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Several studies have highlighted the positive effects that active learning may have on student engagement and performance. However, the influence of active learning strategies is mediated by several factors, including the nature of the learning environment and the cognitive level of in-class tasks. These factors can affect different dimensions of student engagement such as the nature of social processing in student groups, how knowledge is used and elaborated upon by students during in-class tasks, and the amount of student participation in group activities. In this study involving four universities in the US, we explored the association between these different dimensions of student engagement and the cognitive level of assigned tasks in five distinct general chemistry learning environments where students were engaged in group activities in diverse ways. Our analysis revealed a significant association between task level and student engagement. Retrieval tasks often led to a significantly higher number of instances of no interaction between students and individualistic work, and a lower number of knowledge construction and collaborative episodes with full student participation. Analysis tasks, on the other hand, were significantly linked to more instances of knowledge construction and collaboration with full group participation. Tasks at the comprehension level were distinctive in their association with more instances of knowledge application and multiple types of social processing. The results of our study suggest that other factors such as the nature of the curriculum, task timing, and class setting may also affect student engagement during group work.

Aim: High Resolution ultrasonography has revolutionised the management of non-metallic foreign body removal. USG aids in measuring the depth and size of the foreign body, its depth from the skin surface and any associated collection to perform a less invasive, and easier surgery without the need for any additional radiologicalinvestigations like CT scan or MRI both of which are expensive and not easily available. Material and Methods:22 patients with mean age of 33.3 years were admitted in our department for foreign body exploration during the years 2020 to 2022. The affected sites were plantar aspect of feet in 9 patients, leg in 4 patients, palm of the hand in 4 patients, fingers in 5 patients. Preoperatively, all patients underwent USG of the affected part. Duration of the surgery and any complications were observed. Results: The mean patient age was 33.34 years (range 15 to 70). Intraoperatively, we were able to locate and remove foreign bodies in all 22 patients. The actual surgeries lasted less than 15 min in 14 (63.6 %) of the cases and from 15-20 min in 8(36.6%) cases. Foreign bodies retrieved were wood in 12 (63%), thorn in 4 (21%) and rubber pieces of slippers in 6 (10.5%) patients. No complications were observed in any of the patients. Conclusion:Ultrasonography is areliable, cheaper and an easydiagnostic tool for detection and localization of foreign body and should be included in evaluation for clinically suspicious retained non-radiopaque foreign body in soft tissue of extremities. &nbsp

Traditionally, species of fish are identified based on morphological characteristics. Although these taxonomic descriptions are essential, there are cases where the morphological characters distinguishing these species show marginal differences. For instance, in the Poonch River in the Himalayas, there are 21 species, out of which some are morphologically similar, and the taxonomic distinction between these species is unclear. Therefore, in this study, we used sequences from two mitochondrial genes, Cytochrome b (Cyt b) and a larger ribosomal subunit (16S rRNA), as well as the morphological analysis to address any taxonomic ambiguities among the six fish species. Maximum Likelihood results revealed that all the species were clustered according to their families and genera. The phenotypic analysis also supported this statement, as all the species of different genera like Schizothorax, Tor, Garra, Traqilabeo, and Glyptothorax are grouped in their particular cluster, it shows that species of a separate class share a mutual morphological characteristic. While genetic analyses of these species suggest nucleotide diversity (p) and haplotype diversity, with Hd values as 0.644 for Cyt b and 0.899 for 16S rRNA, confirming the rich genetic diversity in the river. Overall, we recommend that the integrative approach in delimiting the fish species is more effective than the individual one and can be used to rapidly diagnose a species and understand the evolutionary relationship between the species.

SARS-COV-2 is a virulent respiratory virus, first identified in China (Wuhan) at the end of 2019. Scientists and researchers are trying to find any possible solution to this deadly viral disease. Different drug source agents have been identified, including western medicine, natural products, and traditional Chinese medicine. They have the potential to counteract COVID-19. This virus immediately affects the liver and causes a decrease in oxygen levels. In this study, multiple vacciome approaches were employed for designing a multi-epitope subunit vaccine for battling against SARS-COV-2. Vaccine designing, immunogenicity, allergenic, and physico-chemical assessment were performed by using the vacciome approach. The vaccine design is likely to be antigenic and produce potent interactions with ACE2 and NSP3 receptors. The developed vaccine has also been given to in-silico cloning models and immune response predictions. A total number of 12 CTL and 12 HTL antigenic epitopes were predicted from three selected covid-19 virulent proteins (spike protein, nucleocapsid protein, and membrane proteins, respectively) based on C-terminal cleavage and MHC binding scores. These predicted epitopes were amalgamated by AYY and GPGPG linkers, and a β-defensins adjuvant was inserted into the N-terminus of this vaccine. This analysis shows that the recommended vaccine can produce immune responses against SARS-COV-2. Designing and developing of the mentioned vaccine will require further experimental validation.

Additional file 1: Supplementary figure 1. The PCA plot shows between different samples. This plot shows clear separation between samples. Supplementary table 1. Downloaded RNA-Seq data from Mashooq et al 2022 UR_Genomics_submission number (NCBI Accession number GSE 168060).

Beta-thalassemia is the most common inherited single-gene disorder in the world, caused by more than 200 known mutations in the HBB gene. In India, the average prevalence of β-thalassemia carriers is 3-4%. Several ethnic groups have a much higher prevalence, about 8% in the tribal groups, according to the 2011 census. The study’s main goal is to identify common β-thalassemia mutations and the frequencies of different haplotypes in various communities in North Maharashtra. Nashik district had the highest prevalence of β-thalassemia (34%), followed by Ahmednagar (29%), Jalgaon (16%), Dhule (14%), and Nandurbar (7.0%). Prevalence of β-thalassemia was highest in the schedule caste community (SC) (48%), followed by (17%) in Muslims, (14%) in other backward classes (OBC), (13%) in Schedule Tribe (ST), and (8.0%) in the general population The six most common β-thalassemia mutations detected in this study are IVS 1 > 5 (G→C), Cd 15(G→A), Cd 41/41 (-TCTT), Cd 8/9(+G), IVS 1 > 1(G→T) and Cap + 1(A > G). Among these mutations, IVS 1 > 5 (G > C) was the most common type of mutation found in β-thalassemia patients in the North Maharashtra population. Type-I haplotype was the most prevalent among all communities. Nashik and Ahmednagar districts were highly affected by β-thalassemia. Among different ethnic groups, the SC and Muslim communities were the worst affected with a higher proportion of β-thalassemia and increased frequency of mutations.

