Hossein Rajaei

State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart | SMNS · Department of Entomology

The genus Gnopharmia Staudinger, 1892 is revised, based on more than 2000 specimens from the entire area of distribution and study of type material of all described taxa, as far asmap available. Seven species and three subspecies are confirmed as valid for the genus. All important morphological characters have been studied and compared, including m...

Alternating glacial and interglacial periods led to range shifts (contractions and expansions), persistence in distinct glacial refugia and extinction events in various temperate organisms. Today, the integrative analysis of molecular markers and spatial distribution models conducted for multiple taxa allows the detection of phylogeographical patte...

Since its discovery and description, the oriental moth Pseudobiston pinratanai Inoue, 1994, could not be placed in any of the recognized families of Macroheterocera (Lepidoptera). Here, we used molecular and morphological data to infer the phylogenetic position of the species. These analyses indicate that Pseudobiston pinratanai is closely related...

We present a new, online, open access portal to the geometrid moths of the world (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). The portal provides access to the global database including data on classification, valid genera and species, synonyms and type localities, and to an online list of valid names. The value of this online facility, inter alia, is demonstrated...

The Iranian taxa of the tribe Scopulini are taxonomically revised. The systematic positions of the genera Cinglis Guenée, 1858, Glossotrophia Prout, 1913, Pseudocinglis Hausmann, 1994 and Scopuloides Hausmann, 1994, with uncertain validity and/or position within the tribe Scopulini Duponchel, 1845 (Lepidoptera: Sterrhinae), are further elucidated b...

A network based-method reveals twelve bioregions in Iran: A study based on geometrid moths Iran is a country with a high environmental heterogeneity, which is reflected in the complex biodiversity of different plant and animal groups. Recently published data confirm the presence of 4812 Lepidoptera species in this country, of them 539 species belon...

In the past, the high intraspecific variation of wing pattern within the genus Phaselia Guenée, [1858] repeatedly led to misidentifications. In this study, we applied an integrative approach using external and internal morphological characters, along with DNA barcoding and distribution data to review the taxonomy of the genus Phaselia in the Middle...

Guedes and colleagues’ call to eliminate taxonomic eponyms stems from intense ongoing debates. The International Code on Zoological Nomenclature Commission has categorically stated that it will not do this; doing so would eliminate the stability that the code provides and would sow chaos at a time when scientists must work together to mitigate the...

Climate change has been suggested as an important human-induced driver for the ongoing sixth mass extinction. As a common response to climate change, and particularly global warming, species move toward higher latitudes or shift uphill. Furthermore, rapid climate change impacts the biotic interactions of species. Especially, in Zygaenid moths which...

The main purpose of this catalogue was to improve our knowledge of the Lepidoptera fauna of Iran and acquire a better knowledge of the patterns of distribution of this large insect order within the country. These patterns not only show the large-scale structure of the faunal elements of this order in Iran, but also highlight research gaps and and o...

Booklet with Abstracts of lectures and posters on the XVII International Symposium on Zygaenidae. 13–16 September 2022

An extensive examination of the external and internal morphological characters of the genus Nychiodes shows that "Nychiodes" tyttha Prout, 1915 is incorrectly placed in this genus. The systematic position of this species was investigated by using a multigene analysis, including one mitochondrial and up to nine protein-coding nuclear gene regions, a...

Ein Ersatzname, Frederickia nom. n., wird für den bereits besetzten Gattungsnamen Rindgea Ferguson, 2008 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) vorgeschlagen. Ebenso werden die 14 bisher in dieser Gattung enthaltenen Arten wie folgt mit dem neuen Namen kombiniert: Frederickia s-signata (Packard, 1873), comb. n.; Frederickia hypaethrata (Grote, 1881), comb. n.;...

The taxonomic rank of Synopsia centralis (Wiltshire, 1966), recently raised from subspecies to species, is validated through investigation of the paratype. The genitalia of the paratype are illustrated for the first time. Additional faunistic data are given for Synopsia sociaria (Hübner, 1899) and Synopsia phasidaria phasidaria (Rogenhofer, 1873),...

Due to its geographical location, Iran is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world. A region in which different faunal elements from the Mediterranean, Caucasus, Central Asia and Arabian Peninsula come into contact, creating the conditions for high diversification. Unfortunately, this unique diversity is under threat due to dire...

In 1858, French entomologist Achille Guenée described the genus Phaselia, a geometrid moth belonging to the tribe Boarmiini in the subfamily Ennominae. Up to now, nine described species were included in this genus, mainly from the Middle East. The high intraspecific variability between the described species of Phaselia has led to difficulties in th...

So far, the species of the genus Rhodostrophia Hübner, 1823 (Geometridae), their diagnostic characters and their distribution in Iran have not been investigated in detail. Moreover, some species were misunderstood by earlier authors. To solve these problems, a survey of the Iranian Rhodostrophia species based on over 1700 specimens has been execute...

A new genus, Sabzia Wanke & Rajaei, gen. n., is described based on the Iranian species Phorodesma grami- naria Kollar, 1850, which in recent taxonomy was combined with the genus Xenochlorodes Warren, 1897. Moreover, Xenochlorodes albicostaria Brandt, 1938, syn. n. is synonymized with Sabzia graminaria (Kollar, 1850), comb. n. The new genus is estab...

