A revision of the genus Grosphus and the creation of a new genus Teruelius

Madagascar has always been a hotspot for biodiversity and has many endemic taxa, also among scorpions. The genus with the largest number of endemic species is Grosphus Simon, 1880 (Buthidae). Many new species have been described in this genus in the last year, but no modern revision has been done.

Graeme Lowe and Frantisek Kovarik have now published a revision of the genus Grosphus on Madagascar. The most notable conclusion of this work is that they split the genus into two and establish the new genus Teruelius Lowe & Kovarik, 2019. Here is the content of the two genera after the split:

Grosphus Simon, 1880 (10)
G. ambre Lourenço, Wilmé & Waeber, 2018
G. darainensis Lourenço, Goodman & Ramilijaona, 2004
G. goudoti Lourenço & Goodman, 2006
G. hirtus Kraepelin, 1900
G. madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843)
G. mayottensis Lourenço & Goodman, 2009
G. polskyi Lourenço, Qi & Goodman, 2007
G. rakotoariveloi Lourenço, Wilme, Soarimalala & Waeber, 2017
G. tavaratra Lourenço, Soarimalala & Goodman, 2009
G. voahangyae Lourenço & Wilme 2015

Teruelius Lowe & Kovarík, 2019 (18)
T. ankarafantsika (Lourenço, 2003)
T. ankarana (Lourenço & Goodman, 2003)
T. annulatus (Fage, 1929)
T. bemaraha (Lourenço, Wilmé & Waeber, 2018)
T. bicolor (Lourenço, 2012)
T. bistriatus (Kraepelin, 1900)
T. eliseanneae (Lourenço & Wilme, 2016)
T. feti (Lourenço, 1996)
T. flavopiceus (Kraepelin, 1900)
T. ganzhorni (Lourenço, Wilme & Waeber, 2016)
T. grandidieri (Kraepelin, 1900)
T. intertidalis (Lourenço, 1999)
T. limbatus (Pocock, 1889)
T. magalieae (Lourenço, 2014)
T. mahafaliensis (Lourenço, Goodman & Ramilijaona, 2004)
T. olgae (Lourenço, 2004)
T. sabineae (Lourenço & Wilme, 2016)
T. waeberi (Lourenço & Wilme, 2016)

The following species have been synonymized:

Grosphus simoni Lourenço, Goodman & Ramilijaona, 2004 is synonymized with Grosphus madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843).

Grosphus halleuxi Lourenço, Wilmé, Soarimalala & Waeber, 2017 is synonymized with Grosphus madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843).

Grosphus mandena Lourenço, 2005 is synonymized with  Grosphus madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843).

Grosphus makay Lourenço & Wilmé, 2015 is synonymized with Teruelius feti (Lourenço, 1996).

Grosphus rossii Lourenço, 2013 is synonymized with Teruelius mahafaliensis (Lourenço, Goodman & Ramilijaona, 2004).

See article for further details and descriptions.

Abstract:
We review the taxonomy of the Madagascar endemic buthid genus Grosphus Simon, 1880. We split the genus and describe Teruelius gen. n. on the basis of nine morphological characters, six of them new for Grosphus: positions of trichobothria d2 on pedipalp femur and Eb3 on chela manus, number of pectine teeth, shape of female basal pectinal tooth, form of hemispermatophore capsule posterior lobe, spiracle shape, metasoma I ventromedian carination, telotarsal setation and UV fluorescence. We discuss functional and taxonomic aspects of these characters, and propose that Teruelius gen. n. is monophyletic, while Grosphus (sensu stricto) is paraphyletic. Some characters of Teruelius gen. n. suggest adaptations to xeric environments, some of Grosphus to humid environments. Neogrosphus Lourenço, 1995 shares characters with both Grosphus and Teruelius gen. n.Scenarios for origins of these genera by vicariance or dispersal are discussed. New synonymies proposed are: Grosphus simoni Lourenço, Goodman & Ramilijaona, 2004 = Grosphus madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843), syn. n.; Grosphus halleuxi Lourenço, Wilmé, Soarimalala & Waeber, 2017 = Grosphus madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843), syn. n.; Grosphus mandena Lourenço, 2005 = Grosphus madagascariensis (Gervais, 1843), syn. n.; Grosphus hirtus garciai Lourenço, 2001 = Grosphus hirtus Kraepelin, 1900, syn. n.; Grosphus makay Lourenço & Wilmé, 2015 = Teruelius feti (Lourenço, 1996) comb. n., syn.n.; Grosphus rossii Lourenço, 2013 = Teruelius mahafaliensis (Lourenço, Goodman & Ramilijaona, 2004) comb. n., syn. n.

Reference:
Lowe G, Kovarik F. Review of Grosphus Simon, 1880, with description of Teruelius gen. n., a new buthid genus from Madagascar (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2019(281):1-128. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae