A biochemical and proteomic study of Amazonian scorpion venoms

 

Studying the venom composition of scorpions is important. It is important to know the venom composition in medical important species to understand their pathological effect and better be able to develop antivenom or treatment. In addition, scorpion venom is a treasure chest filled with different peptides and toxins that can be used to develop medicines. 

Karla Bordon and co-workers recently published a study presenting a comprehensive biochemical characterization of venom from three Amazonian species, Tityus metuendus Pocock, 1897, T. silvestris Pocock, 1897 (both Buthidae) and Brotheas amazonicus  Lourenço, 1988 (Chactidae).

According to the article, "the results suggest a correlation between ecological divergence and venom composition, with implications for both toxicity and antivenom development".

Abstract:
Scorpionism is a growing public health concern in Brazil, with the Amazon region presenting the highest mortality rates but remaining understudied, especially regarding local scorpion venoms composition. This study presents the first comprehensive biochemical characterization of venoms from three Amazonian species—Tityus metuendus (TmetuV), Tityus silvestris (TsilvV), and Brotheas amazonicus (BamazV)—using an integrated approach combining Multi-Enzymatic Limited Digestion (MELD)-based bottom-up proteomics, highresolution LC-MS/MS, chromatography, zymography, and enzymatic assays. Tityus serrulatus venom was included as a reference. Significant biochemical differences were observed: TsilvV was rich in 20–30 kDa proteins and showed strong metalloprotease activity; BamazV exhibited high molecular weight proteins and potent phospholipase A2 (PLA2)
activity but lacked proteolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities; TmetuV showed the highest hyaluronidase activity and abundance of α-KTx neurotoxins. Zymography revealed a conserved ~45 kDa hyaluronidase in all species. Three novel components were partially characterized: BamazPLA2 (Group III PLA2), Tmetu1 (37-residue α-KTx), and TsilvMP_A (a metalloprotease homologous to antarease). This is the first application of MELD-based proteomics to Amazonian scorpion venoms, revealing molecular diversity and functional divergence within Tityus and Brotheas, emphasizing the need for region-specific antivenoms. These findings provide a foundation for future pharmacological studies and the discovery of bioactive peptides with therapeutic potential.

Reference:
Bordon KC, Santos GC, Martins JG, Wiezel GA, Amorim FG, Crasset T, et al. Pioneering Comparative Proteomic and Enzymatic Profiling of Amazonian Scorpion Venoms Enables the Isolation of Their First α-Ktx, Metalloprotease, and Phospholipase A2. Toxins. 2025;17(8):411. [Open Access]

Thanks to Jonas Martins for sending me their article!

An updated checklist of the Chaerilus species from Vietnam and a description of the female of Chaerilus honba

 

Wilson Lourenco and co-workers recently published some updated data om the Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Chaerilidae) in Vietnam. The female of Chaerilus honba Lourenço, 2019 is also described. 

Abstract:
Chaerilus honba Lourenço, 2019 is recorded for the first time from Nui Chua National Park, Vietnam. The single specimen found within the dry forest represents at the same time the first female known, which is described in detail. Furthermore, an updated checklist of the Chaerilus species from Vietnam is provided and biogeographical relations between southern Vietnamese coastal forests are discussed.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Nguyen TQ, Luu TH, Bressel J, Ziegler T. New insights on the genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877 from Vietnam and description of the female of Chaerilus honba Lourenço, 2019 based on a new record from Nui Chua National Park (Scorpiones: Chaerilidae). Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2025(46):76–80. [No full text found]

Thanks to Professor Thomas Ziegler for sending me their article!

Family Chaerilidae

A systematic revision of the European Buthus species with 10 synonymizations

 

As readers of this blog will know, there have been major increase of Buthus Leach, 1815 (Buthidae) species in Europe in the last two decades. Initially, the only species known from the Iberian Peninsula was Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789). But this species complex was split into several new species, and in 2025 the number had reached almost 20.