PURPOSE Ovarian cancer (OC) is ranked as the third most common gynecologic cancer in various Indian cancer registries. In India, OC is seen in the younger age group, with a median age < 55 years being reported by most of the studies. The majority of patients are diagnosed in advanced stage (70%-80%), where the long-term (10-year) survival rate is poor, estimated at 15%-30%. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical epidemiology, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes in patients with epithelial OC. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of patients with epithelial OC who were treated at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, over a period of 9 years, from January 2010 to December 2018. RESULTS OC constituted 2.94% of all cancers registered. Epithelial OC constituted 88.4% of all OCs, with a median age 50 years. More than two third of patients belonged to rural background and the majority (76.9%) of the patients were in stage III or IV at the time of diagnosis. The main presenting symptoms were abdominal distension/bloating (46.5%) and gastrointestinal disturbances (35.2%). The most common histologic types were serous (65.9%) followed by mucinous carcinoma (15%). Median overall survival for the whole study cohort was 30 months (95% CI, 28.0 to 31.9). Median overall survival for stage I, II, III, and IV was 72, 60, 30, and 20 months, respectively. CONCLUSION Most of the patients presented in advanced stage of the disease and have poor outcome. Delay in diagnosis and improper management before registering in tertiary cancer center and lack of tertiary care facilities are the root causes of poor outcomes. The general population and primary care physicians need to be made aware of OC symptoms.

Background The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a multi-step morphogenetic process in which epithelial cells lose their epithelial properties and gain mesenchymal characteristics. The process of EMT has been shown to mediate mammary gland fibrosis. Understanding how mesenchymal cells emerge from an epithelial default state will aid in unravelling the mechanisms that control fibrosis and, ultimately, in identifying therapeutic targets to alleviate fibrosis. Methods The effects of EGF and high glucose (HG) on EMT in mammary epithelial cells, MCF10A and GMECs, as well as their pathogenic role, were studied. In-silico analysis was used to find interacting partners and protein-chemical/drug molecule interactions. Results On treatment with EGF and/or HG, qPCR analysis showed a significant increase in the gene expression of EMT markers and downstream signalling genes. The expression of these genes was reduced on treatment with EGF+HG combination in both cell lines. The protein expression of COL1A1 increased as compared to the control in cells treated with EGF or HG alone, but when the cells were treated with EGF and HG together, the protein expression of COL1A1 decreased. ROS levels and cell death increased in cells treated with EGF and HG alone, whereas cells treated with EGF and HG together showed a decrease in ROS production and apoptosis. In-silico analysis of protein-protein interactions suggest the possible role of MAPK1, actin alpha 2 (ACTA2), COL1A1, and NFκB1 in regulating TGFβ1, ubiquitin C (UBC), specificity protein 1 (SP1) and E1A binding protein P300 (EP300). Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment suggests advanced glycation end products-receptor for advanced glycation end products (AGE-RAGE) signalling pathway, relaxin signalling pathway and extra cellular matrix (ECM) receptor interactions underlying fibrosis mechanism. Conclusion This study demonstrates that EGF and HG induce EMT in mammary epithelial cells and may also have a role in fibrosis.

This paper investigates the degradation of small-strain stiffness of artificially cemented sand subjected to isotropic loading cycles using bender elements. Samples with cement contents of 3 and 5% were allowed to cure for 72 h using fast-setting Portland cement under a constant confining pressure of 200 kPa. Two types of tests were conducted on the samples: ‘load–unload’ test, where samples were subjected to increasing isotropic confining pressures and then returning to the initial pressure of 200 kPa; and ‘unload–load’ test, where samples were subjected to decreasing confining pressures and then taken back to the initial pressure of 200 kPa. The effect of cementation on the initial microstructure of the samples was analysed using X-ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscope. Cemented samples showed a clear degradation of the normalised small-strain stiffness, after a differential confining pressure was applied, suggesting that the cemented matrix is highly affected by isotropic loading cycles.

This research is an attempt to develop nontoxic and sustainable oil and water repellent which is fluorine and formaldehyde free. For this purpose, stearic acid was polymerized with formaldehyde free cross-linkers, such as maleic acid and acrylic acid. Sodium hypophosphite was used as a catalyst and triethanolamine as an enhancer during the polymerization. Polymerization conditions were optimized such as temperature, time and atmosphere. The prepared recipes were then applied onto the cotton fabrics. The obtained results reveal that the finished cotton fabrics achieves good oil and water repellency, crease resistance, soil resistance, and antimicrobial properties. In addition, the surface of finished cotton fabrics was characterized via SEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, and TGA.

Introduction:Asymptomatic bacteruria (ASB) is defined as the presence of significant bacteruria [>105) in a clean voided midstream urine from a patient without fever or symptoms of UTI. ASB should be screened and treated only in pregnantpatients and individuals prior to their urological procedures as recommended by Infectious disease society of America in 2005. ASB is common in healthy women, older women,men,diabetic patients, patients with Indwelling catheters and spinal cord injury, treatment is not recommendedfor such individuals. Surgeons all over the world perceive any undiagnosed infection in the pre-operative period asthe source of SSI, so its prevention is necessary .Its not clear whether this is true for a ASB as well. Aim:identify whether an association exists between the preoperative presence of asymptomatic bacteriuria or urinary tract infection and SSI in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. Material and methods:The current study was conducted over a period of one year which included 3025 patients. Midstream urine was collected asceptically and semiquatitative culture was done on chromogenic media. Further identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing was done by Vitek 2 system. Results:SSI was found more in Diabetic than non diabetic patients, more in females than males. The infective organisms found in SSI were are not found thesame as in the pre-operative ASB patients. Conclusion:The presence of bacteriuria in asymptomatic patients is not a risk factor for presenting SSI in cardiovascular surgery. Pre-operative screening with urinalysis or urine culture would not be recommended for patients without clinical symptoms of UTI.

Additional file 4.

Additional file 1.

