An annotated checklist of the scale insects of Iran (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Coccoidea) with new records and distribution data

Book excerpt: Iran is in the Near East, located between longitudes E 44?02? and 63?20? and latitudes N 25?00? and 39?47?; bordered to the north by the Caspian Sea, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and to the west by Iraq and Turkey. It occupies 1,648,195km2, of which 14% is arable land, 8% forest, 47% natural (i.e. non-arable) pasture and 31% varied environment (Yale et al. 2001). The list contains all species of Coccoidea recorded up to March, 2013 and includes 275 species in 113 genera and 13 families. This present checklist is intended to facilitate access to the most recent data on Iranian Coccoidea for taxonomists and to update the recorded species from Iran. Only records in which Iran is specifically mentioned are cited. New records from Iran are marked with asterisks and the following 32 species are currently only known from Iran.