A new species of Opistophthalmus from Namibia

 

 

Eric Ythier recently published a new article describing a new species in the African genus Opistophthalmus C. L. Koch, 1837 (Scorpionidae) from Namibia.

Opistophthalmus tumas Ythier, 2023

Abstract:
A new species of Opistophthalmus C. L. Koch, 1837 is described on the basis of one adult male and one adult female collected in the inselberg of Tumasberg, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Erongo region, Namibia. Opistophthalmus tumas sp. n. shows similarities with O. holmi (Lawrence, 1969) and O. jenseni (Lamoral, 1972) but can be easily distinguished from both species by several morphological features. The new taxon described here raises the number of known species for the genus Opistophthalmus in Namibia to 30, and the total number of currently recognized species for the genus to 60.

Reference:
Ythier E. A new species of Opistophthalmus C. L. Koch, 1837 from Namibia (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae). Faunitaxys. 2023;11(23):1-6. [Open Access]

Thanks to Eric for sending me this article!

Family Scorpionidae

A new species of Scorpiops from China

 

He-Yu Lv and Co-workers have recently described a new species of Scorpiops Peters, 1861 (Scorpiopidae) from Chongqing in China.

Scorpiops zhui Lv, Lourenco & Di, 2023

Abstract:
A new species of Scorpiops Peters, 1861 is described from Wuxi and Wushan County, Chongqing City, China. The new species is mainly characterized by a moderate size, in relation to the other species of genus, with dark reddish-brown to reddish-black coloration; 15–17 (usually 17) external trichobothria (5 eb, 1–2 esb, 1–2 em, 4 est, 4 et), 8–11 (usually 10) ventral trichobothria in the pedipalp patella and 4–5 (usually 5) ventral trichobothria on chela; pedipalp chela fingers are scalloped in males and nearly straight in females. With the present description the number of known species of Scorpiops recorded from China is raised to 33.

Reference:
Lv H-Y, lourenco WR, Di Z-Y. Scorpiops zhui sp. n., a new species of Scorpiops Peters, 1861 from Chongqing, China (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae). Zootaxa. 2023;5257(1):040-8. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Gerard Dupre for sending me this article!

Family Scorpiopidae

A second species described in the genus Buthiscus

 

Eric Ythier and Wilson Lourenco have recently described a second species in the genus Buthiscus Birula, 1905 (Buthidae). The new specimen is based on a finding in old museum materials from Mali.

Buthiscus ifoghas Ythier & Lourenco, 2023

Abstract:
A new species of scorpion belonging to the genus Buthiscus Birula, 1905 (Buthidae) is described from the Southwestern part of the Adrar des Ifoghas, in the region of Kidal, Mali. The new species, Buthiscus ifoghas n. sp. is the second element belonging to the genus Buthiscus and seems to inhabit mountainous environments, contrarily to the other species of the genus, Buthiscus bicalcaratus Birula, 1905 which is a typical species of low altitude desert areas.

Reference:
Ythier E, Lourenco WR. A new species of Buthiscus Birula, 1905 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from the Adrar des Ifoghas, Mali. Faunitaxys. 2023;11(22):1-7. [Open Access]

Thanks to Eric Ythier and Gerard Dupre for sending me this article!

Family Buthidae

A new cryptic species in the genus Brachistosternus from the Argentinean central Andes

 

Andres Ojanguren-Affilastro and co-workers have discovered a new species in the genus  Brachistosternus Pocock, 1893 (Bothriuridae) from the Argentinean central Andes. 

 Brachistosternus diaguita Ojanguren-Affilastro, 2023

The new, high-altitude species is a cryptic species that is very difficult to separate from other related species in the area. A phylogenetic analysis supports the status of the new genus.

Abstract:
In this contribution we describe Brachistosternus diaguita n. sp. from the Argentinean central Andes, which is closely related to Brachistosternus montanus Roig-Alsina 1977, also from the same region. To corroborate reciprocal monophyly of the species, Bayesian inference was carried out on a selection of taxa, for which three mitochondrial (16S rDNA, 12SrDNA and COI) and two nuclear (28S rDNA and 18S rDNA) gene fragments had previously been sequenced for previous contributions on this genus by our group. Finally, we explored the potential distribution of Argentinean high Andean species of this genus using Maxent.

Reference:
Ojanguren-Affilastro AA, Ceccarelli FS, Mattoni CI, Salas L, Iuri H, Ochoa JA, et al. On the southernmost high Andean scorpion species, with the identification of a cryptic new species of Brachistosternus (Bothriuridae) through morphology, molecular data and species distribution models. Zoologischer Anzeiger. 2023;302:248–59. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Andres for sending me their new article!

Family Bothriuridae

A new species of Diplocentrus from Mexico

 

Hector Hugo Villa-Corella and co-workers have recently published a new species of Diplocentrus Peters, 1861 (Diplocentridae) from the state of Sonora in Mexico.

Diplocentrus leptomanus Villa-Corella, Silva-Kurumiya, Barrales-Alcala, Van Devender & Francke, 2023

Abstract:
A new species of scorpion, Diplocentrus leptomanus sp. nov., is described from northeastern Sonora, Mexico. This contribution increases the number of species in the genus Diplocentrus present in the state to five, two of which are endemic to the state. Morphological comparisons are provided with other species in the region, Diplocentrus williamsi Sissom & Wheeler, 1995, Diplocentrus peloncillensis Francke, 1975, and Diplocentrus spitzeri Stahnke, 1970.

