J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 127 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 Original Article Faunistic Study of the Rodents of North Khorasan Province, North East of Iran, 2011–2013 Kourosh Arzamani 1, *Zeinolabedin Mohammadi 2, Mohammad Reza Shirzadi 3, Seyed Mohammad Alavinia 1, Behruz Jafari 4, Jamshid Darvish 2, 5 1Vector-borne Diseases Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran 2Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran 3Zoonoses Control Department, Ministry of Health, Tehran, Iran 4Environmental Office of North Khorasan Province, Bojnurd, Iran 5Rodentology Research Department, Applied Animal Institute, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran (Received 25 Nov 2015; accepted 8 May 2018) Abstract Background: Rodents are one of the most important hosts for some zoonotic diseases and also act as a reservoir of some ectoparasites and endoparasites. They cause damage to the farms and inflict public health. The aim of this study was to investigate the faunal composition of rodent in North Khorasan Province, Northeast of Iran. Methods: The sampling was carried out between 2011 to 2013. The specimens were collected using different meth- ods including rodent death and live traps, digging of their burrow, and hand net from 75 different sample sites. Results: The total number of 396 specimens belonging to 22 species and six families were identified. The results illustrated the high numbers and densities of Meriones persicus (17.68%), Meriones libycus (15.15%), Nesokia indica (7.32%) and Rhombomys opimus (6.82%), as the most important reservoirs for different zoonotic diseases. Moreover, significant number of other rodent species including Mus musculus (15.66%), Apodemus witherbyi (13.89%), A. hyrcanicus (0.25%), Rattus norvegicus (1.01%), Meriones crassus (0.25%), Gerbillus nanus (0.51%), Microtus paradoxus (2.27%), M. transcaspicus (0.76%), Ellobius fuscocapillus (0.25%), Cricetulus migratorius (4.29%), Calomyscus elburzensis (4.29%), C. mystax (1.26%), Spermophilus fulvus (0.25%), Dryomys nitedula (3.54%), Allactaga elater (3.54%), Jaculus blanfordi (0.25%), Meriones zarudnyi (0.25%), M. meridianus (0.51%), and Hystrix indica as hosts for parasites and zoonotic diseases were identified. Conclusion: The high biodiversity including at least 22 species and six families of rodents were found in North Khorasan Province, some of them were medically important species. Keywords: Fauna, Rodents, Biodiversity, Iran Introduction Rodents are the most widely distributed and the largest group of small mammals’ world- wide (1) which cause economic loss and in- flict public health. Rodents play a significant role as reservoirs or vectors of sixty different diseases including leishmaniasis, leptospiro- sis, plague, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, salmonellosis, etc. with direct or indirect role in spread of these diseases (2). The fauna of the rodent is medically im- portant in Iran and in North Khorasan Prov- ince (3-8). These are identified and reported 15 species of rodent from this Province, Sper- mophilus fulvus, Microtus transcaspicus, M. paradoxus, Ellobius fuscocapillus, Cricetulus migratorius, Calomyscus sp., Mus musculus, Apodemus witherbyi, Nesokia indica, Gerbillus nanus, Meriones libycus, M. meridianus, M. persicus, Rhombomys opimus and Dryomys nitedula (7). North Khorasan Province was formerly known as eastern range of human plague ep- *Corresponding author: Dr Zeinalabedin Mo- hammadi, E-mail: mohammadi.zeinal@gmail.com http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 128 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 idemics in Iran (5) and also has been the ob- jective for study of rodent-borne diseases, espe- cially, as a purpose of investigation on Leish- maniasis and leptospirosis (6, 9). The province is bordered by Golestan Province in the west which is one of the most important focus of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran (3). The province is located near the border of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan countries. Neighbour regions in Turkmenistan are mainly deserts and semi-desert areas and zoonotic cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis are en- demic in the country (10). Both of these low- income countries receive low health care and public services; therefore the province can be a trajectory for transportation of infectious disease from both countries via communica- tions and transportation of nomads, refugees, and passengers. North Khorasan Province is one of the most important areas for agricul- ture and animal husbandry in Iran and the study area is potentially provide a suitable habitat for distribution of pests and favoring habitats for endemic and penetrating species such as Jirds and gerbils. This increases the risk of spreading vector-borne diseases and zoonosis, therefore, this province needs more consideration by Iranian health care service to control and preventing the spread of rodent-borne diseases. We aimed to investigate the faunal com- position of rodents in North Khorasan Prov- ince, Northeast of Iran. Materials and Methods Study area This cross-sectional study was conducted from 36°37′–38°17′ N latitude and 55°53′– 58°20′ E longitude in North Khorasan Prov- ince, Northeast of Iran with the total area of approximately 28434km2. The sampling was carried out between 2011 to 2013 and in- cludes 75 localities of eight counties from North Khorasan Province (Table 1, Fig. 1). Rodent collection and Methods The specimens were collected using dif- ferent methods including live trap, rodent death trap, digging into their burrow, and hand net during all seasons. Geographical coordinates were recorded using GPS. Besides, 11 speci- mens of rodents deposited in the Zoology Museum of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (ZMFUM), Mashhad, Iran from this region were considered (Table 2). Specimen collection was performed in accordance with the procedures approved by the Ethical Committee of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences. The materials were identified using avail- able identification keys (11-13). Taxonomic names and distribution of rodents followed Musser and Carleton (14). ArcGIS ver.9.3 software was applied for preparing of the map of sampling localities. Results Overall, 385 collected specimens were investigated. The specimens belong to 22 species, 16 genera, and six families. Of these, M. percicus, M. libycus, A. witherbyi and M. musculus, occur in the most localities studied and identified as widely distributed species. Abundance and different habitats of the ro- dents collected in the study area are shown in the Table. 2. All specimens of Apodemus captured from different localities of the province were identified as A. witherbyi based on morphology and morphometric ap- proach. Only one A. hyrcanicus specimen from Shirvan has been identified. Specimens of R. opimus were diagnosed as R. opimus sargadensis based on the morphology and morphometric studies. Tracks, spines and some live specimens of Hystrix indica were observed in both arid regions and deciduous forests, but we avoided trapping of this spe- cies. http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 129 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 Table 1. Geographical coordinates and sampling locality of the rodents of North Khorasan Province, Iran, 2011– 2013 Town Sampling Locality Number of Locality on the map Latitude Longitude E sf a r a y e n Safi Abad 1 36°39' 01.93 58°00' 19.05 Gerati 2 36°51' 53.88 57°31' 40.58 Kal Shor 3 36°53' 51.22 57°07' 52.74 Gorpan 4 36°56' 46.82 57°12' 16.15 Esfraien 5 37°08' 43.87 57°24' 13.20 Roein 6 37°12' 38.02 57°28' 21.97 Emam Vardi 7 37°15' 04.35 57°22' 30.77 Jafar Abad 8 37°06' 17.54 57°06' 24.94 B o jn u r d Salook 9 37°16' 32.15 57°08' 07.37 Esfidan, Chenaran 16 37°24' 49.70 57°33' 00.02 Mehnan, Metranloo 17 37°23' 51.17 57°17' 23.46 Baghchegh 18 37°29' 27.74 57°21' 02.96 Charkharvar, Peighoo 19 37°28' 58.48 57°27' 38.07 Salook 2 20 37°20' 40.92 57°03' 58.60 Bidak 21 37°29' 27.74 57°13' 29.32 Darsofian, Abchoor 22 37°22' 23.36 57°26' 10.27 Tatar 23 37°33' 51.16 57°08' 36.64 Turkmenistan border 55 37°59' 42.33 57°22' 01.50 Jodar 56 37°56' 17.46 57°18' 07.36 Gifan 57 37°54' 35.02 57°23' 58.57 Sisab 63 37°27' 01.40 57°39' 05.86 Asadli 70 37°19' 42.39 57°21' 46.86 J a ja r m Miandasht 10 36°48' 43.91 56°29' 05.97 Kal Shor 12 36°54' 20.48 56°41' 17.66 Gamiteh 14 37°05' 04.37 56°46' 24.97 Esmaeilabad 15 36°44' 49.76 57°48' 07.31 G a r m e h Kal Yazd, Daraq 11 36°59' 44.42 56°13' 29.42 Sharlegh 13 37°18' 58.49 56°12' 01.61 Robat Gharahbil 34 37°20' 40.92 56°18' 51.36 Golestan National Park 35 37°20' 11.66 56°01' 17.73 M a n e & S a m a lq a n Tazeyab 24 37°51' 54.08 56°28' 22.07 Kikanloo 25 37°38' 29.19 57°03' 58.60 Pish Ghaleh 26 37°41' 54.06 56°56' 24.95 Kohghale 28 37°56' 32.08 56°31' 46.96 Yomogh 29 38°00' 40.86 56°27' 52.80 Kohne Jolge 30 38°04' 49.63 56°28' 36.70 Ashkhaneh 32 37°40' 40.89 56°38' 51.32 Behkade 33 37°33' 51.15 56°11' 17.71 Zard 36 37°30' 11.64 56°31' 03.04 Kastan 37 37°29' 27.74 56°24' 27.93 Ghale-khan 38 37°29' 57.01 56°45' 55.70 