The first molecular research on Iraqi centipede fauna is presented in this article. Between October 2022 and May 2023, during various climatic circumstances, centipedes were collected from several locations in four provinces of Iraq. Three families, represented by four genera, underwent molecular identification, and five species were found. From the order Scolopendromorpha family Scolopendridae, two species were recorded, Scolopendra morsitans Linnaeus, 1758, and S. cingulata Latreille, 1829, Cormocephalus sp.; while from the order Lithobiomorpha, family Lithobiidae, one species was recorded for first time in Iraq; Lithobius crassipes L. Koch, 1862 from the order Geophilomorpha family Himantariidae, one species Bothriogaster Signata Kessler, 1874. DNA was extracted from the specimens, the mtDNA fragment from the Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI) gene was amplified by using the PCR technique with appropriate primers, and subsequently, the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) tool, which is accessible at the NCBI, was used. Additionally, a phylogenetic tree was built, and a distant comparison was shown.
Eleven species of parasitic insects were recovered from puparia of house fly Musca domestica L. developing in animal dung in Baghdad during 1985-1987. Of the parasites obtained, representatives were found in five families of Hymenoptera and one family of Coleoptera. The most prevalent parasites were Spalangia cameroni Perkins, S. nigroaenea Curtis and S. endius Walk. Average parasitism for the two year was 11.30 %, the highest number of parasitism occurred in May and October.
The Capparis spinosa L. is a species has a great interest in the field of traditional medicine for its pharmacological properties with many bioactive compounds. Our study is aiming at the recovery of this species through a phytochemical analysis and an evaluation of antibacterial and antioxidant activities of leaves of Capparis spinosa L. collected from natural habitats within the region of Al-Jadriya, Baghdad, Iraq. Phytochemical investigation demonstrated the presence of flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids, tannins, and glycosides in the methanolic extract of leaves. The quantitative analysis of total phenolic contents is being performed by Folin-Ciocalteau method and expressed in terms of gallic acid equivalents. C. spinosa exhibited progress
... Show MoreThe present study aimed to assess the antibacterial activity of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) skin extracts. The phytochemical analysis of the peanut skin extracts was investigated, the result showed a strong presence of flavonoids, phenols, alkaloids and tannins in methanol and ethyl acetate extracts. Antibiotic susceptibility of the bacterial isolates was performed on seven antibiotics represented by Amikacin, Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, Chloramphenicol, Ticarcillin, Cefotaxime and Gentamicin by disc diffusion method. The antibiogram for studied isolates revealed high level resistance of A. baumannii to all of the antibiotics under test except amikacin, while Staph. aurous was resistance to Chloramphenicol and Cefotxime and sensitive to A
... Show MoreA 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
... Show MoreThe present study provides a new insight into valuable information on the diverse structure of the Anisakid population and discusses the limited species richness in the Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch,1791) (Perciformes, Nemiperidae). The fishing area consists of various locations in the Arabian Gulf (29°58 0 33 00 N48°28 0 20 E). A total of 315 marine fish were examined, (n=287) were infected. Larval stages (n= 763) encysted within the mesenteries peritoneum and viscera of fish organs were isolated, with a prevalence of 91.11% of infection and, the intensity was 2.65. Molecular analysis was carried out on thirty individuals who have examined the morphology and showed some appearance differences, by amplifying internal transcribed spacers
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to investigate phytoplasma causing a virescence disease on Arabic jasmine Jasminum sambac based on microscopy and molecular approaches. Samples were collected from symptomatic Arabic jasmine plants grown in nurseries in Baghdad-Iraq. Specimens from infected plants were prepared and Dienes stained for light microscopy examination. Phytoplasma were detected in infected plants by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using P1/P7 and SecAfor1/SecArev3 Candidatus Phytoplasma specific primer sets. Light microscopy test showed symptomatic Arabic jasmine plants were phytoplasms infected when phloem tissues were stained with a dark blue color. PCR test confirmed the symptomatic plants were phytoplasms infected when SecAfor1/Sec
... Show MoreWhen the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs s
... Show MoreIn the present investigation, 24 adult dipteran species with forensic importance belonging to 13 genera and 8 families that were collected from different localities of Iraq. The specimens were identified by different taxonomical keys; in addition the date and localities of collecting specimens were recorded.
The skull is one of the largest bones in the body. It is classified into flat bones that maintain the important organic structures; which are the brain, eyes, and tongue. The skull is a strong support for preserving these organs but they are various according to the type of animals and the environments in which they live and the nature of their nutrition. There are many differences among living organisms in terms of the bones in the skull, their difference or disappearance and their length in the shape of the head. The samples were taken from the scientific storage in the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum; Cape hare Lepus capensis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Red fox Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) and the study was conducted o
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