due to their fouling ability. This study presents the first comprehensive taxonomic survey of the serpulid fauna in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Sampling was conducted on the rocky shores of the Iranian coasts of the both gulfs from 2016 to 2020. In total, 17 species from seven genera were identified from intertidal and shallow subtidal areas. The genus Hydroides was the most speciose, with seven species, followed by Spirobranchus with four, Serpula with two, and Crucigera, Protula, Spiraserpula and Vermiliopsis, each with one. The study reports the genus Spiraserpula, H. albiceps and Spirobranchus aloni in the gulfs for the first time. Additionally, the presence of C. tricornis and Spirobranchus cf. polytrema that had been reported, formally confirmed herein. The species of Serpula and Spiraserpula are likely undescribed. For each taxon, morphological characteristics with illustrations, habitat and regional distribution are provided. We also suggest incorporating molecular data in future studies to resolve taxonomic uncertainties arising from interspecific variability and morphological similarities within serpulids. A regional identification key to the known shallow-water serpulids is provided.

Survey of phlebotomine sand fly fauna in a public Zoo in Brazil: Species diversity, seasonality, and host variety.

Leishmaniasis is a dynamic disease in which transmission conditions change due to environmental and human behavioral factors. Epidemiological analyses have shown modifications in the spread profile and growing urbanization of the disease, justifying the expansion of endemic areas and increasing number of cases in dogs and humans. In the city of Belo Horizonte, located in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais (Brazil), visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is endemic, with a typical urban transmission pattern, but with different regional prevalence. This study was conducted at the Zoo of the Foundation of Municipal Parks and Zoobotany of Belo Horizonte (FPMZB-BH), located in the Pampulha region, which is among the areas most severely affected by VL. This study aimed to determine the taxonomic diversity of native phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), identify climatic variables that potentially affect the phenology of these insects, and determine the blood meal sources for female phlebotomine sand flies. To achieve this, 10 mammal enclosures in the zoo were selected using the presence of possible leishmaniasis reservoirs as a selection criterion, and sampled using light traps between August 2019 and August 2021. A total of 6034 phlebotomine sand flies were collected, indicating nine species, with Lutzomyia longipalpis being the very abundant species (65.35% of the total). Of the 108 engorged phlebotomine collected females, seven samples (6.5%) were positive for blood meals from humans, marsupials, canids, and birds. Relative humidity and rainfall increased the phenology of phlebotomine sand flies, with population increases in the hottest and wettest months. The data obtained will provide guidelines for competent health agencies to implement vector control measures to reduce the risk of leishmaniasis transmission in the FPMZB-BH.

The Case for a Nuclear Barcode: Using the CAD CPS Region for Species and Genus Level Discrimination in Beetles

DNA barcoding has revolutionized how we discover, identify, and detect species. A substantial foundation has been established with millions of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I sequences freely available for eukaryotes. However, issues with COI ranging from uniparental inheritance and small genetic population sizes to nuclear and asymmetric introgression can impede its use. We propose using CAD as the “nuclear barcode” to complement the COI barcode and ameliorate these concerns. We focused on beetles from taxonomically diverse species-level studies that used COI and CAD. An ambiguous barcode gap was present between intra- and interspecific genetic distances in CAD and COI; this led to difficulty with automated gap detection methods. We found pseudogenes, problematic population structure, introgression, and incomplete lineage sorting represented in the COI data. A CAD gene tree illuminated these cryptic problems. Placement tests of species and outgroups using distance-based tree building were largely successful for CAD, demonstrating its phylogenetic signal at the species and genus levels. Species placement issues were typically unique to one locus, allowing for recognition of misdiagnosis. We conclude that a CAD barcode is a valuable tool for beetle diagnostics, metabarcoding, and faunistic surveys.

Survey of parasitic fauna of some fishes from Osun river, Osun state, southwestern, Nigeria

Survey of parasitic fauna of some fishes from Osun river, Osun state, southwestern, Nigeria

Distribution and diversity of fishes and lampreys in Transylvania (Romania): a complete survey and suggestions for new protected areas.