Mother needs special medical care during pregnancy, delivery, and after delivery; as a mother, she is more prone to adverse health outcomes or death due to the unsafe and unhygienic methods of managing pregnancy and childbirth. According to the World Health Organization reports, globally, 0.53 million maternal deaths occur annually, out of which 0.12 million (22%) deaths occur only in India. A newborn child needs regular health check-ups as well as nutrition supplements to avoid deficiency diseases and illness. Child health is a foundation for adult health and well-being; therefore, it is imperative to certify good health. Healthy children assure healthy adults who, in turn, ensure good progress and development of the Country (Usmani and Ahmad, 2017). According to NHM, around 81% of under-five child death occurs in one year of birth that marks approximately 10.5 lakh newborn demises; however, 57% of under-five deaths occur in the first one month of life, constituting 7.3 lakh neo-natal deaths annually within the Country. Data and methods: data from National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-2016) on maternal and child health indicators for 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh state were used. Spatial analysis namely Moran\'s-I and LISA were applied to evaluate the maternal and child health indicators through all the districts of the state. Result: Each indicator portrayed prominent coverage variation across the Uttar Pradesh districts in this analysis. Among all the districts, the lowest ANC occurrence was observed mainly in the central part, PNC in the eastern region, SBA in 20 districts mainly of the western and eastern part. The prevalence of full immunization among the children was very high, primarily in the districts of the East region; high PNC among the children was perceived in the districts of eastern, central, and Bundelkhand part of the state. PNC prevalence among the women was found to be highest in the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) are ailments affecting the jaws and allied structures, resulting in many pathologies (TMJ hypermobility, internal disc derangement, bone changes, degenerative disorders, and ankylosis). Pain, clicking or crepitus, restricted range of motion, deranged jaw function, and deflected or deviated mouth opening and closing are the commonly observed manifestations in TMDs. Internal derangement refers to an aberrant relation of the articular disc to the condyle and fossa, respectively. Conventional therapies highlight the role of non-invasive conservative treatment strategies, namely joint unloading, anti-inflammatory drugs, and physiotherapy. Current literature has emphasized the use of corticosteroids and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as treatment strategies in TMDs. This study aimed to evaluate whether intra-articular injection of PRP after normal saline lavage in TMJ minimizes the symptoms of TMDs, as compared to injection of normal saline. Thirty patients with TMD according to research diagnostic criteria (RDC) were selected. One group received arthrocentesis with normal saline, and the other group received arthrocentesis with PRP injection. The patients were assessed for pain, maximum inter-incisal mouth opening, bite force, and TMJ sounds. TMDs treated by PRP injection had slightly better results. More studies are required to substantiate the outcome. Injections of PRP were more effective in reducing the symptoms than arthrocentesis with normal saline.

Although quantitative isotope data from speleothems has been used to evaluate isotope-enabled model simulations, currently no consensus exists regarding the most appropriate methodology through which to achieve this. A number of modelling groups will be running isotope-enabled palaeoclimate simulations in the framework of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6, so it is timely to evaluate different approaches to using the speleothem data for data-model comparisons. Here, we illustrate this using 456 globally distributed speleothem delta O-18 records from an updated version of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database and palaeoclimate simulations generated using the ECHAM5-wiso isotope-enabled atmospheric circulation model. We show that the SISAL records reproduce the first-order spatial patterns of isotopic variability in the modern day, strongly supporting the application of this dataset for evaluating model-derived isotope variability into the past. However, the discontinuous nature of many speleothem records complicates the process of procuring large numbers of records if data-model comparisons are made using the traditional approach of comparing anomalies between a control period and a given palaeoclimate experiment. To circumvent this issue, we illustrate techniques through which the absolute isotope values during any time period could be used for model evaluation. Specifically, we show that speleothem isotope records allow an assessment of a model's ability to simulate spatial isotopic trends. Our analyses provide a protocol for using speleothem isotope data for model evaluation, including screening the observations to take into account the impact of speleothem mineralogy on delta O-18 values, the optimum period for the modern observational baseline and the selection of an appropriate time window for creating means of the isotope data for palaeo-time-slices. European Geosciences Union - W2017/413; Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG); European Association of Geochemistry (Early Career Ambassadors program 2017); Quaternary Research Association UK; Navarino Environmental Observatory, Stockholm University; University College Dublin, Savillex (UK) - SF1428; Ibn Zohr University, Morocco; University of Reading; European Research Council - 694481; Natural Environment Research Council (JPI-Belmont project "PAleao-Constraints on Monsoon Evolution and Dynamics (PACMEDY)"); Geological Survey Ireland - 2017-SC-056; Royal Irish Academy; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft - RE3994/2-1; Past Global Changes (PAGES) programme; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Tachytrechus brittoni Grichanov, 1998 (Figure 4D) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub, 20.iv.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (NMWC; CERS). Distribution The species was described from Yemen and was not recorded furthermore. This is the first record from Saudi Arabia., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1441, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 1998. Afrotropical species of the genus Tachytrechus Haliday (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Int J Dipt Res. 9 (2): 115 - 122."]}

Thinophilus indigenus Becker, 1902 (Figure 5A) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Karatha, Al-Ethrebany Fruit Farm, 6–27.v.2014, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 1♂, Asir, Maraba, Al-Hudaithy Fruit Farm, 1.ii.2012 Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 1♀, Jazan, Abu Aresh, Al-Mahdag Village, 4.iii.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Egypt (Cairo, Assiut, Assuan, Fayûm, Luxor and Suez) and further recorded from the Palaearctic (Algeria, Iran, Israel, Mongolia and Turkey), Afrotropical (Angola, Benin, Cape Verde Islands, Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Angola, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia, Nigeria, Madagascar, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Yemen) and Oriental regions (Borneo, China (Taiwan), India, Malaya, Nepal and Philippines) (Grichanov 2017a, 2018). Remarks. This species is known to inhabit the freshwater marshes and streams (Grootaert and Evenhuis 1997)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1442, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2017 a. Alphabetic list of generic and specific names of predatory flies of the epifamily Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). 2 nd ed. St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 23); p. 1 - 563.","Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152.","Grootaert P, Evenhuis NL. 1997. A new species of Thinophilus (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Mus. 48: 74 - 77."]}

Condylostylus longicornis (Fabricius, 1775) (Figure 6B) Specimens examined 2♂, 2♀, Najran, Al-Shurfa, Saleh Maqbol Farm, 7–28.i.2015, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 3♀, same data but 7–28.v.2014 (CERS); 1♂, Jazan, Harob, Wadi Lejab, 30.xii.2015, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. This species was described from South America being a typical representative of New World Condylostylus, having no relatives in the Afrotropical fauna. It was only recently found in the Southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, i.e. in the United Arab Emirates (Naglis and Bickel 2017), and the authors suggested that this occurrence was most probably the result of accidental human introduction. C. longicornis is known from Australasian (French Polynesia and Hawaiian Is.), Nearctic and Neotropical regions (Grichanov 2018). Dr. Deeming believes that this species could develop in shipments of grain that are infested with grain beetles and other insects, as both larvae and adults are predacious, and there would be adequate food for them, especially if there was a fungal infestation of any kind (J.C. Deeming; pers. comm. 2019)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1445, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Naglis S, Bickel DJ. 2017. Order Diptera, Family Dolichopodidae, Subfamily Sciapodinae. In: van Harten A, editor. Arthropod fauna of the UAE Vol. 6. Abu Dhabi: Department of the President's Affairs; p. 565 - 571.","Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Thinophilus ochripalpis Becker, 1910 (Figure 5B) Specimens examined 1♂, Jazan, Um Al-Raq Island, 10–31.v.2016, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from South Yemen and further recorded from Somalia (Grichanov 2018)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1442, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Sympycnus basilaris (Curran, 1924) (Figure 6C) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub (Abha Farm Centre), 1.ii.2012, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (NMWC; CERS); 1♀, Asir, same locality but 1–25.v.2013; 3♂, Najran, Al-Shurfa, Saleh Maqbol Farm, 13.iii.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Remarks This genus and species are the first records from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from South Africa, having four synonymic names. It is widespread in the Afrotropical region (Grichanov 2018)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1447, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Cryptophleps buttikeri Grichanov, 2015 (Figure 3C) Specimens examined 1♀, Jazan, Abu Aresh, Al-Mahdag Village, 20.v.2013, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution The species was described from Saudi Arabia (Bahrah, a town in Makka province, in western Saudi Arabia located between Mekka and Jeddah) and this is the second locality of that species in Saudi Arabia and the habitat and altitude are the same as where the species was first found and described., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1439, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2015. New species of Cryptophleps Lichtwardt (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with a key to the Afrotropical and Palaearctic species of the genus. Zootaxa. 4007 (2): 259 - 266. doi: 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4007.2.8."]}

