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.

The present study reports Morchella conica Pers.1818, which belongs to the family, Morchellaceae as a new record of Iraqi macromycota based on the morphological and molecular methods. During their short and often sporadic fruiting season, this fungal species was found in mixed forest unburned areas in Branan ranges (Suliamaniya Province, Northeast Iraq). Currently, M. conica is the second Morchella species reported from Iraq. The current study aimed to introduce this new record, which is poorly studied in the Middle East. M. conica is morphologically described and phylogenetically confirmed. The relationship between this species and other species within the genus was studied using the nrDNA ITS sequences from different species and divers

In the present survey 18 species of endo and ecto-parasites were recorded during the examination of 50 Mus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) among 10 localities in Erbil city, of which 7 species were protozoan and as follows : Chilomastix bettencourti (da Fonseca 1915)82%; Giardia muris (Filice, 1952) 68%; Tritrichomonas muris (Grassi,1879)36%; Entamoeba histolytica (Schaudinn,1903) 24%; Entamoeba coli (Grassi,1879)32%; Eimeria sp. 28% and Trypanosoma musculi (Kendall,1906)2%; and 8 species were helminthes as follows: 4 Cestodes: Rodentolepis nana (von Siebold, 1852) 8%; Hymenolepis diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819)2%; larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786)8%, Cysticercus fasciolaris (Rudolphi, 1808)6%, 4 Nematodes: Aspiculuris tetrapter

    A mounted specimen of a mustelid animal deposited in the Kurdistan Museum of Natural History, Salahaddin University, Erbil proved to be Mustela erminea (Linnaeus, 1758) and represents a new record for the mammalian fauna of Iraq. Its measurements and some biological noted are provided. Also, two passerine birds; the Red-headed bunting, Emberiza bruniceps Brandt, 1841(Family, Emberizidae) and the Variable wheatear, Oenanthe picata (Blyth, 1847) (Family, Muscicapidae) were recorded for the first time in Iraq. Furthermore, the tree frog Hyla savignyi Audouin, 1829 was found in two locations north east of Iraq with spotted dorsum and having interesting behavior in having the capabil

    A total of 54 abu mullet Planiliza abu (Heckel, 1843) were collected from two stations (north and south stations) along the Euphrates River near Samawa City, Al-Muthanna province and were examined during the period from October 2016 till September 2017 for parasites. Six out of 35 examined fishes from the north station (17.1%) and one out of 19 examined fishes (5.3%) from south station were infected with the microcotylid Solostamenides paucitesticulatus Kritsky & Öktener, 2015. The parasite was illustrated and described, and it is considered as a new record for the parasitic fauna of fishes of Iraq.

A cut-off low is a closed low with a low value of geopotential height at the upper atmospheric levels that has been fully detached (cut-off) from the westerly flow and move independently. A cut-off low causes extreme rainfall events in the mid-latitudes regions. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the cut-off low at 500 hPa over Iraq from a synoptic point of view and the behavior of geopotential height at 500 hPa. To examine the association of the cut-off low at 500 hPa with rainfall events across Iraq, two case studies of heavy rainfall events from different times were conducted. The results showed that the cut-off low at 500 hPa with a low value of geopotential height will strengthen the low-pressure system at the surface, lea

      Genus Eucalyptus belongs to the family Myrtaceae that consists of more than 700 species, various hybrids and varieties. The majorly distributed species that are grown in Iraq are Eucalyptus alba, E. macarthurii, E. siderophloia and E. camaldulensis, E. tereticornis, E. vicina. Most Eucalyptus species are highly dependent on rainfall, and this is challenged by climatic changes owing to global warming making it difficult to effectively match the availability of mature trees and the market demand, especially for use as power transmission poles. With the widespread availability of other naturally occurring Eucalyptus species, it has become important to determine the genetic diversity and to analyze the phenotypic tra

In the early 90s military operations and United Nations Special Commission “UNSCOM” teams have been destroyed the past Iraqi chemical program. Both operations led an extensive number of scattered remnants of contaminated areas. The quantities of hazardous materials, incomplete destructed materials, and toxic chemicals were sealed in two bunkers. Deficiency of appropriate destruction technology led to spreading the contamination around the storage site. This paper aims to introduce the environmental detection of the contamination in the storage site area using geospatial analysis technique. The environmental contamination level of nutrients and major ions such as sulphate (SO₄), potassium (K), sodium (Na), magnesi

The central marshes are one of the most important wetlands/ecosystems in the southern area of Iraq. This study evaluates the bed soil's mechanical, physical, and chemical properties at certain southern Iraqi central marshes sites. This was conducted to investigate their types and suitability for enhancing the agricultural reality of most field crops and for construction purposes. Soil samples were collected from 15 sites at 10-100 cm depth. Hence, numerous parameters were determined: index properties, unconfined compressive strength, direct shear strength, consolidation, texture, and sieve analysis, water content, specific gravity, dry density, permeability, pH, total soluble salts (TSS), organic materials (OM) and total

The present paper includes a study of color variation in Iraqi Collared dove Streptopelia decaocto. Three different populations have been recognized: the southern population which belongs to the Indian race, the northern population to the Eurasian race; the dark and light color variation occurs in the Baghdad population because of hybridisation between the two races, found infected with two cestodes,  Raillietina echinobothrida found  in most of our specimens, while the dark face found beside R. echinobothrida infected with Idiogenes sp. getting it probably from vertebrate sources. We believe that most of the Baghdad population was intermediate between north and south races.