Freshwater fishes are in a serious state of decline across the world, making them one of the most threatened groups of vertebrates. The Danube River catchment area in Europe holds the richest freshwater fish community, but our knowledge of the current distribution of these species is limited. Transylvania, the largest region of Romania, is one of the important tributaries of the Danube, from where 77 fish and two lamprey species were recorded until now. Despite this large diversity of freshwater fishes, there is a lack of systematic survey of the fish fauna in this region for the past 50 years. In this study, we present data on the occurrence and distribution of fishes and lampreys collected in Transylvania from 2007 to 2022. This data covers 43% of Romania's surface and includes all major rivers from Transylvania. 65 species of fish and three species of lampreys are recorded, and an additional nine fish species are also reported based on information from competent people. Of the 77 fish and lamprey species recorded 19 (24.7%) are non-native, although their relative abundance was low (5.1%) compared to other similar regions in Europe. The first records of Eudontomyzonmariae, Neogobiusmelanostomus, Piaractusbrachypomus, Pygocentrusnattereri, and Salvelinusalpinus in Transylvanian rivers are presented, as well as the first record of Cobitiselongata outside the Nera River basin (from the Caraș River) and the detection of three new populations of the vulnerable Umbrakrameri. Data on changes in distribution that have occurred since the last comprehensive survey 50 years ago are also provided and the importance of our results in conservation planning are discussed, including the designation of new protected areas for freshwater bodies and the compilation of the Romanian Red List of fishes.

A new species of the genus Osornolobus Forster & Platnick from the maulino forests of Chile (Araneae, Orsolobidae).

A faunistic survey in the Maule region in central-southern Chile resulted in the discovery and description of a new species of the spider genus Osornolobus: O. violetaparra n. sp., based on males collected using pitfall traps in the province of Talca. This is the northernmost record of the genus in Chile, previously known from Ñuble to Magallanes.

New records of hump-nosed viper Hypnale nepa from the Horton Plains, Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Hump-nosed Viper, Hypnale nepa (Laurenti, 1768) is an endemic species restricted to montane regions above 900 m in Sri Lanka. The Horton Plains is a national park and a montane forest (alt. 2,100–2,300 m a.s.l.) mostly covered by wet grasslands. Faunal surveys carried out in the Horton Plains have so far recorded only three species of snakes: Aspidura trachyprocta, A. copei, and Ptyas mucosa. Herein, we confirm a fourth snake species, and the first photographic

The importance of groundwater for riverine fish faunas in a region of shale gas development in northern Australia

Northern Australia contains the continent’s largest number of intact river systems, but these are facing increasing pressure as the proposed development of multiple and large-scale industries, including onshore gas, mining, horticulture, and agriculture, accelerates. These developments will require the diversion or extraction of large amounts of water and increase the risk of contamination by industrial and agricultural chemicals. There is an urgent need to collect baseline biophysical information on these aquatic systems before major developments proceed. Much community concern has been expressed about the potential environmental impacts of a developing shale gas industry (fracking) in the Beetaloo Sub-basin and upper Roper River region of the Northern Territory. Here we describe the first major survey of the freshwater fish fauna of this region and an assessment of the importance of groundwater in supporting fish biodiversity. This region is remote from major human settlements and the waterbodies are often difficult to access. Accordingly, we maximised the information we collected from limited sampling sessions by using both traditional fish survey methods (netting and electrofishing) and eDNA analysis of water and benthic sediment samples. Water column eDNA doubled the number of species recorded to those obtained from traditional survey methods alone. We found that the fish fauna was richest at sites on northward-flowing groundwater-dependent rivers. More work is needed to fully understand the dependence of individual species on groundwater inflows. However, it is evident that conserving freshwater fish biodiversity in these rivers will require protection of the groundwater resources to ensure baseflows and aquatic refuges persist through the most extended of dry seasons.

