New sub-species of chukar partridge Alectoris chukar (gray 1830)‎ (phasianidae, galliformes)‎ from North East of Iraq with biological observations

Abstract EN

Chukar partridge Alectoris chukar (Gray, 1830) is the only species of the 46 species of the genus Alectoris to be found in Iraq.

At least there are fourteen subspecies of chukar were described from east Europe, the Middle East and west Asia, two of them were known to be found in Iraq, A.

c.

Kurdestanica (Meinertzhagen, 1923) from Alpine bio-geographical zone of altitude more than 2000m high, and A.

c.

werae Zarundny and Loudon, 1904, from the foothills of altitude not more than 400m.

In between these two regions, there is another biogeographical region known as the Irano-toranian zone 400-2000m high.

Using morphological, ecological, behavioural, reproduction and hybridization criteria this study discovered a new subspecies A.

c.

asoica ssp.

n.

in Irano-toranian zone.

The new subspecies differs from A.

c.

Kurdestanica and A.

c.

werae in voice , migration, chick coloration, egg size and certain aspects of ecology.

Also this study recorded for the first time the subspecies A.

c.

sinaica Bonaparte 1858, in the area between Jezira and western desert, the penetration of the Jordanian Irano-toranian zone.

The taxonomic status of the new subspecies A.

c.

asoica ssp.n.

has been discussed according to the most common and widely accepted species concept, biological species concept (BSC) and phylogenetic species concept (PSC).