Reference:
Villa-Corella HH, Silva-Kurumiya H, Barrales-Alcalá D, Van Devender TR, Francke OF. Una especie nueva de Diplocentrus Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae) del estado de Sonora, México. Acta Zoologica Mexicana Nueva Serie. 2023;39:1-14. [Open Access]

Thanks to Gerard Dupre for sending me this article!

Family Diplocentridae

The first chromosome study of genera in the family Iuridae

 

Cytogenetic analysis can be important in understanding scorpion taxonomy and evolution. So far, most studies have been on taxa in the family Buthidae. Ersen Yagmur and co-workers have now published a study on the chromosomes in the iurid genera Calchas Birula, 1899 and Neocalchas Yağmur, Soleglad, Fet & Kovařík, 2013. This is the first chromosome study of taxa in the family Iuridae.

Abstract:
The chromosomes of two species belonging to the scorpion family Iuridae are studied for the first time. Both analysed species displayed achiasmatic meiosis and no morphologically differentiated sex chromosomes; these features are typical for all scorpions. Both species possessed monocentric chromosomes, a characteristic specific to the entire parvorder Iurida. The karyotype of Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899 is composed of 82 chromosomes, and the diploid number of chromosomes in Neocalchas gruberi is 40. Despite this conspicuous difference in 2n chromosome morphology is mainly acrocentric. Both species possess two pairs of the 18S rDNA clusters identified by FISH. A higher number of rDNA loci may represent an ancestral state for the parvorder Iurida.

Reference:
Aydın Yağmur E, Koç H, Yeşílyurt F, Šťáhlavský F. The first chromosome study of the genera Calchas Birula, 1899 and Neocalchas Yağmur, Soleglad, Fet & Kovařík, 2013 (Scorpiones: Iuridae). Zoology in the Middle East. 2023:1-7. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Ersen for sending me this article!

Family Iuridae

A new species of Androctonus from Saudi Arabia

 

Abdulaziz Alqahtani and co-workers have recently described a new species of Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Buthidae) from the Mecca Province in Saudi Arabia.

Androctonus tihamicus Alqahtani, Yagmur & Badry 2023

Abstract:
We describe and illustrate a new scorpion species, Androctonus tihamicus sp. nov., from the Mecca Province of southwestern Saudi Arabia. The new species is compared to the genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828, which is distributed throughout the Middle East, and especially to A. australis (Linnaeus, 1758). We provide the molecular phylogeny for this species.

Reference:
Alqahtani AR, Yagmur EA, Badry A. Androctonus tihamicus sp. nov. from the Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia (Scorpiones, Buthidae). ZooKeys. 2023(1152):9-34. [Open Access]

Thanks to Matt Simon and Gerard Dupre for sending me this article!

Family Buthidae

A new species of Bothriurus from Brazil

 

Wilson Lourenco has recently published a new species of Bothriurus Peters, 1861 from the State of Pará in Brazil.

Bothriurus andorinhas Lourenco, 2023

Abstract:
A new species Bothriurus andorinhas n. sp. is described from an area of transition between savanna-like formations and wet-forests in the south of the state of Pará in Brazil. The new species can be associated with other species of what can be defined as the Bothriurus rochai complex. The description of this new species attests once again about the existence of micro-endemic populations within different groups of Bothriurus. Comments are proposed on some ecological particularities of the micro-habitat of the new taxon and about the region where the new species was discovered in the state of Pará.

Reference:
Lourenco WR. A new species of Bothriurus Peters (Scorpiones: Bothriuridae) from ‘Parque Estadual da Serra dos Martírios/Andorinhas’ in the State of Pará, Brazil. Faunitaxys. 2023;11(4):1-7. [Open Access]

Thanks to Nicolas Machiavel for sending me this article!

Family Bothriruidae

A new species of Mesobuthus from Southeastern Iran

 

Hossein Barahoei has recently published an article on the fauna of Sistan scorpions (Southeastern Iran). Among the scorpions found, a new species was identified and described in the genus Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950 (Buthidae). 

This article is written in Persian, but has an English summary in addition to a normal abstract.

Mesobuthus rakhshanii Barahoei, 2023

I have been informed that this species was published in 2023 even though the article is dated 2022.

Abstract:
Scorpions are nocturnal animals that feed on invertebrates and other arachnids. So far, 10 species of scorpions from the family Buthidae have been reported from the Sistan region. Sampling was done using UV ultralight at night and direct search or digging during the day, from different areas in the Sistan region in 2021 and 2022. Examination of 117 collected scorpion specimens led to the identification of seven species belonging to six genera of the family Buthidae including Androctonus cf. crassicauda (Olivier, 1807), A. sistanus Barahoei & Mirshamsi, 2022, Kraepelinia palpator (Birula, 1903), Mesobuthus rakhshanii sp. nov., Odontobuthus tirgari Mirshamsi et al., 2013, Orthochirus persa (Birula, 1900), and Sassanidothus gracilis (Birula, 1900). Mesobuthus rakhshanii sp. nov. was described as a new species for the world fauna. This species has a dominant population in the region, which was collected from all stations. All specimens were fixed in 80% alcohol and kept in the author's personal collection. Androctonus species are dangerous scorpions that are distributed in the Sistan region. Identifying dangerous species is important and practical for health management. This is possible by identifying the fauna of scorpions in the region and determining the range of distribution of each species.

Reference:
Barahoei H. Fauna of Sistan Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones), Southeast Iran. Taxonomy and Biosystematics. 2022;14(3):27-70. [Open Access]

Thanks to Alireza Zamani for informing me about this article!

Family Buthidae