Data Zone
Country/territory: Iraq
IBA criteria met: A1, A2 (2014)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,845 hectares (18.45 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2014 | not assessed | very high | very low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2014 baseline)
This area is dominated by the Lesser Zab River, which has banks made of clay and silt and fluctuating speed and flow rates due to the opening and closing of the Dukan Dam upstream. The main part of the town of Taq Taq lies on the northern bank and the river on both sides is used for agriculture and grazing. There is also oil development in the area
Key biodiversity
During the surveys, a total of 40 species were recorded. The site also held breeding populations of three Irano-Turanian, one Mediterranean, and three Sahara-Sindian Desert biome-restricted species but this did not trigger inclusion under criterion A3. Eastern Cinereous Bunting Emberiza semenowi (Near Threatened) and Iraq Babbler Turdoides altirostris (Near Endemic) were breeding at the site.
Other Important Fauna: Mammal data were collected in 2007. Observations were made of Golden Jackal Canis aureus and tracks and signs of Wild Boar were seen in the riparian area (one dead female boar shot by locals as a pest species was found on an island in the river during the summer of 2007). One otter pelt was examined from a local hunter in the Taq Taq area and samples were sent to experts from King Khaled Wildlife Research Centre for DNA tests. The speciemen was identified as Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata, a Vulnerable species, and the Taq Taq specimen indicates a range extension northward of more than 500 km for this species (Omer et al. 2012).
Fish: Data were collected in 2007 and 2008, during which 10 species were identified. According to Coad (2010) significant species were: Alburnus mossulensis, Cyprinus carpio, Cyprinion macrostomum, Leuciscus vorax, Luciobarbus esocinus, L. xanthopterus, Silurus triostegus, and Tor grypus. Additional, according to Coad, the conservation status of the following observed species in Iraq is unknown: Alburnus caeruleus and Mastacembelus mastacembelus.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Taq Taq (Iraq). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/taq-taq-iba-iraq on 23/12/2024.