Diaphorus hoffmannseggi Meigen, 1830 (Figure 3D) Specimens examined 2♂, Asir, Karatha, Al-Ethrebany Fruit Farm, 6–27.v.2014, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (NMWC; CERS); 1♂, same locality but 7–28.viii.2013 (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species is widespread in Europe, being also recorded from Israel and Turkey (Grichanov 2017b)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1439, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2017 b. An annotated checklist of Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of Israel and adjacent territories. Acta Biol Sibir. 3 (4): 6 - 19. doi: 10.14258 / abs. v 3 i 4.3629."]}

Tachytrechus notatus (Stannius, 1831) (Figure 4C) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Al-Souda, Al-Muqtha Dam, 18.ix.2014, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Germany and further recorded from Iran, Israel, Morocco, Syria, Turkmenistan and Europe (widespread) (Grichanov 2017a; Grichanov et al. 2017)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1441, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2017 a. Alphabetic list of generic and specific names of predatory flies of the epifamily Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). 2 nd ed. St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 23); p. 1 - 563."]}

Argyrochlamys cavicola (Parent, 1929) (Figure 4A) Specimens examined 1♂, Jazan, Um Al-Raq Island, 25.xi.2015, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Sudan (Mersa Halaib) and further recorded from Djibouti and Oman (Grichanov 2018, p. 27). Remarks. This species is commonly found in burrows of the littoral turret-building crab Ocypode Weber (M.J. Ebejer, NMWC; personal communication)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1439, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Hercostomus plagiatus (Loew, 1857) (Figure 4B) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub (Abha Farm Centre), 19.vi.–9.vii.2014, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Austria and further recorded from Algeria, Tunisia and Europe (widespread) (Kechev 2017; Grichanov 2017a). Remarks. The biology is unknown. This species was found in a range of wetlands including fens, damp wood and coastal locations; larvae may be semi-aquatic predators (Falk and Crossley 2005)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on pages 1440-1441, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Kechev M. 2017. New records of long-legged flies (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Greece. Silva Balcanica. 10 (1): 53 - 57.","Grichanov IYa. 2017 a. Alphabetic list of generic and specific names of predatory flies of the epifamily Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). 2 nd ed. St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 23); p. 1 - 563.","Falk SJ, Crossley R. 2005. A review of the scarce and threatened flies of Great Britain. Part 3: Empidoidea. Species Status. 3: 1 - 134. (Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee)."]}

Chrysotus suavis Loew, 1857 (Figure 3B) Specimens examined 1♀, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub, 15–30.v.2014, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (NMWC; CERS). Distribution This genus is recorded from Saudi Arabia for the first time. Chrysotus suavis was described from Germany and Hungary and is further recorded from many countries of the Palaearctic Region including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Morocco and Turkey; it is excluded from the Afrotropical Region (DR Congo) by Grichanov (2018)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1438, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Asyndetus albifacies Parent, 1929 Distribution This species was previously recorded from Saudi Arabia by Grichanov (2013); El-Hawagry et al. (2016, 2017). It was described from Hala'ib Triangle (Egypt – Sudan border) and further recorded from Israel (Grichanov 2013)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1437, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2013. Afrotropical species of the genus Asyndetus Loew (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with notes on some Palaearctic and Oriental species. In: Grichanov IYa, Negrobov OP, editors. Fauna and taxonomy of Dolichopodidae (Diptera). Collection of papers. St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl.); p. 27 - 46.","El-Hawagry MS, Abdel-Dayem MS, Elgharbawy AA, Al-Dhafer HM. 2016. A preliminary account of the fly fauna in Jabal Shada al-A'la Nature Reserve, Saudi Arabia, with new records and biogeographical remarks (Diptera: Insecta). Zookeys. 636: 107 - 139. doi: 10.3897 / zookeys. 636.9905.","El-Hawagry MS, Abdel-Dayem MS, El-Sonbati SA, Al-Dhafer HM. 2017. A preliminary account of the fly fauna in Garf Raydah, Nature Reserve, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with new records and biogeographical remarks (Diptera: Insecta). J Nat Hist. 51 (25 - 26): 1499 - 1530. doi: 10.1080 / 00222933.2017. 1347299."]}

Medetera grisescens De Meijere, 1916 (Figure 5E) Specimens examined 1♂, Najran, Al-Shurfa, Saleh Maqbol Farm, 1–29.iv.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS; NMWC). Distribution The genus Medetera is firstly recorded from Saudi Arabia. The material examined is the closest to Medetera grisescens, which is described from Indonesia: Java, Djakarta and Wonosobo. It is known from many countries of the Oriental (Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China (Taiwan), Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Is.), Malaysia, Singapore), Australasian (Australia, American Samoa, Fiji, Hawaiian Is., Bonin Is., New Caledonia, Northern Mariana, Western Samoa) and Afrotropical (Seychelles, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritius) regions (Grichanov 2018)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1444, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Asyndetus albifrons Parent, 1929 (Figure 3A) Specimens examined 1♂, Jazan, AbuAresh, Al-Mahdag Village, 4.iii.2013, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Egypt (Bir Abrag, South Eastern desert) and further recorded from Iraq (Grichanov 2017a)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1437, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2017 a. Alphabetic list of generic and specific names of predatory flies of the epifamily Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). 2 nd ed. St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 23); p. 1 - 563."]}

Syntormon pumilus (Meigen, 1824) (Figure 6D) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Al-Souda, Al-Muqtha Dam, 1.ii.2012, Sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution. This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species is widespread in the Palaearctic region (Grichanov 2018). However, some old records may belong to Syntormon denticulatus (Zetterstedt) and should be confirmed., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1447, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Thinophilus spinulosus Parent, 1929 (Figure 5D) Specimens examined 1♂, Jazan, Um Al-Raq Island, 10–31.v.2016, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Sudan (Halaib: Red Sea coast) and is further recorded from Nigeria and Somalia (Grichanov 2018)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1444, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Thinophilus promotus Becker, 1910 (Figure 5C) Specimens examined 1♂, Jazan, Um Al-Raq Island, 10–31.v.2016, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from South Yemen and further recorded from Djibouti (Grichanov 2018)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1442, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2018. An annotated catalogue of Afrotropical Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 25); p. 1 - 152."]}

