Triassic in Iran

Summary Except of the Nakhlak and Aghdarband regions, Lower and Middle Triassic strata in Iran consist almost exclusively of carbonate rocks built on vast platforms along the shelves of the Paleo- and Neotethys. The depositional environments varied from shallow shelf sea to lagoonal and near-shore tidal flats, becoming even evaporitic towards the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf. During the early Late Triassic the formerly dominating platform carbonates were strongly reduced, being restricted for the rest of the Early Mesozoic to Southwest Iran which remained on the northern passive margin of Gondwana (later Arabian Plate). On the Iran Plate otherwise, as a result of the closure of the Paleotethys and the continent-continent collision with the southern active margin of Eurasia (Turan Plate), there was a change to thick siliciclastic and molassic sediments with only minor carbonate content durig the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic. Geographically restricted and completely different sequences of thick volcanoclastic and basinal Triassic sediments are known from Nakhlak in Central and from Aghdarband in Northeast Iran, both interpreted as remanents of the northern Paleotethys margin (Turan Plate).     

Novelty in Centaurea sect. Acrocentron (Asteraceae,Cardueae) from Iran

A new species, Centaurera bojnordensis Ranjbar, Negaresh & Joharchi (Asteraceae), endemic to Khorasan Province in northeastern Iran and belonging to Centaurea sect. Acrocentron, is described and illustrated. This species is mainly distinguished from C. sintenisiana of C. sect. Acrocentron by its indumentum of stem, shape and size of involucres, cilia and spine length. In addition, geographical distribution of the two species is presented and shown. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

First record of the Olive Ridley Turtle,Lepidochelys olivacea,in Iranian coastal waters (Testudines,Cheloniidae)

Abstract

Three specimens of the Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) were collected in Guader (Gwatar) Bay in the Sea of Oman on 6 January, 1997. Two of them have been preserved for the Zoological Museum of Gorgan University. This is the first report of the Olive Ridley Turtle in Iranian coastal waters.     

Ecological survey of two Calomyscidae species; Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse and Hotson's brush-tailed mouse (Rodentia) in the eastern parts of Iran

Calomyscus elburzensis and C. hotsoni are two species of the rodents family Calomyscidae which are distributed mainly in Iran. Herein, we evaluated the habitat and ecological differences of these two brush-tailed mice in order to test the credibility of a hypothesis stating that species from habitats with different climates and vegetation show greater intraspecific differentiation than those from areas with more similar climates and vegetation. This study was carried out in four rocky regions in Iran between 2013 and 2015. Totally 52 brush-tailed mice were captured from Kopet-Dag, Khaje-Morad, Ark, and Shadan and Olang during the field studies. Maximum parsimony analysis inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences (Cytb) was used for species identification, and also comparison of mean Kimura 2-paramater distances was performed. According to the molecular studies, specimens from the first two regions were assigned to C. elburzensis and samples from Ark, and Shadan and Olang belonged to C. hotsoni. The mean distances within all examined Iranian samples of both C. elburzensis and C. hotsoni were 2.3% and 0.9%, respectively. Based on our field studies, C. elburzensis were captured either from “cold mountainous” climate zone with Juniperus excelsa as main vegetation cover or from “Mediterranean” in which Pistacia atlantica is predominant vegetation. C. hotsoni were found in “hot dry desert” and “cold semi-desert” regions both characterized by Ephedra sp. and Avena sativa vegetation cover. Dog rose seeds were the main food of C. elburzensis in Kopet-Dag, whereas brush-tailed mice in the other three regions fed mainly on Mount Atlas pistache fruits. C. elburzensis inhabited concealed rock crevices, but C. hotsoni were found living in burrows which were digged in the soft soils. Individuals of C. hotsoni showed more calm behavior as compared with C. elburzensis. Meriones persicus and Cricetulus migratorius (Rodentia) as well as Ochotona rufescence (Lagomorpha) were the most abundant small mammals encountered with C. elburzensis, while M. persicus was the most successful rodent with sympatric colonies with C. hotsoni. In conclusion, in accordance with the greater genetic distances observed in C. elburzensis populations as compared with C. hotsoni, more significant differences in the habitat structure were also found for the first species in different parts of its distribution range.     

