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Survey for cave animals of Iraqi Kurdistan

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Research Paper 01/05/2017
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Survey for cave animals of Iraqi Kurdistan

Mohammad K. Mohammad, Saman R. Afrasiab, Aqeel Abbas Al-Zubaidi, M.S. Abdul-Rassoul
J. Bio. Env. Sci.10( 5), 217-232, May 2017.
Certificate: JBES 2017 [Generate Certificate]
Key: Cave animalsConservation statusInvertebratesIraqi KurdistanVertebrates

Abstract

Many caves were developed in Iraqi Kurdistan such as Shera Swar Cave within carbonate rocks (Upper Campanian- Maastrichtian) on the south west flank of Safeen Anticline; Shanider Cave within carbonate rocks (Late Early Cretaceous) on the south west flank of Bradost Anticline; Beeston Cave within carbonate rocks (Late Early Cretaceous) on the north east flank of Bradost Anticline; Sarkerdayate Caves within carbonate rocks (Upper Paleocene) near Chimy Razan Valley; Hawraman Caves: within carbonate rocks (Upper Triassic); Hamashowana Cave; Ashcawte (Cave) Gawaran and Hazar Merd Cave: within carbonate rock bed units (Upper Paleocene). A survey was conducted to animals live in these caves reveals presence of 46 species belonging to 8 classes, 15 orders, 26 families, and 39 genera. The following a systematic list of animals of caves recorded in this study in Iraqi Kurdistan. Results show no true troglofauna, except for one bat species; or stygofauna were recorded in the studied caves. Present animal collection of cave animals encounters a beetle, two soft ticks, a woodlouse, two scorpions, a centipede, a land snail, 9 reptiles including 5 lizards and 4 snakes, 21 birds and 8 mammals. Cave animals were divided into 3 categories: animals of cave entrance, animals of inside cave and animals of deep inside cave most of animals fall in the first category followed by second one while the third category represented by one species only. A tentative conservation status assessment for each species was provided.

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