Kohe Garmab 39 37°43' 21.87 56°28' 22.07 Garmab 40 37°45' 18.94 56°19' 49.89 River Garmab 41 37°41' 24.30 56°15' 26.48 Amand 42 37°49' 13.08 56°23' 29.40 Kheshtli 44 38°03' 21.88 56°21' 46.96 R a z a n d J a r g a la n Raz 27 37°56' 46.72 57°06' 10.30 Ayri Qayeh 31 38°10' 55.48 56°20' 33.79 Hesarcheh 43 38°10' 55.47 56°29' 20.60 Tangeh Turkeman 45 37°55' 48.18 56°56' 10.32 http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 130 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 Goinik 46 37°59' 56.96 57°01' 17.63 Baghlegh, Ashrafdare 47 38°05' 18.90 56°59' 05.93 Yekeh Suod 48 38°10' 55.48 56°38' 51.32 Bahar, Ghoridare 49 38°15' 18.88 56°47' 52.77 Kalatekariz 50 38°13' 07.18 56°54' 27.88 Sangsar 51 38°12' 08.65 57°00' 33.73 Gholaman 52 38°07' 45.24 57°06' 39.57 Sokhso Enghelab 53 38°11' 54.01 57°09' 35.17 Takaleghoz 54 38°15' 33.52 57°12' 45.42 S h ir v a n Gholool Sarani 58 37°45' 33.57 58°05' 55.57 Ghaltmanlo 59 37°41' 24.80 58°04' 27.77 Palkanlou 60 37°39' 56.99 57°53' 29.25 Gholanloo 61 37°35' 48.22 57°51' 17.55 Shirvan 62 37°25' 33.60 57°52' 58.98 Gelian 64 37°13' 51.18 57°52' 59.98 Hossein Abad 67 37°22' 52.63 57°47' 52.67 Devin 71 37°19' 13.12 58°01' 17.53 Topkanloo 72 37°36' 32.12 57°42' 01.46 F a r o u j Titkanloo 65 37°16' 02.88 58°22' 30.66 Mayvan 66 37°11' 10.21 58°02' 01.43 Khosravieh 68 37°07' 01.44 58°00' 18.99 Cheri 69 37°10' 40.94 58°08' 36.54 Barzoo 73 37°35' 33.58 57°58' 36.59 Koran Kordieh 74 37°23' 36.52 58°15' 40.92 Sogtali, Zinkanloo 75 37°04' 05.84 58°05' 26.30 Fig. 1. Map of the study area. The samples were taken from 75 regions marked by a number from North Khorasan Province, Iran, 2011–2013 Table 1. Continued … http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 131 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 Table 2. Abundance, percent and different habitats of the rodents of North Khorasan Province, Iran, 2011–2013 F a m il y Species Locality number N % Collection habitats A B C D E F G H I J K M u r id a e M. musculus 4, 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 25, 34, 29, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, 57, 60, 69, 70 62 15.66 × × × A. witherbyi 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 25, 28, 31, 35, 36, 39, 48, 49, 51, 3, 54, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 68, 70 55 13.89 × × × × × × × × × A. hyrcanicus 59 1 0.25 × N. indica 9, 20, 28, 29, 30, 38, 60, 51, 52 29 7.32 × × × R. norvegicus 38 4 1.01 × R. opimus 3, 4, 34 27 6.82 × M. libycus 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 14, 22, 26, 32, 33, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 55, 60, 63, 65, 66, 71 60 15.15 × × × × × × M. persicus 2, 3, 14, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 38, 43, 45, 48, 47, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62 70 17.68 × × × × × × × × M. crassus 3 1 0.25 × M. zarudnyi1 72 1 0.25 × M. meridianus2 64 2 0.51 × × G. nanus3 11 2 0.51 × C r ic e ti d a e M. paradoxus4 9,20,61,67,71 9 2.27 × × M. transcaspicus5 67 3 0.76 × × E. fuscocapillus 51 1 0.25 × C. migratorius 16,21,28,29,60,69 17 4.29 × C a lo m y sc id a e C. elburzensis 16,20,36,37,42,53, 58,61,64 17 4.29 × C. mystax 50, 53, 57 5 1.26 × S c iu r id a e S. fulvus 4 1 0.25 × G li r id a e D. nitedula 16,28, 35,44,61 14 3.54 × × D ip o d id a e A. elater 11,12 14 3.54 × J. blanfordi 10 1 0.25 × 1. One specimen of M. zarudnyi belonged to museum samples. 2. Two specimens of M. meridianus belonged to museum samples. 3. One specimen of G. nanus belonged to museum samples. 4. Five specimens of M. paradaxus belonged to museum samples. 5. Two specimens of M. transcaspicus belonged to museum samples. (LN: Locality Number, A: Pasturage area, B: Urban area, C: Deciduous forest, D: Scrub woodlands, E: Semi desert and Salt land, F: Sandy dunes, G: Steppe scrub lands, H: Juniper's forest, I: Fields and gardens, J: Adja- cent stream and river, K: Mountain area) http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sciuridae J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 132 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 Discussion This is the first study that reports Rattus norvegicus, M. crassus, Allactaga elater, Jac- ulus blanfordi and H. indica in North Khorasan. Extensive distribution of fields and pas- turage in the study region provides suitable habitat for the existence of different kinds of rodents. In the present study, J. blanfordi cap- tured from sand dunes and M. crassus trapped in semi-desert and salt lands were new records from the region. This species was previously reported from southern parts of Iran, and