Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum

The location of the study area is surging hills in Bongomene area, Gorontalo, Indonesia. In this study, a geological survey and sampling were taken, and then an analysis of the content of benthic foraminifera was performed in each sample. The study aims to discover the species of benthic foraminifera fossils and to determine the paleobathymetry to the studied regions. The results of the analysis contained seven fossils species, namely Ammomassilina alveoliniformis, Stelligerum astrononion, Haynesia germanica, Nonion fabum, Praeglobobulimina ovata, Rhabdammina discreata and Saccorhiza ramosa. Based on the content of benthic foraminifera fossils, paleobathymetry is determined as Middle Shelf to Outer Shelf in Bongomeme 1, while in Bongomeme 2 and 3 is Middle Shelf.

The present study introduced a new description of the last larval instar of the oak tree borer, Latipalpis johanidesi Niehuis, 2002 (Coleoptera, Buprestidae). The larval specimens were collected from the oak trees within the mountainous areas, Erbil governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, during the beginning of April till the end of May 2019.
Schematic sketches were provided to illustrate unclear morphological features, and the results presented importance morphological evidence for confirming the identification of this species in the larval stage precisely.

A total of 30 specimens of house sparrow Passer domesticus biblicus Hartert, 1904 (15 females and 15 males) were collected from gardens of some houses in Baghdad city; all birds were dissected to identify the parasites in vesicle, gizzard, intestine, gall bladder and caecum. One species of trematodes Brachydistomum microscelis (Yamaguti, 1933) was found in the gall bladder and two species of cestodes Anonchotaenia globata (von Linstow, 1879) and Raillietina tetragona (Molin, 1858) were found in the small intestine of house sparrow. Morphologic and morphometric measurements were considered.
The genus Brachydistomum Travassos, 1944 is being recorded for the first time in Iraq in the gall bladder of house sparrow, as it was not previously recorded from birds in Iraq.

Molecular barcoding was widely recognized as a powerful tool for the identification of organisms during the past decade; the aim of this study is to use the molecular approach to identify the diatoms by using the environmental DNA. The diatom specimens were taken from Tigris River. The environmental DNA(e DNA) extraction and analysis of sequences using the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) method showed the highest percentage of epipelic diatom genera including Achnanthidium minutissimum (Kützing) Czarnecki, 1994 (21.1%), Cocconeis placentula Ehrenberg, 1838 (21.3 % ) and Nitzschia palea (Kützing) W. Smith, 1856 (16.3%).
Five species of diatoms: Achnanthidium minutissimum; Fistulifera saprophila (Lange-Bertalot & Bonik) Lange-Bertalot, 1997; Gomphonema pumilum (Grunow) E. Reichardt & Lange-Bertalot, 1991; Navicula veneta Kützing, 1844 and Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle Heimdal, 1970 were registered in NCBI under the accession numbers as follows: MN749640.1, MN749641.1, MN749642.1, MN749643.1 and MN749646.1 for the first time; while the two algae Fistulifera saprophila and Thalassiosira pseudonana are regarded as a new record to algal flora in Iraq.
The environmental DNA study will be a catalyst for new studies of biodiversity and environmental studies in Iraq and the region.

study was carried out to determine the heavy metal accumulation of Juncus rigidus Desfontaines, 1798 from three different regions of the Basrah Province in Southern of Iraq. Specifically, the concentrations of lead, nickel, and cadmium were determined in the roots, culms and leaves of the plant. The results indicated that the highest accumulation of the heavy metal was recorded in lead (Pb) 12.50± 3.58 mg kg-1and then in nickel (< 0.30). The lowest value was recorded for cadmium (< 0.05). As well, lead concentrations in J. rigidus varied in different locations and parts of the plant from undetectable in control to 12.66, 19.33, and 9.80 mg kg-1 in leaves, culm, and roots respectively from Station 2, and 10.76, 12.66, and 9.50 mg kg-1 in Station 3. The values of translocation factor (TF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), and Biological Accumulation Coefficient (BAC) were greater than>1 used to the ability of J. rigidus for both phytoextraction and phytostabilization.
The anatomical analysis showed that heavy metal accumulation in plant tissues led to a reduction in root and culm thickness; in polluted area it has been found that cortex and intercellular spaces in aerenchyma layers were deceased in size, whereas high pollution levels were observed in vascular bundles, which were smaller, and had increased sclerenchyma, as well as appeared more black or dark color compared to the specimens grown in the control area.