Mite fauna on Dittrichia species (Asteraceae) in Syrian costal region: new records and primary observations on the behavior of Typhloseiella isotricha (Athias-Henriot) (Meostigmata: Phytoseiidae)

Surveys of mite fauna on Dittrichia viscosa and D. graveolens (Asteraceae) were conducted at multiple locations in Tartous and Latakia governorates, Syria, in 2021 and 2022. A total of 13 mite species belonging to seven families (Acaridae, Camerobiidae, Erythraeidae, Phytoseiidae, Raphignathidae, Tenuipalpidae, and Tetranychidae) were collected. Among them, Erythraeus (Zaracarus) passidonicus (Erythraeidae), Raphignathus collegiatus (Raphignathidae), and Brevipalpus rotai (Tenuipalpidae) are recorded for the first time in Syria. The most abundant family observed on Dittrichia species was Phytoseiidae with four species representing about 86% of total collected mite specimens. Among them, Typhloseiella isotricha was the dominant species. It was mainly observed on big leaves of D. viscosa, highly infected by the rust spots of Coleosporium inulae. Results suggest that rust spores could be a potential food for this predator.

A Preliminary Survey of Harmful Date Palm Fauna in D. I. Khan

A survey was conducted to find out date palm fauna in D.I. Khan on the variety “Dhakki” in the months of June to September, 2014. The observed insects including Rhynchoforus ferrugineus, Palaminus simony, Palaminus nilgirienses (Staphylinidae), Sparostes striatulus (Carabidae), Coccinella septumpunctata (Coccinellidae), Clerada apicicornis (Lygidae), Monomorium indicum (Formicidae) and Blata orientalis (Blattidae). All the three stages (larva, pupa and adult) of Rhynchophorus ferrugenius were collected from within the palm and it was found as the major insect. Among the pollinating insects; beetles, bees (honey bees and bumble bees) and flies were observed and collected. In addition to above mentioned insects, myriads of arachnids viz. Peucitia prasina, Acanthodan crassus, Acanthodan fortis and snails viz. Monoca obstructa were also collected from the leaves and stem, respectively. All the insects had no influence on the date palm, except Red Palm Weevil (RPW).

The ant genus Cataglyphis Förster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cyprus.

The comprehensive survey of the ant fauna conducted in Cyprus revealed that the island is inhabited by two species of the genus Cataglyphis Förster, 1850. Both species are endemic and are described as new to science. Cataglyphis chionistrae n. sp., a member of the C. cursor species complex, occurs only in the high montane pine forest of Mt. Chionistra (= Mt. Olympos). While C. aphrodite n. sp., a member of the C. nodus species complex, is common at low and mid altitudes in open habitats or luminous pine forests. This work also provides the key to Cataglyphis from Cyprus and the very first synopsis lists of all the members of the cursor and nodus species complexes known from the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

“A Delicate Equilibrium of the Most Complex Sort”

This article examines the intertidal ecological research of the commercial lab owner and popular science writer Edward F. Ricketts, best known as the prototype for John Steinbeck’s character “Doc” in the novel Cannery Row (1945). Ricketts’s friendship with Steinbeck and unconventional philosophical style have regrettably overshadowed his scientific work, particularly his novel faunal zonation surveys of the North American Pacific littoral in the 1930s and 1940s. These surveys resulted in a landmark handbook, Between Pacific Tides (1939), designed for novices and specialists alike. Ricketts’s work demonstrates how the place of ecological investigation (Billick and Price)—here Monterey Bay’s pounding surf, storm-tossed debris, eclectic bohemianism, and the collaborative energies at Hopkins Marine Station—“imprinted” West Coast animal ecology. At first, Ricketts adopted the physiological methods and conceptions of ecological holism he had learned at the University of Chicago under mentor Warder C. Allee in the early 1920s. Allee had conducted his investigations of intertidal organisms in the relatively placid bays and estuaries at the Woods Hole research center on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Allee envisioned animal aggregations as higher-order societies guided by “unconscious cooperation” and evolving toward a climax state. Yet Ricketts found that physiochemical factors, such as temperature and salinity, could not explain the distribution of organisms amid the Pacific’s far more precarious rough-and-tumble surf, nor could they account for fierce competition among organisms. Rejecting Allee’s cooperative metaphors, Ricketts came to see community structure as an unintended result of tidepool invertebrates’ Darwinian struggle to occupy resource niches—a “set of sieves” that transferred nourishment from one part of the aggregation to the next, binding it together in interlocking food webs. Through dialogue with Steinbeck about the implications of modern physics during their Sea of Cortez voyage (1940), Ricketts developed a “unified field hypothesis” to conceptualize the dynamic interwovenness created by transfers of metabolic energy. Yet Steinbeck ultimately held fast to a super-organismic understanding of ecological holism—a hierarchical relationship between constituents and the whole that underlays the novelist’s idea of the human “phalanx” in Grapes of Wrath and other works. The article offers new insights about the ecological origins of Steinbeck and Ricketts’s disputes over “non-teleological” reasoning and the pair’s divergent understandings of nature, society, and progressive politics.

