New records of two species of oligochaetes (Naididae): Pristina longiseta and P. macrochaeta from Iraq, with notes on their morphology and reproduction

Abstract

Individuals of the two species of oligochaetes: Pristina longiseta and P. macrochaeta were identified from samples of bryophyta from shallow water areas at Al-Assafia creek which is connected to Shatt Al-Arab River. This is the first report of the two species in Iraq. The characteristic features of the two species were studied, the first important of these is the presence of dorsal setae, from the second segment in P. longiseta and from the fourth segment in P. macrochaeta. The setae of the third segment in P. longiseta are longer than the others and called giant setae. There is a conspicuous Prostomium which extends to form proboscis. Reproduction is by transverse fission which is called Paratomy.

Diversity of Macrobenthic invertebrates at three stations from the middle part of Shatt Al-Arab River

“…Some studies have been conducted on macrobenthic invertebrates in the Shatt al-Arab River, including the study by [9] on the potential of some snails as bioindicators of trace metal levels in the East Hammar marsh near the Shatt Al-Arab River [10], which showed the possibility of using functional analysis of the composition of the macroinvertebrate community as an alternative to the characteristics of the ecosystem. [11] studied the seasonal variation of aquatic Annelida and some macrobenthic invertebrates from northern Basrah City, and [12] studied the community of macrobenthic invertebrates in three different aquatic habitats in southern Iraq, one of which was Shatt al-Arab. There are local studies that dealt with macroinvertebrate groups individually, including the study of [13] on the diversity of Mollusca in the southern part of the Euphrates River, and [14] recorded a type of Mollusca for the first time in the Shatt Al-Arab River.…”

Addition of four new records of Naidid (Oligochaeta) to the Iraqi fauna

“…There are few reports on Naididae of Iraq (Radhi, 2012) and there are only 37 naidid species previously recorded by several workers (Al-Abbad, 2009;Al-Abbad, 2010;Al-Mayah, 2010, Nashaat, 2010;Al-Abbad, 2012;Radhi, 2012 andAl-Janabi, 2012), 17 species of which were reported from Shatt Al-Arab river (Al-Abbad, 2009;Al-Abbad, 2010;Al-Mayah, 2010 andAl-Abbad, 2012). The aim of the present study is to make records of some fore species of naidids from Shatt Al-Arab river which were not reported before.…”