Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica 11. 1997 (Budapest, 1997)

Nesemann, H.; Forster, R.: First record of Limnatis nilotica from Oman (Hirudinea: Hirudinidae)

MISCELLANEA ZOOLOGICA HUNGARICA Tomus 11. 1997 p. 11-14 First record of Limnatis nilotica from Oman (Hirudinea: Hirudinidae) by H. Nesemann and R. Förster (Received March 14,1997) Abstract: Two records of Limnatis nilotica from Oman are listed. The leeches and their habitat are described. Key words: Limnatis nilotica, Oman Introduction The sultanate of Oman, located in the East of the Arabian Peninsula, is characterized by large deserts and high mountains with numerous wadis. Some of them, especially in the region of the al-Hadjar-mountains in the north of the country are permanent water bodies, inhabited by several true freshwater species. Until now there exist only some publications about leeches from Saudi-Arabia (Kinzelbach & Riickert 1984) and from Yemen (Al-Safadi 1991, Al-Safadi & El-Shimy 1993), but hitherto no published records of leeches from Oman are known. Material and methods In march 1996 two wadis in northern Oman were investigated by one of us (R.F.). Several aquatic invertebrates were collected by hand. The material was preserved in 70% ethanol. The specimens are deposited in the author's collection and in the collection of the Department of Zoology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (HNHM). The sampling sites are situated near to the oasis of Nizwa and Sumail with an altitude of about 7001000 m a.s.l. Both wadis are located in the al-Hadjar mountains, the oasis of Sumail is next to the foothills of the „Jebel Akhdar" (3.075 m a.s.l.). The first sampling-site is the left bank of the wadi 0.5 km SE of the Quaboos-Mosque in Nizwa. The second sampling site is a wadi approximately 10 km S of the Sumail-pass next to the road Sumail-Sur at the right bank. Results In both wadis, the benthic fauna comprises species of Hirudinea, Gastropoda, Turbellaria and a few aquatic insects. In addition, some exuviae of ephemeropteran larvae were found. The material and habitat of the single leech species is characterised.