The species of the genus Hydria in the Middle East are revised. The revision is based on morphological examination and genetic data (DNA-barcode). Additionally, information on the habitat preference, pre-imaginal stages and biology of the species are given as much as available. Three species (H. gernoti sp. n., H. schachti sp. n., H. loebeli sp. n....

The genus Amicta Heylaerts, 1881 is revised on the basis of morphological and molecular studies. It is shown that, in addition to the already known taxa, there are three others that had previously remained unknown and are therefore described here as Amicta lutensis sp. nov., Amicta bouhedmaensis sp. nov. and Amicta chambiana sp. nov. Furthermore, t...

The Lut Desert, southeastern Iran, regularly has the largest contiguous area of surface temperatures above 65°C compared to anywhere else on Earth. Despite these harsh conditions, some specialized species thrive in this extreme habitat. Misonne's spider gecko, Rhinogecko misonnei de Witte, 1973 (Reptilia, Squamata, Gekkonidae) is an endemic species...

The global struggle to conserve as many species as possible with limited resources requires an improvement of our knowledge on the distribution of biodiversity. In Iran, the state of knowledge is poor for most groups of organisms, except few vertebrate groups and vascular plants. Reptiles are one of the best known, most diverse vertebrate groups in...

Within Iran, the Zagros Mountains show high biodiversity, with a wealth of endemic species. One of these is the geometrid moth Somatina wiltshirei Prout, 1938, originally described from Iran and Iraq. In the present study, one mitochondrial and up to nine protein-coding nuclear gene regions were used along with a comparative morphological examinati...

We provide an updated catalogue of the type material of the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea deposited in the Zoological Museum of Hamburg (ZMH). We report 414 specimens labelled as “types” belonging to nine species (all of valid names), 74 subspecies (44 valid names and 30 synonyms), 59 invalid infrasubspecific names under the ICZN code, and...

Nychiodes subvirida Brandt, 1938 is an endemic species in southern Iran, with unknown host­plants and larval stages. Gravid female specimens of this species were collected from Fars province, Iran, and their offspring were reared in captivity. Experiments with several potential host­plants are report­ ed and discussed. Larvae were success­ fully re...

Specimens from several hitherto unknown populations of the genus Ourapteryx were collected from the Kopet Dagh Mountains in north-eastern Iran. Both morphological characters and DNA barcoding confirm that these populations belong to a new species, which is here described as Ourapteryx meinekei sp. n. Rajaei & Kollhorst. Additionally, O. malatyensis...

Zoological collections remain the main archive of animal biodiversity on Earth, and especially in times of large-scale declines of many groups represent important resources for biodiversity and conservation research. The most important individuals of these collections are the type specimens, which represent the original and unique reference for a s...

The species Minoa murinata (Scopoli, 1763) sensu lato is examined throughout its distribution range. Specimens from central Europe (Germany, Italy, France) are compared with those from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and newly collected specimens from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Russia. The study is based on a combination of behavioural observat...

The geometrid genera Synopsia Hübner, 1825 and Synopsidia Djakonov, 1935 are revised, both being earlier validated at genus rank. Type specimens, original descriptions and additional specimens from different localities were examined. The revision is based on morphological characters, molecular data and distribution records. As a result, Synopsidia...

#English version: https://smnstuttgart.com/en/2020/09/08/some-like-it-hot-a-new-freshwater-crustacean-from-the-hottest-place-on-earth/ #German version: https://smnstuttgart.com/2020/09/08/some-like-it-hot-ein-suesswasserkrebs-vom-heissesten-ort-der-erde/

We describe Phallocryptus fahimii sp. n., the fifth species in the genus, based on combined morphological and molecular genetic analyses. It is endemic to Iran and known only from its type locality in the Lut desert. The Lut desert has been designated the “Thermal pole of the Earth” with surface temperatures reaching up to 78.2°C. Shallow, ephemera...

The non-European taxa of the genus Nychiodes Lederer, 1853 are revised. Type specimens of all described species and a large series of about 800 additional specimens were morphologically examined. More than 400 genitalia preparations were made and analyzed along with distributional and DNA barcode data. As a result of our integrative taxonomic appro...

The tenth International Congress of Forum Herbulot on “Integrative taxonomy, a multidisciplinary approach to answer complicated taxonomic questions” took place in the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (SMNS), from 11.- 16.06.2018, with 77 participants and 52 scientific presentations. The proceedings provide short information on the meetin...

A main approach during the description of new species is the investigation of type material and the verification of their status to clear all nomenclatural doubts. Designated holotypes therefore are essential to proof the validity of species, their status and comparison with potentially new species. However, in former times, holotype designation wa...

Moths of the genus Triphosa Stephens, 1829 are well- known from the western Palearctic and eastern Asia regions, even though their occurrence in middle Asia remains mysterious. This is due to the fact, that most Triphosa species share similar wing patters, whereby efforts for identifications can be misleading and challenging. The aim of this projec...