Hydrophorus praecox (Lehmann, 1822) Distribution This species was previously recorded from Saudi Arabia by Grichanov (1997, 1998). H. praecox is almost a cosmopolitan species., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1441, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYA. 1997. A brief review of the Afrotropical fauna of the subfamily Hydrophorinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with description of Cemocarus stuckenbergi sp. n. Int J Dipt Res. 8 (3): 149 - 157.","Grichanov IYa. 1998. Afrotropical species of the genus Tachytrechus Haliday (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Int J Dipt Res. 9 (2): 115 - 122."]}

Micromorphus aereus (Vaillant, 1953) (Figure 6A) Specimens examined 1♂, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub, 30.v.2014, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 2♂, same data but 1–25.v.2013 (CERS). Distribution This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. The species was described from Algeria and further recorded from Egypt and Israel (Grichanov 2017a)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Abdullah, Mohammed A. & Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2020, The family Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Arabian Peninsula: identification key, an updated list of species and new records from Saudi Arabia, pp. 1425-1454 in Journal of Natural History 54 (21 - 22) on page 1445, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1800118, http://zenodo.org/record/5030446, {"references":["Grichanov IYa. 2017 a. Alphabetic list of generic and specific names of predatory flies of the epifamily Dolichopodoidae (Diptera). 2 nd ed. St. Petersburg: VIZR (Plant Protection News Suppl. 23); p. 1 - 563."]}

Characterizing the temporal uncertainty in palaeoclimate records is crucial for analysing past climate change, correlating climate events between records, assessing climate periodicities, identifying potential triggers and evaluating climate model simulations. The first global compilation of speleothem isotope records by the SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) working group showed that age model uncertainties are not systematically reported in the published literature, and these are only available for a limited number of records (ca. 15 %, n = 107/691). To improve the usefulness of the SISAL database, we have (i) improved the database's spatio-temporal coverage and (ii) created new chronologies using seven different approaches for age- depth modelling. We have applied these alternative chronologies to the records from the first version of the SISAL database (SISALv1) and to new records compiled since the release of SISALv1. This paper documents the necessary changes in the structure of the SISAL database to accommodate the inclusion of the new age models and their uncertainties as well as the expansion of the database to include new records and the qualitycontrol measures applied. This paper also documents the age-depth model approaches used to calculate the new chronologies. The updated version of the SISAL database (SISALv2) contains isotopic data from 691 speleothem records from 294 cave sites and new age-depth models, including age-depth temporal uncertainties for 512 speleothems.

Allograpta calopus (Loew, 1858) (Figs 8–9) Syrphus calopus Loew, 1858: 379 Examined specimens. 2&male;, 2&female;, Abha, Asir, Hay Al-Nusub (Abha Farm Centre), 3.iii–3.vi. 2001, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah and M.A. Abdullah (NMWC; CERS); 1&female;, same locality but 3.iv.2001 (CERS); 1&female;, same locality but 12.vi.2013 (CERS); 1&female;, same locality but 20.iv.2013 (CERS); 1&male;, Najran, Al-Shurfa, Saleh Maqbol Farm, 1–29.iv.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution. This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. It was described from South Africa and Sudan and is further recorded from other parts of the Afrotropical Region: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire (Smith & Vockeroth 1980; Dirickx 1998; Whittington 2003) and Yemen (Smit et al. 2017). Genus Betasyrphus Matsumura The genus Betasyrphus has approximately 18 species in the Afrotropical, Palaearctic and Oriental regions. Whittington (2003) in his assessment of the Afrotropical Syrphidae fauna, lists Betasyrphus among the Afrotropical genera in need of revision like most of Syrphidae., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4855 (1) on pages 13-14, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4411181, {"references":["Loew, H. (1858) Bidrag till kannedomen om Afrikas Diptera. [part]. Ofversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps-Akademiens Forhandlinger. Stockholm, 14 (1857), 337 - 383.","Smith, K. G. V. & Vockeroth, J. R. (1980) 38. Family Syrphidae. In: Crosskey R. W. (Ed.), Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afro- tropical Region. British Museum (Natural History), London, pp. 488 - 510.","Dirickx, H. G. (1998) Catalogue synonymique et geographique des Syrphidae (Diptera) de la region afrotropicale. Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneve, 187 pp.","Whittington, A. E. (2003) The Afrotropical Syrphidae fauna: an assessment. Studia dipterologica, 10 (2), 579 - 607.","Smit, J. T., van Harten, A. & Ketelaar, R. (2017) Order Diptera, family Syrphidae the hoverflies of the Arabian Peninsula. In: van Harten, A. (Eds.), Arthropod fauna of the UAE. Vol. 6. Department of the President's Affairs, Abu Dhabi, pp. 572 - 612."]}

