Three new species of Scorpiops from Pakistan

Frantisek Kovarik & Zubair Ahmed have recently described three new species in the genus Scorpiops (Euscorpiidae) from Pakistan:

Scorpiops pakistanus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2009
Scorpiops pseudomontanus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2009
Scorpiops zubairahmedi Kovarik, 2009

The paper also has a short discussion on the taxonomical decisions made in the genus Scorpiops in the last decade. The authors concludes that some of the synonymizations and new species creations done may not be justified, but more research into species-level characters is necessary before any conclusions can be made. The paper present an identification key, but in this key species with unclear status appear only as "Scorpiops hardwickii complex" (see paper for a list of taxa).

Abstract:
Three new species of the genus Scorpiops with 17 external trichobothria on the patella and total length of 50–72 mm are described from northern Pakistan and compared with other species of the genus. A key to the species of the genus is provided. In S. pakistanus sp. n. ventral trichobothria on the patella number 9–10, chela manus is wide and short, and pectinal teeth number 6–8. In S. pseudomontanus sp. n. ventral trichobothria on the patella number 14–18, chela manus is narrow and long, and pectinal teeth number 6–9. In S. zubairahmedi sp. n. ventral trichobothria on the patella number 7, chela manus is very narrow and long, and pectinal teeth number 6.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Ahmed Z. Three new species of Scorpiops Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae: Scorpiopinae) from Pakistan. Euscorpius. 2009(88):1-11. [Free fulltext]

Family Euscorpiidae