Recently, Javier Blasco-Aróstegui and co-workers published a major systematic revision based on samples collected across the known distribution, rigorous phylogenetic analyses combining morphology, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, morphometric analyses, and ecological data. Their analysis has concluded with the synonymization of 10 species from the Iberian Peninsula. 

Buthus gonzalezdelavegai González-Moliné and Armas, 2024 is synonymzed with Buthus delafuentei Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

Buthus (Androctonus) ajax C.L. Koch, 1839 is synonymized with Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839).

Buthus gabani Ythier, 2021 is synonymized with Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839).

Buthus castellano Teruel and Turiel, 2022 is synonymized with Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839).

Buthus baeticus Teruel and Turiel, 2020 is synonymized with Buthus ibericus Lourenço and Vachon, 2004.

Buthus alacanti Teruel and Turiel, 2020 is synonymized with Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

Buthus serrano Teruel and Turiel, 2020 is synonymized with Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

Buthus pedrosousai Teruel and Turiel, 2021 is synonymized with Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

 Buthus pyrenaeus Ythier, 2021 is synonymized with Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789).

Buthus balmensis Ythier and Laborieux, 2022 is synonymized with Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789).

The remaining nine valid species from the Iberian Peninsula are redescribed and data on distribution and habitats are given. A identification guide for the nine species is also available.

Abstract:
The Palearctic buthid scorpion genus Buthus Leach, 1815, distributed from southwestern Europe (southern France and the Iberian Peninsula) across Africa north of the Sahara, to the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, has undergone extensive taxonomic revision in the past two decades. Despite these efforts, its taxonomic composition remains confused, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Iberian Peninsula, where 20 putative species were recognized in the past two decades. Molecular phylogenetic studies of Buthus in northwestern Africa and southwestern Europe, based on a few, mostly mitochondrial gene loci, recovered a monophyletic origin for the European clade of Buthus and suggested the existence of several distinct lineages on the Iberian Peninsula. However, relationships with the species of Buthus from the North African Maghreb remained ambiguous. Morphological descriptions of new or revalidated species of Buthus, based in part on the molecular phylogenies but lacking robust diagnoses, and making little attempt to consider geographical variation, compounded the confusion. The present contribution provides a comprehensive, integrative revision of the European species of Buthus based on samples, including topotypes, collected across the known distribution, rigorous phylogenetic analyses combining morphology, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, morphometric analyses, and ecological data. Nine valid species of Buthus are recognized across France, Portugal, and Spain, and 10 new synonyms presented: Buthus delafuentei Teruel and Turiel, 2020 = Buthus gonzalezdelavegai González-Moliné and Armas, 2024, syn. n.; Buthus elongatus Rossi, 2021; Buthus garcialorcai Teruel and Turiel, 2020; Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839) = Androctonus ajax C.L. Koch, 1839, syn. n. = Buthus gabani Ythier, 2021, syn. n. = Buthus castellano Teruel and Turiel, 2022, syn, n.; Buthus iaspis Teruel and Turiel, 2022; Buthus ibericus Lourenço and Vachon, 2004 = Buthus baeticus Teruel and Turiel, 2020, syn. n.; Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020 = Buthus alacanti Teruel and Turiel, 2020, syn. n. = Buthus serrano Teruel and Turiel, 2020, syn. n. = Buthus pedrosousai Teruel and Turiel, 2021, syn. n.; Buthus montanus Lourenço and Vachon, 2004; Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789) = Buthus pyrenaeus Ythier, 2021, syn. n. = Buthus balmensis Ythier and Laborieux, 2022, syn. n. Revised, comparative diagnoses and illustrations are provided for each species, together with a distribution map and key to their identification.

Reference:
Blasco-Aróstegui J, Simone Y, Prendini L. Systematic revision of the European species of Buthus Leach, 1815 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Bulletin of The American Museum of Natural History. 2025(476):1–131. [Open Access]

Thanks to Yuri for sending me their article!

Family Buthidae

A new species in the rare genus Lanzatus from Ethiopia

 

Frantisek Kovarik and Graeme Lowe published recently a description of a new species in the rare genus Lanzatus Kovarik, 2001 (Buthidae) from Ethiopia. 

