Description of the male Wernerius mumai

 

Some species are rare and found in few numbers and sometimes a species is described on the basis of just  one of the sexes. This was the case for Wernerius mumai (Sissom, 1993) (Vaejovidae). Richard Ayrey and Brandon Meyers have now found males of this species and has described this sex in a recent paper.

Abstract:
A male of Wernerius mumai (Sissom, 1993) is described for the first time, collected at the type locality (Gold Road, Black Mountains, Mohave County, Arizona). Originally placed in the genus Vaejovis, this species later was transferred by Soleglad & Fet (2008) to the genus Wernerius. It is one of the smallest vaejovid species known. The pedipalp fixed finger usually has 6 ID denticles and the movable finger has 7. The most unique characteristic of this species is the long, pointed, subaculear tubercle.

Reference:
Ayrey RF, Myers BT. Description of the male of Wernerius mumai (Sissom, 1993) from western Arizona, with data on reproduction (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae). Euscorpius. 2020(317):1-17. [Open Access]

Family Vaejovidae

A new species discovered in California, USA

Most of you probably already know, as there have been an unusual amount of news buzz on the Internet, about the discovery of an ultra-rare species in the elusive genus Werneri Soleglad & fet, 2008 (Vaejovidae) in the Inyo Mountains in California by Webber, Graham & Jaeger.

Werneri inyoensis Webber, Graham & Jaeger, 2012

Interestingly, the authors have a new theory on why the members on this genus is so rare. This may be because they are mainly subterranean in their habitats and not because they exist in low densities.

Abstract:
A new scorpion species is described from the Inyo Mountains of California (USA). The presence of a strong subaculear spine, along with other characters, places the new species within Wernerius, an incredibly rare genus that until now consisted of only two species. Wernerius inyoensis sp. n. can be most easily distinguished from the other members of the genus by smaller adult size, femur and pedipalp dimensions, and differences in hemispermatophore morphology. Previous studies have suggested that the elusive nature of this genus may be attributed to low densities and sporadic surface activity. Herein, we provide another hypothesis, that Wernerius are primarily subterranean. Mitochondrial sequence data are provided for the holotype.

Reference:
Webber M, Graham M, Jaeger J. Wernerius inyoensis, an elusive new scorpion from the Inyo Mountains of California (Scorpiones, Vaejovidae). ZooKeys. 2012;177:1-13. [Free full text]

Thanks to Gerard Dupre for sending me this paper!

Family Vaejovidae

Taxonomical changes in Vaejovidae

Soleglad & Fet has recently published several changes in the family Vaejovidae:

Hoffmannius Soleglad & Fet, 2008 is a new genus that accomodates 17 species previously placed in Vaejovis.

Kochius Soleglad & Fet, 2008 is a new genus that accomodates 10 species previously placed in Vaejovis + the new species Kochius kovariki Soleglad & Fet, 2008.

Thorellius Soleglad & Fet, 2008 is a new genus that accomodates four species previously placed in Vaejovis. In addition, two species are raised from subspecies to species rank: Thorellius atrox (Hoffmann, 1931) (previously Vaejovis intrepidus atrox Hoffmann, 1931) and Thorellius cristimanus (Pocock, 1898) (previously Vaejovis intrepidus cristimanus Pocock, 1898).

Wernerius Soleglad & Fet, 2008 is a new genus that accomodates two species previously placed in Vaejovis.

Details about the changes and the contents in the new genera can be found in The Scorpion Files' Vaejovidae Updates and the Vaejovidae family page.

The authors also establish a new subfamily (Smeringurinae) with two new tribes (Smeringurini and Paravaejovini). Check out the paper for further details.

References:
Soleglad ME, Fet V. Contributions to scorpion systematics. III. Subfamilies Smeringurinae and Syntropinae (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae). Euscorpius. 2008(71):1-115. [Free fulltext, but large file (30 MB)]

Family Vaejovidae