Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum

Surveying 59 references concerning the occurrence of the monogeneans of the family
Diplozoidae parasitizing fishes of Iraq showed the occurrence of 15 valid species of this family
which included one species of Diplozoon, one species of Eudiplozoon and 13 species of
Paradiplozoon. In addition to these species, some unidentified adult and larval (diporpa larvae)
specimens of the genus Diplozoon were reported from 12 fish hosts among which four fish
species showed no infection with any of the nominated diplozoid species while the others
showed mixed diplozoid infections. These diplozoids were reported from 27 fish host species
in Iraq. All the diplozoids were recorded from freshwater habitats except one Dipolzoon sp.
which was recorded from a marine habitat. Hosts recorded for each of these diplozoids ranged
from a minimum of one host in case of both P. ergensi and P. tadzhikistanicum to a maximum
of 13 hosts in case of P. kasimii. Among the infected fishes, 13 hosts harbored only one
diplozoid species each while a maximum of 10 diplozoid species were reported from both
Leuciscus vorax and Cyprinion macrostomum

This study is considered the first effort of its kind in Iraq and in the Middle East towards
studying the Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris that was carried on in Hor Al-Dalmaj,
southern Iraq. The findings of this effort illustrate its importance as it paves the way for further
study and observation for the bird and this important wetland itself. This study tackles the all
possible aspects of the ecological and biological statuses of Marbled Teal (Threatened –
Vulnerable bird species – IUCN Redlist) by means of field surveys and systematic monitoring
that were conducted along the four seasons over the years 2013-2014 in one of the ecologically
important and prominent and poorly-known wetlands in the Middle Euphrates, that is Hor Al-
Dalmaj, as a highly important wetland on the national, regional and global levels that holds
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA), Important Bird Areas (IBA), and Important Plant Areas (IPA).

The present paper confirmed the presence of Phrynocephalus maculatus longicaudatus
Haas, 1957 in Iraq and recorded the first observations of this taxon in Al-Muthanna province
southwestern of Iraq. The existence of the species is yet uncertain in Iraq. The habitat and
morphological characteristics of this species were reviewed.