New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt

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  New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt Abstract This study reports new locality records from Iran and a climate-based habitat suitability assessment for Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt. We document new specimens from Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, with an updated distribution map and illustrations, and we model the species' potential distribution across south-eastern Iran and adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Habitat suitability was associated mainly with precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, and slope. In an arid setting these rainfall variables are unlikely to indicate a need for moist habitat; they more plausibly track seasonal productivity and the terrain features that provide shelter. Present-day suitable areas...

First record of Pandava Lehtinen, 1967, in the Middle East, with a new record of Nurscia albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) (Araneae: Titanoecidae) from Iraq

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First record of Pandava Lehtinen, 1967, in the Middle East, with a new record of Nurscia albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) (Araneae: Titanoecidae) from Iraq

Abstract

We report the first record of the titanoecid spider genus Pandava Lehtinen, 1967, from the Middle East, represented by P. hunanensis Yin & Bao, 2001, a species previously known only from southern China. Additionally, Nurscia albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) is recorded for the first time from Iraq. These records fill a knowledge gap of more than 110 years regarding the representation of the family Titanoecidae in Iraq. The occurrence of Pandava in Iraq represents a remarkable westward and northward range extension of approximately 3000 km from its nearest previously known natural distribution.

Al-Khailani, M. A., & Al-Khazali, A. M. (2026). First record of Pandava Lehtinen, 1967, in the Middle East, with a new record of Nurscia albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) (Araneae: Titanoecidae) from Iraq . Ecologica Montenegrina, 94, 254–263. https://doi.org/10.37828/em.2026.94.18