Lanzatus fuscipalpis Kovarik & Lowe, 2025

Abstract:
The rare Horn of Africa buthid genus Lanzatus Kovařík, 2001, known only from Somalia and Somaliland, is recorded for the first time from Ethiopia. We describe a new species Lanzatus fuscipalpis sp. n. fully illustrated with color photographs showing its morphology, habitus, hemispermatophore, and collection sites.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G. Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part XLIII. Lanzatus fuscipalpis sp. n. from Ethiopia (Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2025(421):1–13. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

Three new species of Androctonus from Morocco

 

Frantisek Kovarik and co-workers have investigated new materials from the occidental regions and recently they published the discovery of three new species of Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Buthidae) from Morocco.

Androctonus argoubi Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky 2025

Androctonus stockmanni Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky 2025

Androctonus vaneki Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky 2025

The article has an identification key for the three new species and the morphological similar A. sergenti Vachon, 1948.

Abstract:
New data are presented on the taxonomy and distribution of the dark species of the genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 in Morocco and Western Sahara. Three new species, A. argoubi sp. n., A. stockmanni sp. n., and A. vaneki sp. n. from Morocco are described, characterized by having metasoma I–IV ventrally punctate, a character that is well developed in A. stockmanni sp. n., and A. vaneki sp. n., and weakly developed in A. argoubi sp. n. Dark species from Morocco are compared with A. sergenti Vachon, 1948, and A. bourdoni Vachon, 1948. We describe and compare their external morphology, illustrating their characters comprehensively in color photographs. The hemispermatophores of two species are described and illustrated, and a map showing the distributions of the studied species is provided. Furthermore, for all three newly described species, we provided their karyograms, which are very similar (2n = 24) and demonstrate the karyotypic uniformity of the entire genus Androctonus.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G, Stahlavsky F. Three new species of Androctonus from Morocco (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2025(420):1–29. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

New cases of anatomical malformations in scorpions

  

There have been quite a few articles documenting anatomical malformations in scorpions (teratology). In a recent article, Danniella Sherwood and co-workers document three more cases of anatomical malformations in a Lychas C.L. Koch, 1845 species from Australia and Parabuthus raudus (Simon, 1888) from Botswana (both Buthidae).

Abstract:
Three cases of tergite malformation are described: two in Parabuthus raudus (Simon, 1888) from Botswana and one in Lychas sp. from Australia. One adult female P. raudus had tergite IV almost split into two parts, an anomaly that also affected tergites II–III. In another female P. raudus, a longitudinal depression presented across tergites I–IV. In Lychas sp., tergites I–II are strongly constricted transversely, exposing the adjacent pleural membrane dorsally.

Reference:
Sherwood D, Jessnitz V, Tang V. Three more cases of tergite malformation in two buthid scorpion species revealed from citizen science data (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2025(46):135–7. [Full text available by authors]

Thanks to Danniella for sending me their article!

A new species of Parabuthus from Ethiopia

 

Frantisek Kovarik and Hassan Elmi published this week a new species in my favorite genus Parabuthus Pocock, 1890 (Buthidae) from Ethiopia.

Parabuthus qaraaf Kovarik & Elmi, 2025

A map showing the distribution of the 19 known Parabuthus species from The Horn of Africa is also presented.

Abstract:
A new species Parabuthus qaraaf sp. n. from Ethiopia is described. Combination of six characters: metasoma V black; pectine teeth number 33–42 in both sexes; pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 3.3 in male and 4.2 in female; pedipalp patella length/ wide ratio 2.36–2.38 in both sexes; fingers of pedipalp of male with inner side of base smooth, no trace of tubercle; metasoma V length/ wide ratio is 1.50 in male distinguish P. qaraaf sp. n. from all other species in the region. Included is also a map of distribution of Parabuthus species in Horn of Africa, with newly confirmed localities for Parabuthus granimanus Pocock, 1895 and P. robustus Kovařík et al., 2019.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Elmi HSA. Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part XLII. Parabuthus qaraaf sp. n. from Ethiopia (Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2025(419):1–11. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae