Showing posts with label Vachoniolus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vachoniolus. Show all posts

15 September, 2023

First record of Vachoniolus globimanus from Jordan

 


The knowledge of the scorpion fauna of Jordan has increased in the last decade thanks to more field work and research, but this job is far from finished. In a recent paper, Bassam Abu Afifeh and co-workers have been able to confirm the presence of Vachoniolus globimanus Levy, Amitai & Shulov, 1973 (Buthidae) in Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.

Abstract:
Four species of the genus Vachoniolus have been described from Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The scorpion Vachoniolus globimanus Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973 is recorded from Jordan for the first time. Specimens of this species have been collected from Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. Morphological analysis, morphometric values, and taxonomic features were used to identify the collected specimens. This record extends the known distribution range of the genus Vachoniolus from central, western and southern Arabian Peninsula and Iran to the northwest in southern Jordan. The aim of the present study is to identify and describe the newly collected scorpion species from Wadi Rum desert in Jordan with additional ecological notes on their habitat.

Reference:
Afifeh BA, Al-Saraireh M, Amr ZS. First Record of the Scorpion Vachoniolus globimanus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Jordan. Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences. 2023;16(3):525-30. [Open Access]

Thanks to Luis Roque for informing me about this article!

30 August, 2010

Two new species of Vachoniolus from Oman

Graeme Lowe has published a study of the Vachoniolus Levy et al., 1973 (Buthidae) from Oman and two new species are described:

Vachoniolus batinahensis Lowe, 2010
Vachoniolus gallagheri Lowe, 2010

Vachoniolus globimanus Levy et al., 1973 is also confirmed from Oman.

All Vachoniolus are psammophiles or ultra-psammofiles (species living on fine sand/sand dunes).

The paper has an identification key for the genus.

Abstract:
Study of new material collected in Oman by ultraviolet detection revealed three species of Vachoniolus, an unusual genus of psammophilous buthid scorpion distinguished by grossly swollen male pedipalp chelae. The presence of the type species, V. globimanus Levy, Amitai et Shulov, 1973, in Oman is confirmed, and two new species are described: V. batinahensis sp. nov. from the Al Batinah coastal plain north of the Al Hajar mountains, and V. gallagheri sp. nov. from desert alluvial fans south and west of the Al Hajar mountains. The number of Vachoniolus species is thereby raised to four, including V. iranus Navidpour et al., 2008, from northwestern Iran. Of these four, V. batinahensis appears the most plesiomorphic, with 7 external patellar trichobothria, femoral trichobothrium d5 either proximal or distal to e2, and complete retention of tibial spurs. It could be a relict descendent of an ancestral Vachoniolus population that evolved in the Tigris-Euphrates river drainage at a time when the Arabian Gulf was dry. A novel tarsal structure, the ‘spine comb’, is described in juvenile Vachoniolus, Apistobuthus and Odontobuthus. Possible mechanisms of sexual selection in the evolution of the enlarged male pedipalp chelae of Vachoniolus are discussed.

Reference:
Lowe G. The genus Vachoniolus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Oman. Euscorpius. 2010(100):1-37. [Free fultext]

Family Buthidae

26 February, 2008

Two new species in Hottentotta and Vachoniolus from Iran and synonymization of Paraorthochirus with Orthochirus

Two new species have been described from Iran:

Hottentotta khoozestanus Navidpour, Kovarik, Soleglad & Fet, 2008
Vachoniolus iranus
Navidpour, Kovarik, Soleglad & Fet, 2008

After analyzing specimens of Orthochirus iranus, Navidpour et al (2008) conclude that the presence or absence trichobothrium d2 on the femur pedipalp is not a generic and perhaps not even a specific character. Since the presence or absence of d2 on the femur of the pedipalp is the only character separating Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 from Paraorthochirus Lourenco & Vachon, 1995, the authors conclude that these two genera are synonyms. This means that the following species from Paraorthochirus now belongs to Orthochirus:

O. blandini (Lourenço & Vachon, 1997)
O. glabrifrons (Kraepelin, 1903)
O. goyffoni (Lourenço & Vachon, 1995)
O. kaspareki (Lourenço & Huber, 2000)
O. kinzelbachi (Lourenço & Huber, 2000)
O. stockwelli (Lourenço & Vachon, 1995)

Reference:
Navidpour S, Kovarik F, Soleglad ME, Fet V. Scorpion of Iran (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part I. Khoozestan Province. Euscorpius. 2008(65):1-41. [Fulltext freely available, but large file (12 mb)]

Family Buthidae