The University of Sulaimani has announced the identification of five new spider species, marking a significant milestone in the scientific exploration of the Kurdistan Region. This discovery, the first of its kind in the region’s history, was made by one of the university’s professors.
In a formal statement, the university explained that these newly discovered species have been assigned unique scientific codes and will be recognized globally under their Kurdish names.
Farhad Ahmed Khadr, an assistant professor in the Biology Department at the College of Science, revealed that over the past three years, he has located these new spider species across various locations in the Kurdistan Region, particularly around Sulaimani.
The findings were published in the internationally renowned journal ZOOTAXA, thanks to a collaborative effort involving the University of Sulaimani, Mendel University in the Czech Republic, and Altai University in Russia, under the supervision of Dr. Ali Reza Zamani from the University of Turku in Finland.
The newly identified spiders have been named to honor the region, with species such as Dysdera Kurdistanica, Dysdera Goyzha, Palpimanus Garmiyanus, Tegenaria Sorani, and Zelotes Hazarmerdensis reflecting the areas of Kurdistan, Garmyan, Soran, Goyzha, and Hazarmerd.
According to scientific literature, there are over 51,600 known spider species worldwide, with new species continuously being discovered in various countries. The addition of these five species from Kurdistan contributes to the expanding global tally.