In 2010, the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) was reported for the first time in Iraq. The larvae can feed on all parts of tomato plants and can damage all the growth stages. The main host plant is tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum, but it can also attack other plants in Solanaceae family. In this study it was found attacking alfalfa plants, Medicago sativa in Baghdad Province. This finding reveals that alfalfa also serves as a host plant for T. absoluta in Iraq.

    Adontomerus amygdali (Boucek, 1958) (Hymenoptera, Torymidae) is recorded for the first time in Iraq, parasitizing almond fruits wasp, Eurytoma amygdali Enderlein, 1907 (Hymenoptera, Eurytomidae) infesting fruits of almond trees Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb (=Amygdalus communis Linn.)   growing in Koysinjaq district, Erbil, Iraq. A short morphological description of this species is presented.

The ascaroid nematode Contracaecum rudolphii was recovered in large numbers from the
digestive tract of Phalacrocorax carbo collected in Baghdad area, Central Iraq. The infection
rates of the two sexes of the bird and some meristic and morphometric characters of the
parasite that allowed species determination of the nematode Contracaecum rudolphii were
discussed. This finding represents a new host record for this nematode in Iraq.

    A total of 680 fish specimens belonging to 31 species from the Yemeni coastal waters of the Red Sea were inspected for the isopod infestations. Four isopod species belonging to three families of the suborder Cymothoida were detected. These are: Aega psora (Linnaeus, 1758) from Lethrinus lentjan, Natatolana insignis Hobbins and Jones, 1993 from Abalistes stellatus, Excorallana tricornis (Hansen, 1890) from Epinephelus fuscoguttatus, E. guttatus and E. tauvina and Alcirona krebsi Hansen, 1890 from Epinephelus microdon. All these isopod species are reported here for the first time from the Yemeni coastal waters of the Red Se

The genus Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae: Theridiidae) is a worldwide distribute genus (Graudins et al., 2001), it includes a group of species commonly referred to as widow spiders. It's considered a taxonomically complex genus as the status of several forms had not been properly evaluated and specific boundaries are not well defined or understood (Levi, 1959; 1967; Garb et al., 2001), therefore, in multiple cases, populations has been uncritically referred to as different taxa. Discriminating between Latrodectus species using morphology has always been problematic (Levi, 1983), it is difficult taxonomically and readily separated from members of other Theridiid genera (Mirshamsi, 2005). The Genus Asagena Sundevall, 1833 was revalidat

    The ciliate species isolated from midgut and hindgut of Rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Heyden, 1827), identified as Nyctotherus hardwickii was collected from many regions of Baghdad, Iraq. The current study deals with a description and comparison of the morphology and morphometric characters of this species for the first time in Iraq.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate babesiosis in dogs of different breeds and ages and of both sexes in Baghdad Province by molecular detection of Babesia canis using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing followed by phylogenetic analyses. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 310 dogs of different ages and breeds, and of both sexes in different areas of Baghdad Province from December 2018 to September 2019; during clinical examinations, body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and signs of diseases were recorded. PCR was used to amplify a specific 450-bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of B. canis. PCR products were sequenced, and MEGA 6.0 software was used for analysis. Chi-squar

The Vulnerable Indian Roofed Turtle Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) (Testudines: Geoemydidae) occurs in the Sub-Himalayan lowlands of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Little is known about its natural history, no studies have been conducted revealing its natural predators. In this study, a group of Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 (Passeriformes: Corvidae) was observed hunting and predating on an Indian Roofed Turtle carcass in the bank of river Kuakhai, Bhubaneswar, India. The first record of this predation behaviour is reported and substantiated by photographic evidence.

    Ziziphora persica Bunge is recorded as a new Study in Iraq. This species has been collected from Jabal Sinjar in Nineveh province in the north western part of Iraq. The morphological characters, habitat and geographical distribution of the species with a key to Ziziphora L. species in Iraq have been provided.