Revalidation and expanded description of Mustela aistoodonnivalis (Mustelidae: Carnivora) based on a multigene phylogeny and morphology.

The lacked-teeth pygmy weasel, Mustela aistoodonnivalis Wu & Kao, 1991, was originally described as being from Taibai Mountain and Zhashui county, Shaanxi, China. Subsequently, it was considered a subspecies or synonym of Mustela nivalis. In a faunal survey of northwestern Sichuan, eight specimens of M. aistoodonnivalis were collected. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of one mitochondrial and six nuclear genes clustered the specimens as a distinct clade and not with M. nivalis. Morphologically, the lack of the second lower molar differentiated them from M. nivalis, and genetic distances were typical of discrete species. These analyses confirmed that M. aistoodonnivalis is an independent species in the genus Mustela.

Long-term supratidal rockpool invertebrate community, Discovery Bay, Jamaica.

The rockpool cluster offers unique characteristics making it a model system for general questions in ecology: (1) all rockpools share biotic history (any species can reach any rockpool); (2) they form a strong gradient of conditions from benign to harsh; (3) 1-day sampling across all rockpools ensures census consistency; (4) rockpools respond to changing conditions within a short (days) time frame; (5) they are easy to manipulate (note: the data are from an unmanipulated rockpool subset), and (6) they may act as a single metacommunity that exhibits consistent species distribution patterns on a broader scale (unpublished). Consequently, the rockpools continue generating insights, with the first publications in 1996. The data represent an intensive rockpool metacommunity monitoring project, making them of considerable value to our understanding of tropical coastal metacommunity dynamics and general ecological processes. The dataset covers surveys of invertebrate fauna in 49, primarily supratidal, rockpools on a fossil coral reef over 25 years. All rockpools occur within a 73 × 47 m array of rocks at a distance of less than 2 m from the nearest neighbor. About 200 other rockpools occur on the same area. They are in a sheltered bay (Discovery Bay, Jamaica) between 0 and 5 m from the ocean. Typically, rockpools are 5-30 cm deep and 40 cm across on average, with elevation from a few centimeters to 300 cm above sea level. Rockpools may drain excess water from precipitation or waves into other rockpools, which allows organisms to disperse passively downstream. Of the 49 rockpools in the survey, 35 are subject to occasional drying up, while the others appear permanent. Most collections (1989-2004) were annual censuses of invertebrate populations, exceeding a total of 475,000 invertebrates counted, with only minor record gaps. In all cases, species level taxonomic information consists of detailed photographs. In some cases, notes are included with the taxonomic data where species identification could not be matched to information available in the literature. Samples from 2005 to 2019 still require organism identification. Abiotic parameters were measured the day before biotic sampling took place as the process of biotic sampling can impact abiotic parameters through stirring, oxygenation and filtering (temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, light intensity, salinity, alkalinity, and nutrients). The cumulative richness in the metacommunity consist of 78 freshwater, marine, and brackish water taxa, with a mean richness per rockpool of 5.5 distinct species. Regarding taxonomic makeup, ostracods dominated in both diversity and number, followed by copepods, and insects. There are no copyright restrictions on the data set; please cite this data paper when using these data in publications.

A Preliminary Faunistic Survey of Carabidae (Coleoptera) from Gaomei Wetlands Wildlife Refuge, Taichung City, Taiwan

A Preliminary Faunistic Survey of Carabidae (Coleoptera) from Gaomei Wetlands Wildlife Refuge, Taichung City, Taiwan