Opium use as an independent risk factor for pancreatic cancer: A case-control study

BackgroundPancreatic cancer (PC) is ranked as the seventh leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The current study was conducted to explore the correlation between the use of opium and its derivatives (opium) and PC in Iran.MethodsIn this case-control study which was conducted in Kerman province, south east part of Iran; 176 patients with PC, and 352 healthy individuals as the control group were matched in terms of age, sex, and place of residence. A structured questionnaire including questions of opium usage, alcohol usage, cigarette smoking, and diet was used to collect the data. The relation between the use of opium and PC was adjusted for tobacco smoking, education, daily intake of fruit, vegetables, red meat, and hydrogenated fats and analyzed using the conditional logistic regression.ResultsThere was a positive relationship between the opium use and the increased risk of PC (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 4.33, 95 % CI: 2.09–8.95), which was even stronger than its association with cigarette smoking (AOR = 1.67, 95 % CI: 0.86–3.24), although their difference was not statistically significant. A significant dose-response relation was detected between the use of opium; as the relation was stronger in heavy users (AOR low users = 4.93, 95 % CI: 1.79–13.54 and AOR heavy users = 5.10, 95 % CI: 2.10−12.35). Moreover, PC was higher among participants starting the use of opium at a younger age than those who started opium at an older age (AOR = 8.03, 95 % CI: 3.19–20.23).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that opium use is associated with a high and strong risk of PC as an independent risk factor. Further studies should be done to reduce the use of opium in Iran and other world countries.     

Climate change,unpredictable cold waves and possible brakes on plant migration

Aim Increases in annual mean temperature in the course of current climate change are expected to facilitate mass species migration towards higher altitudes and latitudes. However, this migration may be slowed, or even temporarily reversed, by infrequent and unpredictable episodes of low winter temperatures. Iran experienced a severe cold wave in January and February 2008, giving an opportunity to observe the effects on a large number of woody plant species, many growing further north than their natural ranges. Location The study was carried out in the National Botanical Garden of Iran (35°44′20.06″ N; 51°10′25.66″ E). Method To estimate the damage caused to each individual woody plant in the garden, we adopted the following protocol; at the start of the growing season, at the end of March and beginning of April 2008, all woody species were inspected for damage. In the case of evergreens this took the form of obvious damage to foliage, usually manifested as severe browning. In the case of deciduous species, damage was recognized by the failure of all or part of the plant to produce new leaves; all affected individual plants were labelled. In July all labelled plants were rechecked and, based on whole or partial above‐ground die‐back, a final list of damaged individuals was produced. Results As expected, the majority of native and exotic species introduced from cold temperate habitats showed no freezing injuries. Many woody species in the garden were damaged or killed, despite their previous survival and growth, in many cases for up to 40 years. The majority of taxa (101 out of a total of 145) that suffered freezing‐induced damage were evergreens. Main conclusions The results indicate that despite an increase in mean annual temperature, unpredictable lethal cold waves may retard the expansion of plants towards higher altitudes and latitudes. Broadleaved evergreen species from warm climates were particularly badly affected, with many species suffering high rates of mortality.     

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on Delphinium L

BLANCHE, C. & MOLERO, J., 1993. Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on Delphinium L. Delphinium viciosoi Pau and Delphinium intrincatum Pau, two poorly known plants from Iran, are typified. A new combination for the latter, Aconitella intrincata (Pau) Blanche & Molero is given. The name Delphinium ambiguum L. should not be attached to the plant known as Delphinium nanum DC, but should be considered as a synonym for Consolida ajacis (L.) Schur (= Delphinium ajacis L.).     

Lower Cretaceous gastropods from the Qayen area,Eastern Iran

Four gastropod genera are newly recorded from Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Qayen area, Eastern Iran. Based on the paleoecological interpretation of the faunal assemblage and especially on the newly identified gastropods, a shallow temperate marine environment is suggested for the fossil-bearing carbonate rocks. The gastropod assemblage shows a typically Tethyan composition comparable to those already reported from the Caucasus and Eastern Europe.