The aim of this paper is to present the first record of ctenophore species Pleurobrachia pileus (O. F. Müller, 1776) in the coral reef as was recently found in Iraqi marine waters. The specimens were collected from two sites, the first was in Khor Abdullah during May 2015, and the second site was located in the pelagic water of the coral reef area, near the Al-Basrah deep sea crude oil marine loading terminal. Three samples were collected at this site during May 2015, February and March 2018 which showed that P. pileus were present at a densities of 3.0, 2.2 and 0.55 ind./ m3 respectively. The species can affect on the abundance of other zooplankton community through predation.
The results of examining the stomach contents revealed that they are important zooplanktivorous species; their diets comprised large number of zooplankton as well as egg and fish larvae. The calanoid copepods formed the highest percentage of the diet, reaching 47%, followed by cyclopoid copepods 30%, and then the fish larvae formed 20% of the diet.
The current investigation showed that the density of zooplankton decreased significantly in the second site of all the groups, but the highest was in Calanoida group (324 ind./ m3) coincident with the presence of noticeable numbers of P. pileus (0.55-3.0 ind./ m3), in the same site compared to the density of Calanoida in the first site, which amounted to 991ind./ m3; as well, the increase was noticeable in relation to the rest of the other groups of zooplankton during the same period; such a state confirms the effect of predation by P. pileus on the zooplankton community. The study recommended that more attention should be given to investigate this group of zooplankton, and specific care should be exerted in preserving the specimens collected from the sea.

Calcareous nannofossils were documented from the upper part of the Cretaceous Balambo Formation in northern Iraq with the aim of determining an evidence for the Oceanic Anoxic Event. A detailed investigation of the calcareous nannofossils led to the identification of twenty-four species. Regarding these data, Discolithus litterarius (Górka, 1957) was identified at the studied interval with the age of Early Aptian.
Early Aptian assemblages are dominated by nannoconids that drop sharply within the D. litterarius nannofossil zone, which may be related to the nannoconid crisis recorded in the Early Aptian in the other parts of the world. This event is coincided by a decrease in CaCO3 content and higher content of the Total Organic Carbon (TOC).
Key words: Aptian, Balambo Formation, Iraq, Nannoconid, OAE1a.

A square experimental arena with vegetation on one interior side was deployed in a Sharjah, United Arab Emirates desert. Individual darkling beetles (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) Akis subtricostata Redtenbacher, 1850 and Trachyderma philistina Reiche and Saulcy, 1857 were placed inside the arena at temperatures ranging between 27 - 49°C. Whether they chose the vegetated side of the arena or not was recorded, as well as how long it took for them to reach the vegetated side, if they chose it. Both species preferred the vegetated side at all temperatures, and the chance of them choosing the vegetated side increased significantly with increasing temperature (logistic regression, p = 0.0096 and p = 0.0003 for T. philistina and A. subtricostata, respectively).
T. philistina and A. subtricostata always chose the vegetated side at temperatures above 31°and 44°C, respectively. Individual beetles that chose the vegetated side moved quickly and directly to it at temperatures above 30°C. Below 30°C, however, beetles tended to move slower and take more pauses within the arena. Time to reach the vegetated side declined significantly with increasing temperature (least-squares regression, p < 0.00005 for both species). A few individuals of both species died at the highest temperatures (48 - 49°C).