More knowledge about the scorpion fauna of Madagascar

Madagascar is a hotspot when it comes to scorpion biodiversity and professor Wilson Lourenco is the leading expert on the blooming scorpion fauna of this island. In a recent paper, professor Lourenco and Steven Goodman have summed up the knowledge about the scorpion fauna of the Loky-Manambato (Daraina) region of Madagascar.

Abstract:
An overview is presented of the scorpion fauna of the Loky-Manambato (Daraina) region of northeastern Madagascar. Different scorpion taxa have been recently described from this area, belonging to four families, five genera and five species (with four microendemics). The preliminary results make the Loky-Manambato region one of the areas of the island with the highest level of diversity and endemism. Information is presented on the characters used to differentiate these species, including an identification key, and aspects of their ecology. Even given the remarkable level of habitat heterogeneity across the Loky-Manambato region, for the majority of locally occurring taxa there does not seem to be a close correlation between different aspects of soil composition and organic material relative to their distribution.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Goodman SM. A synopsis of the scorpion fauna of the Loky-Manambato (Daraina) region in Madagascar. Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2013 (22):47-58.

Thanks to professor Lourenco for sending me his paper!