Sphaerophoria rueppellii (Wiedemann, 1830) (Fig. 60) Syrphus rueppellii Wiedemann, 1830: 141 Examined specimens. 3&male;, Al-Riyadh, Wadi Al-Dawaseer, Al-Joba village, 1.iii–30.iv. 2005, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 1&male;, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub (Abha Farm Centre), 2.ii–25.v.2002; 2&female;, same locality but 3.vi.2001 (CERS); 1&male;, Al-Riyadh, Al-Kharj, 80 km. S. Ar Riyadh, 5.xi.2007, H.Al-Dhafer (KSMA); 1&female;, Al-Riyadh, Ad Dir’iyah, 20 Km. W. Al-Riyadh, 7.xi.2007, rocket, Qurani (KSMA); 1&male;, same locality but 5km. NW. Al-Riyadh (on alfalfa), 21.iv.1992, A. Alabdulmoneim (KSMA); 1&female;, same locality but 5.iv.1993 on gargeer, A. Aziz (KSMA). Distribution. This species was previously recorded for Saudi Arabia by Abu-Zoherah et al. (1993). It was described from Sudan and is further recorded from the following areas: Palaearctic Region; Afghanistan, Algeria, Canary Islands, China, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Korea, southern Norway, Mongolia, Morocco, Russia, Syria, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey; Afrotropical Region: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Smith & Vockeroth 1980; Peck 1988; Whittington 2003; Birtele et al. 2010; Khosravian et al. 2015; Smit et al. 2017; Haffaressas et al. 2017; Speight 2020; Mebarkia et al. 2020); Oriental Region: China, India, Pakistan (Ghorpadé 2014; Turk et al. 2015b). Remarks. Pineda & Marcos-García (2008) found syrphid larvae preyed on aphids on sweet pepper plants in Spain. They found that 98% of the larvae collected from the infested plants were S. rueppellii. Amorós-Jiménez et al. (2012) reported that S. rueppellii prey on several aphid species considered to be pests of several Mediterranean crops. Ball & Morris (2000) reported that this species can be found in dry, rank grassland and other open, dry situations such as ruderal communities but it also occurs in damper situations. Adults fly within one meter of the ground amongst tall vegetation but in short vegetation (e.g. Limonium Mill.) it flies lower and can be easily detected even by direct observation as it visits flowers, especially yellow composites (Speight 2020). Genus Syritta Lepeletier & Serville The genus Syritta has been revised by Lyneborg & Barkemeyer (2005). There are approximately 25 species of Syritta most of these (14 species) are found in the Afrotropical region (Lyneborg & Barkemeyer 2005; van Steenis 2010). The genus Syritta is easily recognized by the unique arrangement of setae on the ventroapical section of the hind femur (van Steenis 2010). Adult females of Syritta feed on pollen whilst males feed on nectar (Stubbs & Falk 2002). Larvae of other Syritta species are saprophagous and are found in manure, compost or dung, and rotting vegetable matter (Ferrar 1987: 357). Human activity (e.g. farming of animals) can provide breeding sites suitable for larvae of these species (Marcos-García et al. 2013). The genera of Syritta and Chalcosyrphus are superficially very similar and the identification of the latter from Saudi Arabia by El-Hawagry et al. (2013) was considered to be a misidentification of a Syritta species by Smit et al. (2017; see also discussion)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4855 (1) on pages 51-53, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4411181, {"references":["Wiedemann, C. R. W. (1830) s. n. Aussereuropaische zweiflugelige Insekten [concl.]. Hamm, 2, i-xii + 1 - 684.","Abu-Zoherah, R., Al-Taher, K. & Tilkian, S. (1993) List of Insects Recorded from Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Agriculture and Water, National Agriculture and Water Research Center, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Academic Publishing & Press, Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Riyadh, 394 pp.","Smith, K. G. V. & Vockeroth, J. R. (1980) 38. Family Syrphidae. In: Crosskey R. W. (Ed.), Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afro- tropical Region. British Museum (Natural History), London, pp. 488 - 510.","Peck, L. V. (1988) Family Syrphidae. In: Soos, A. & Papp, L. (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera. Syrphidae- Conopidae. Vol. 8. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, pp. 11 - 230.","Whittington, A. E. (2003) The Afrotropical Syrphidae fauna: an assessment. Studia dipterologica, 10 (2), 579 - 607.","Birtele, D., Zito, P., Silvestro, P. & Sajeva, M. (2010) Syrphidae (Diptera) from Lampedusa Island. Naturalista Siciliano, Series 4, 34 (3 - 4), 209 - 218.","Khosravian, Z., Sadeghi, H. & Ssymank, A. (2015) Hover-flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Kerman Province, Iran. Far Eastern Entomologist, 290, 1 - 12.","Smit, J. T., van Harten, A. & Ketelaar, R. (2017) Order Diptera, family Syrphidae the hoverflies of the Arabian Peninsula. In: van Harten, A. (Eds.), Arthropod fauna of the UAE. Vol. 6. Department of the President's Affairs, Abu Dhabi, pp. 572 - 612.","Haffaressas, B., Djellab, S., Samraoui, F., Alfarhan, A. H., Gilbert, F., Ricarte, A. & Samraoui, B. (2017) Hoverflies of the Guelma district, with species new to Algeria and North Africa (Diptera: Syrphidae). Annales de la Societe entomologique de France, (N. S.), 53 (5), 324 - 333.","Speight, M. C. D. (2020) Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), 2020. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae (Diptera). Vol. 104. Syrph the Net publications, Dublin, 313 pp.","Mebarkia, N., Neffar, S., Djellab, S., Ricarte, A. & Chenchouni, H. (2020) New records, distribution and phynology of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in semi-ared habitats in northeastern Algeria. Oriental Insects. [published online] https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00305316.2020.1749906","Ghorpade, K. (2014) An updated Check-list of the Hover-flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) recorded in the Indian subcontinent. Colemania, 44, 1 - 30.","Turk, J. K., Memon, N., Mal, B., Shah, M. A., Memon, S. A., Shah, N. A. & Ansari, A. (2015 b) New record and description of two species of the genus Sphaerophoria St. Farg. et Serv (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Balochistan, Pakistan. Pure and Applied Biology, 4 (1), 110 - 117. https: // doi. org / 10.19045 / bspab. 2015.41015","Macquart, J. (1842) Dipteres exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. 4. M e moires de la Societe des Science, de I'Agriculture et des Arts a- Lille, 4, 1841 (1), 65 - 200.","Pineda, A. & Marcos-Garcia, M. A. (2008) A seasonal abundance of aphidophagous hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and their population levels in and outside Mediterranean sweet pepper green houses. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 10 (2), 384 - 391. https: // doi. org / 10.1603 / 0013 - 8746 (2008) 101 [384: SAOAHD] 2.0. CO; 2","Amoros-Jimenez, R., Pineda, A., Fereres, A. & Marcos-Garcia, M. A. (2012) Prey availability and abiotic requirements of immature stages of the aphid predator Sphaerophoria rueppellii. Biological Control, 63, 17 - 24. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. biocontrol. 2012.06.001","Ball, S. G. & Morris, R. K. A. (2000) Provisional atlas of British hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae). Biological Record Centre, Monks Wood, 167 pp.","Lyneborg, L. & Barkemeyer, W. (2005) A world revision of the genus Syritta Le Peletier & Serville, 1828 (Diptera: Syrphidae). Entomonograph, 15, 1 - 224.","van Steenis, J. (2010) A new species of the genus Syritta Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 (Diptera: Syrphidae) with new distributional records of other Syritta species. Norwegian Journal of Entomology, 57, 111 - 119.","Stubbs, A. E. & Falk, S. J. (2002) British Hoverflies. British Entomological and Natural History Society, Henry Ling Ltd, Dorset, 469 pp.","Ferrar, P. (1987) A guide to the breeding habits and immature stages of Diptera Cyclorrhapha (Part I). Entomonograph. Vol. 8. E. J. Brill, Scandinavian press, Leiden and Copenhagen. 478 pp.","Marcos-Garcia, M. A., Ricarte, A. & Estela, N. (2013) An Updated Hoverfly Checklist (Diptera: Syrphidae) of the Mascarene Island of Reunion, France. Journal of Entomological Research Society, 15 (2), 59 - 68.","El-Hawagry, M. S., Khalil, M. W., Sharaf, M. R., Fadl, H. H. & Aldawood, A. S. (2013) A preliminary study on the insect fauna of Al-Baha province, Saudi Arabia, with description of two new species. Zookeys, 274, 1 - 88. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 274.4529"]}

Eumerus mucidus Bezzi, 1921 Eumerus mucidus Bezzi, 1921: 16 Distribution. This species was recently recorded from Saudi Arabia by El-Hawagry et al. (2018). It was described from Tatahonina (Africa sept.?) and is further recorded from Armenia, Egypt and Israel (Kaplan 1974; Shaumar & Kamal 1978; Smith & Vockeroth 1980; Piwowarczyk & Mielczarek 2018). Remarks. Piwowarczyk & Mielczarek (2018) reported that the larvae E. mucidus causes damage and breakage of the plant Cistanche armena (K. Koch) M.V. Agab. (Orobanchaceae) when boring channels in fresh tubers and shoots., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4855 (1) on page 29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4411181, {"references":["Bezzi, M. (1921) Syrphidae aethiopicae Musei nationalis hungarici. Broteria, Zoology, 19, 5 - 22.","El-Hawagry, M. S., Abdel-Dayem, M. S. & Al Dhafer, H. M. (2018) A contribution to the knowledge of fly fauna in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: new country records and an account of flies identified from Rawdhats, Riyadh Region, with biogeographical remarks (Insecta: Diptera). Journal of Natural History, 52 (21 - 22), 1377 - 1393. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222933.2018.1456575","Shaumar, N. & Kamal, S. (1978) The Syrphidae of Egypt. Bulletin Mensuel de la Societe Linneenne de Lyon, 47, 79 - 84. https: // doi. org / 10.3406 / linly. 1978.10295","Smith, K. G. V. & Vockeroth, J. R. (1980) 38. Family Syrphidae. In: Crosskey R. W. (Ed.), Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afro- tropical Region. British Museum (Natural History), London, pp. 488 - 510.","Piwowarczyk, R. & Mielczarek, L. (2018) First report of Eumerus mucidus (Diptera: Syrphidae) on Cistanche aremena (Orobanchaceae) and from Armenia. Florida Entomologist, 101 (3), 519 - 521. https: // doi. org / 10.1653 / 024.101.0314"]}

Paragus (Afroparagus) borbonicus Macquart, 1842 (Figs 50–51) Paragus borbonicus Macquart, 1842: 166 (106) Examined specimens. 1&female;, Asir, Karatha, Al-Ethrebany fruit farm, 10.vii.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution. This species is the first record from Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula. It was described from Mauritius and Réunion and is widespread throughout the Afrotropical Region including Ghana, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Säo Tomé and Principe (Smith &Vockeroth 1980; Kaufmann 1973; Dirickx 1998; Whittington 2003). Remarks. Macquart (1842) described P. borbonicus. Smith & Vockeroth (1980) listed it under P. (Paragus) borbonicus. Following Vuji&cacute; et al. (2008) P. (Paragus) borbonicus was therefore put under P. (Afroparagus) borbonicus . Our material of P. borbonicus agrees with the description of Vuji&cacute; et al. (2008: 514) of the subgenus Afroparagus Vuji&cacute; & Radenkovié. Kaufmann (1973) studied the biology of P. borbonicus and reported it as a predator which plays an important role as a controlling agent of the black citrus aphid, Toxoptera aurantii (Fonsco.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) that damages the flush leaves of cacao, Theobroma cacao L. in Ghana. He also described the immature stages., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4855 (1) on page 44, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4411181, {"references":["Macquart, J. (1842) Dipteres exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. 4. M e moires de la Societe des Science, de I'Agriculture et des Arts a- Lille, 4, 1841 (1), 65 - 200.","Smith, K. G. V. & Vockeroth, J. R. (1980) 38. Family Syrphidae. In: Crosskey R. W. (Ed.), Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afro- tropical Region. British Museum (Natural History), London, pp. 488 - 510.","Kaufmann, T. (1973) Bilogy of Paragus borbonicus (Diptera: Syrphidae) as predator of Toxoptera aurantii (Homoptera: Aphididae) attacking cocoa in Ghana. American Midland Naturalist, 90, 252 - 256. https: // doi. org / 10.2307 / 2424293","Dirickx, H. G. (1998) Catalogue synonymique et geographique des Syrphidae (Diptera) de la region afrotropicale. Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneve, 187 pp.","Whittington, A. E. (2003) The Afrotropical Syrphidae fauna: an assessment. Studia dipterologica, 10 (2), 579 - 607."]}

Paragus (Pandasyophthalmus) abrogans Goeldlin de Tiefenau, 1971 (Figs 45–46) Paragus (Pandasyophthalmus) abrogans Goeldlin de Tiefenau, 1971: 272–278 Examined specimens. 1&male;, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub (Abha Farm Centre), 19.vi–9.vi.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 1&male;, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Menhel, 24.vii.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 1&male;, same locality but 13.v–3.vi.2015 (CERS); 1&male;, Asir, Abha, Madenate Al-Ameer Sultan, Hay Al-Sad, 1–20.xi.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS); 1&male;, Abha, Al-Souda, Bani Mazen, 10.vi.-9.vii.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (CERS). Distribution. This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. It was described from Iran (Polur) and is further recorded from Greece, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbeckistan (Speight 2020). Remarks. The biology of P. (Pandasyophthalmus) abrogans is unknown. This species was erroneously synonymized with P. rufocinctus (Brunetti) by Thompson & Ghorpadé (1992). Claussen & Weipert (2004) provided the most comprehensive and reliable key separating this species from other European Paragus (e.g. Pandasyophthalmus species). Vujic et al. (1998) and Claussen & Weipert (2004) provided figures of the male terminalia of P. abrogans and P. rufocinctus, which clearly separated the two species. Also Speight (2020) disagreed with Peck (1988) who considered P. abrogans as a synonym of P. albipes Grimmerthal (described from Estonia and Latvia and not subsequently cited elsewhere), as this synonymy had no explanation or justification. In consequence Speight (2020) considered P. (Pandasyophthalmus) abrogans to be a distinct species and not a junior synonym of P. albipes as suggested by Peck (1988)., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4855 (1) on pages 40-42, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4411181, {"references":["Goeldlin de Tiefenau, P. (1971) Quatre species nouvelles de Paragus (Diptera: Syrphidae) de la region palearctique occidentale. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 43, 272 - 278.","Speight, M. C. D. (2020) Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), 2020. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae (Diptera). Vol. 104. Syrph the Net publications, Dublin, 313 pp.","Thompson, F. C. & Ghorpade, K. (1992) A new coffee aphid predator, with notes on other Oriental species of Paragus (Diptera: Syrphidae). Colemania, 5, 1 - 24.","Claussen, C. & Weipert, J. (2004) Notes on the subgenus Paragus (Pandasyopthalmus) (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Nepal, with the description of a new species. Volucella, 7, 75 - 88.","Peck, L. V. (1988) Family Syrphidae. In: Soos, A. & Papp, L. (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera. Syrphidae- Conopidae. Vol. 8. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, pp. 11 - 230."]}