a new additional record was added from North Khorasan to its occurrence range. Meriones crassus is distributed in south-western Pal- aearctic (14) and in this study, we reported it from the North-Eastern part of its distribu- tional range. Rattus norvegicus had been reported only from Mashhad in Northeast of Iran (7) and this study is the first record of the species from North Khorasan Province. Allactaga elater re- ported previously from South Khorasan and Khorasan Razavi (7) and we reported this spe- cies from North Khorasan for the first time. Meriones persicus, M. libycus, M. musculus, N. indica, and R. opimus were the most abun- dant rodent species, especially in rural areas. These species are common both in Iran and Turkmenistan. Central parts of Iran demonstrat- ed actually different fauna from Turkmenistan region, however, northeast of Iran (Khorasan) was affected by both cradles in species com- position and also correlated to endemism (15). In total, genus Meriones is known as a natural reservoir of Yersinia pestis in en- demic foci of plague in Iran and genus Mi- crotus, Mesocricetus, Allactaga, Cricetulus play a minor role (16). Mus musculus (reser- voir of Hymenolepis and Syphacia) and N. indica (a secondary host for Leishmania tu- ranica) are rodents with zoonotic importance (17, 18) and were captured in high numbers through the northern and central parts of the province in farms and rural areas near the streams. Apodemus witherbyi were also one of the most abundant rodents in most of the habitats except very dry sand dunes and urban areas. The wood mice of the genus Apodemus collected from most of North Khorasan with relatively high level of humidity were consid- ered to be the vector for Babesia, Hepatozoon, Trypanosoma, and Grahamella (19). Dryomys nitedula are distributed in gardens and forests around villages in the North Khorasan Prov- ince. Dryomys nitedula, Microtus, Mus, and Calomyscus have recently demonstrated pos- itive results for Francisella tularensis and can play a role to transmit tularemia in Iran (20). In this study, some of the most important reservoirs of leishmaniasis, leptospirosis, tu- laremia, plague and other well-known reser- voirs of zoonotic diseases were collected. The most records of cutaneous leishmaniasis in North Khorasan Province in the recent years were from rural areas of Garmeh, Jajarm, Bojnurd, and Esfarayen (21), which is con- sistent with our results of collecting the high- est number of M. libycus, M. persicus and R. opimus as the most well-known hosts of the cutaneous leishmaniasis. Previously, R. opimus was reported as a host of L. major in Esfarayen (9) county and Golestan Province (adjacent province to the North Khorasan) (22). North Khorasan Province is one of the most important foci of visceral leishmaniasis in Iran (23) and the disease agent was isolat- ed from M. persicus and C. migratorius (24) while, M. persicus was one of the most abun- dant rodent species and significant numbers of C. migratorius were captured in the province. Rattus norvegicus collected from North Khorasan Province, was previously reported as one of the reservoirs of Giardia muris (proto- zoan) and some other parasites in Ahvaz, South- west of Iran (25) and leptospirosis (6, 26). Re- garding to increasing population of Norwegian rats in the cities, their population should be con- trolled to prevent potential risk to public health. http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ J Arthropod-Borne Dis, June 2018, 12(2): 127–134 K Arzamani et al.: Faunistic Study of … 133 http://jad.tums.ac.ir Published Online: June 12, 2018 Conclusion Our results demonstrate the high biodi- versity of rodents in North Khorasan Prov- ince of Iran. Meriones percicus, M. libycus, A. witherbyi and M. musculus, are present in most localities. Their massive presence in this region is important medically and agricultur- ally. 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Epidemiol Health. 37: e2015012. http://jad.tums.ac.ir/ https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/71289369_A_Baghaei https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Behroz_Davari3 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Parviz_Parvizi http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr?term=author:(Soheila%20Moradi%20Bidhendi) http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr?term=author:(Soheila%20Moradi%20Bidhendi) http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr?term=author:(Hamed%20Hanifi) http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/solr?term=author:(Hossein%20Nahrevanian)