Larvae of the little-known winter moth species Agriopis budashkini KOSTJUK, 2009, have been collected in Crete Island and successfully reared in captivity. The biology of this species is presented and ex-periments with various potential host plants are reported. The larva was found on Acer sempervirens and reared successfully on Acer pseudoplatanus...

A new species of Lithostege Hübner, 1825 is described from Iran and the external morphology and genitalia of the male of Lithostege samandooki Rajaei, 2011 are described for the first time. The diagnostic characters separating L. kiabii sp. n. and L. smandooki from their closest relatives are discussed. All relevant characters are illustrated and a...

Mounting and preparing arthropods in liquids for photography and further investigations is a challenging task and may lead to unsatisfactory results and, in the worst case, to damage to specimens. A new method is presented here, which allows the fixation of specimens of different sizes under various degrees of pressure. The method is illustrated by...

In a recent paper in ZooKeys, Wiemers et al. (2018) provided an updated list of European butterfly names. In this list the authors follow gender agreement for species names, when interpreted as adjectival in derivation, in contrast to the common practice among most lepidopterists. Here we comment on this aspect of the paper, and voice our concern t...

The monograph series The Geometrid Moths of Europe was initiated in 1994 with the objective of providing a modern taxonomic revision on the entire European fauna, including taxonomy, rich illustrations on adults, genitalia and diagnostic characters to allow reliable species identification, and to summarise distribution and biology. Altogether five...

Triphosa taochata was described based on a small syntype series and regarded as bona species for nearly the last 150 years by most authors. However, this species was dubious for many lepidopterists, who worked on the fauna of the western Palearctic region. During the recent taxonomic revision of the genus Triphosa Stephens, 1829 in the Middle East...

Western Palaearctic species of the genus Triphosa Stephens, 1829 are revised with focus on the Middle East and Central Asia. The analysis is based on the morphological examination (wing pattern and genitalia) of the type series of most species , as well as of large series of additional material. Additionally, DNA barcode data were used as an extra...

Goal: Revision of European Ennominae moths, covering 202 species in 30 colour plates. Comprehensive text and rich illustration of structures for all species. Four new species are described, 140+ taxonomic changes are proposed and systematic checklist for entire European and adjacent regions' Geometridae fauna is provided. Multi-authored monograph i...

Problepsis cinerea is reported as a new genus and species for the fauna of Iran. The species is recorded based on two females, collected in South Iran. Identification was confirmed by morphological characters and barcoding data. Information on the morphology and diagnostic characters are given, in comparison with the similar species. Remarks on the...

Characters of male and female genitalia in insects in general, especially in Lepidoptera, are essential for species identification as they display extensive morphological variation. In embedded genitalia, due to the positioning of the genitalia and the pressure of the cover glass, the appearance of some diagnostic characters might be confusing. Thi...

Alsophila aescularia (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) is reported for the first time for the fauna of Iran. Male and female specimens, as well as male genitalia are illustrated. Pictures of the habitat of the species in North Iran are given. Diagnostic characters of both male and female are presented and additional information about habitat and host...

Gynandromorphism is a phenomenon in which one individual shows characteristics of both male and female sexes. Gynandromorphism is generally categorized in two different kinds: a) bilateral gynandromorphism, b) mosaic gynandromorphism. Whether an individual is a bilateral or mosaic gynandromorphy depends on in which state of zygote cell division a n...

An important step during the description of new species is the investigation of type material designated holotypes are essential to validate identity of species, their systematic status and comparison with potentially new species. However, in former times, the halotype designation was not a common taxonomic act and instead a series of specimens (of...

The poorly known Lut desert is located in South-eastern Iran. Since 2005, NASA's Aqua satellite has repeatedly reported this desert as hottest spot of the planet earth with maximum ground temperatures of up to 70.TC (159 .3' F)!. The harsh climatic conditions had convinced the early researchers to regard this desert as a dead area deprived of any l...

The geographical situation of Iran, in contact with the Oriental (or Indo-Malayan) region in the southeast, with the Afrotropical region via Hormuz Strait, the Arabian Peninsula in the southwest and with the Mediterranean in the northern part makes it as one of the most complex Palaearctic faunal regions. Climate change (air warming and drought) al...

Moth species Peribatodes perversaria (Boisduval, 1840) traditionally contains multiple subspecies in western Europe. The validity of most of these subspecies was a controversial topic between lepidopterologists, who rely only on morphological study. To infer species/subspecies boundaries, here three subspecies of this species (perversaria, subflava...

The butterfly, in ancient mythology a symbol of rebirth and immortality, is meanwhile threatened worldwide. Within its more than 200 million years old history many species and different forms of environmental adaptation have been developed. This variety and beauty of the butterflies, but also their acute threat to existence are expressed in digital...

The Hyrcanian forest is composed of many Arcto-Tertiary plant species that since the beginning of the Quaternary glaciations have decreased their distribution until they became endemic to the coasts of the Caspian Sea in the northern part of Iran. Today, the Hyrcanian forest is considered as the closest similar remnant of the Plio-Pleistocene Europ...