Scaeva albomaculata (Macquart, 1842) (Fig. 57) Syrphus albomaculatus Macquart, 1842: 146 Examined specimens. 2&female;, Asir, Abha, Madenate Al-Ameer Sultan, 9.vii–13.viii.2015, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah (NMWC; CERS); 2&male;, 3&female;, Al-Riyadh, Al Aziziyah, 8.iii.1983, Talhouk & S.Tilkian (KSMA; NHMB); 1&male;, 1&female;, same locality but 4.iii.1983 (KSMA); 1&male;, 1&female;, same locality but 31.i.1982 (KSMA); 4&male;, 13&female;, same locality but 4.iii.1983, 8.iii.1983, 30.i.1982, 14.vi.1981, 12.i.1982, 7.iii.1982, A. Talhouk & S. Tilkian (KSMA); 1&male;, 1&female;, same locality but on Alfalfa, 15.viii.1980, A.Z. Alahmad (KSMA). Distribution. The species was previously recorded from Saudi Arabia by Faragalla & Badawi (1985); Abu-Zohera et al. (1993) and El-Hawagry et al. (2019). It was described from Egypt and also recorded from the following areas; Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen; Palaearctic Region: Afghanistan, Algeria: Canary Islands, eastward through southern Russia, the Caucasus and southern Siberia to the far east and northern China, Egypt, Madeira, Iberian Peninsula, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and United Kingdom (Peck 1988; Walker & Pittaway 1987; Hayat & Alaoglu 1990a; Palmer, 1996; Dousti & Hayat 2006; Naderloo et al. 2011; Khosravian et al. 2015; Sengupta et al. 2016; Speight 2020; Smit et al. 2017); Oriental Region: India, Pakistan (Ghorpadé 2014). Remarks. Pineda & Marcos-García (2008) collected S. albomaculata from rice fields and wild flowers in southeastern Spain. Ball & Morris (2000) reported that in Greece this species visits flowers such as Cytisus Desf. in dry grassland. Smit et al. (2017: 594) have stated the references to S. albomaculata in Gillett & Howarth (2004: 140), Howarth (2006: 28), Gillett & Gillett (2002: 15) and Walker & Pittaway (1987: 107) are clearly misidentifications of E. luniger and have given reasons for arriving at this conclusion (see also Discussion. Therefore, these records of E. luniger should be regarded as misidentifications of S. albomaculata. Genus Sphaerophoria Rondani There are approximately 55 species of Sphaerophoria worldwide most of these found in the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. Species of Sphaerophoria are predominantly associated with dry land, but it is apparent that some species prefer woodland reeds or marshes. Identification of most species is only possible by reference to male genitalia (van Veen 2004). Sphaerophoria has the scutum bears a strong yellow line unbroken all the way from postpronotal lobe to scutellum. Sphaerophoria lacks the trochanteral spine that is diagnostic for the male of Ischiodon., Published as part of Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 4855 (1) on pages 50-51, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4411181, {"references":["Macquart, J. (1842) Dipteres exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. 4. M e moires de la Societe des Science, de I'Agriculture et des Arts a- Lille, 4, 1841 (1), 65 - 200.","Faragalla, A. A. & Badawi, A. (1985) Arthropod ectosymbionts recovered from subterranean termite nests in Saudi Arabia. Sciobiology, 13, 7 - 12.","El-Hawagry, M. S., Al Dhafer, H. M. & Abdel-Dayem, M. S. (2019) On the fly fauna of the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: new country records from Riyadh region, with a list of associated fly species and zoogeographical remarks (Insecta: Diptera). Journal of Natural History, 53 (1 - 2), 17 - 43. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222933.2019.1568601","Peck, L. V. (1988) Family Syrphidae. In: Soos, A. & Papp, L. (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera. Syrphidae- Conopidae. Vol. 8. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest, pp. 11 - 230.","Walker, D. H. & Pittaway, A. R. (1987) Insects of Eastern Arabia. Textbook. published by Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, 175 pp.","Hayat, R. & Alaoglu, O. (1990 a) Fauna of Syrphidae in the vicinity of Erzurum (Part 1). Syrphinae. Turkiye Entomoloji Dernedi & Dergisi, 14 (3), 173 - 182. [in Turkish]","Palmer, C. (1996) A further record of Scaeva albomaculata in Britain and a note on the K. G. Blair collection of British Diptera. Diptera Digest, 2, 97 - 99.","Dousti, A. F. & Hayat, R. (2006) A catalogue of the Syrphidae (Insecta: Diptera) of Iran. Journal of Entomological Research Society, 8 (3), 5 - 38.","Naderloo, M., Pashaei, S. & Taghaddosi, M. V. (2011) Faunistic study on hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the eastern part of Zanjan province, Iran. Journal of Entomological Research, 4 (4), 313 - 323.","Khosravian, Z., Sadeghi, H. & Ssymank, A. (2015) Hover-flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Kerman Province, Iran. Far Eastern Entomologist, 290, 1 - 12.","Sengupta, J., Naskar, A., Maity, A., Hazra, S., Mukhopadhyay, E., Banerjee, D. & Ghosh, S. (2016) An updated distributional account of Indian Hover flies (insect: Diptera: Syrphidae). Journal of Entomology and Zoology, 4 (6), 381 - 396.","Speight, M. C. D. (2020) Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), 2020. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae (Diptera). Vol. 104. Syrph the Net publications, Dublin, 313 pp.","Smit, J. T., van Harten, A. & Ketelaar, R. (2017) Order Diptera, family Syrphidae the hoverflies of the Arabian Peninsula. In: van Harten, A. (Eds.), Arthropod fauna of the UAE. Vol. 6. Department of the President's Affairs, Abu Dhabi, pp. 572 - 612.","Ghorpade, K. (2014) An updated Check-list of the Hover-flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) recorded in the Indian subcontinent. Colemania, 44, 1 - 30.","Pineda, A. & Marcos-Garcia, M. A. (2008) A seasonal abundance of aphidophagous hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and their population levels in and outside Mediterranean sweet pepper green houses. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 10 (2), 384 - 391. https: // doi. org / 10.1603 / 0013 - 8746 (2008) 101 [384: SAOAHD] 2.0. CO; 2","Ball, S. G. & Morris, R. K. A. (2000) Provisional atlas of British hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae). Biological Record Centre, Monks Wood, 167 pp.","Gillett, M. & Howarth, B. (2004) The insects of Jebel Hafit. In: Aspinall, S. & Hellyer, P. (Eds.), Jebel Hafit-A Natural History. Emirates Natural History Group, Abu Dhabi, pp. 94 - 143.","Howarth, B. (2006) Diptera of the UAE-collated records from the literature with additions of new records, accompanied by some notes on Mydidae and Stratiomyidae new to the UAE. Tribulus, 16 (2), 24 - 29.","Gillett, M. P. T. & Gillett, C. P. D. T. (2002) A winter survey of insects and other terrestrial invertebrates on Marawah Island, Abu Dhabi. Tribulus, 12 (2), 12 - 19.","van Veen, M. P. (2004) Hoverflies of Northwest Europe. KNNV Publishing, Utrecht, 254 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.1163 / 9789004274495"]}