A new field guide to the scorpions of South Africa

 

 South Africa (SA) is a hotspot for scorpions and hosts a high diversity of species from three families (Buthidae, Hormuridae and Scorpionidae). When it comes to medical importance, SA has a few very potent species in the genus Parabuthus Pocock, 1890 (Buthidae), but the majority of species are fortunately not a threat to humans. But it is important to be able to identify those species that may pose a threat, and a new field guide by long time SA scorpion expert Ian Engelbracht published earlier this year will be an invaluable tool for this.

This is one of the best scorpion books I have seen with clear and concise information (description/ identification, medical importance and distribution) and many high quality pictures. As far as I understand, all known species found in South Africa are mentioned and depicted in the book. This is quite impressing!

Regardless if you are a professional or a scorpion enthusiasts, I highly recommend this book if you are interested in SA scorpions.

Reference:
Engelbrecht I. Field Guide to Scorpions of South Africa. Century City: Struik Nature; 2023.

A new scorpion book is available

Dutch scorpion enthusiast Jeroen Kooijman has previously authored a scorpion book written in Dutch. Now an English version is available. Kooijman is an experienced scorpion enthusiast that has been keeping and breeding scorpions for more than 20 years. He has also given lectures, courses and more about scorpions in The Netherlands for many years.

The book covers most aspects of scorpion biology and useful information for keeping scorpions in captivity. The book is illustrated with many color pictures. The book will be useful both for the captive care enthusiast and those who want to learn more about scorpions in general.

The book is published by the Dutch Scorpion Society and can be ordered from info@schorpioen.org.

Thanks to Jeroen for sending me a copy of the book!

Reference:
Kooijman J. Scorpions: Nederlandse Schorpionenvereniging; 2020.

Book News: New edition of Scorpions of Southern Africa

Jonathan Leeming's great book on scorpions of southern Africa is now available in a new edition. It was originally published in 2003 and the new edition has updated information and several new topics are included. I have not seen the new edition as it is scheduled for publications in the end of November, but you can follow this link to get more information about whats new in the new edition and information on how to order.

A new scorpion book has been published in Dutch

Dutch scorpion enthusiast Jeroen Kooijman has recently authored a scorpion book written in Dutch. Kooijman is an experienced scorpion enthusiast that has been keeping and breeding scorpions for more than 20 years. He has also given lectures, courses and more about scorpions in The Netherlands for many years. This is the first scorpion book in Dutch, complimenting the books already available in English and German.

I haven't seen the book yet, but based on my knowledge of Jeroen and the Dutch scorpion community I'm quite sure that this will be an important information source about scorpions in captivity and in general.

The book is published by the Dutch Scorpion Society and can be ordered from info@schorpioen.org.

Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998) is now freely available in full text

The Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998) was the first publication in 100 years trying to list all scorpion taxa in the world when it was published in 2000. Since then, a lot of changes and new updates have been published, but this book is still an essential source for all researchers working on scorpion taxonomy.

I recently learned that the Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998) is now freely available in full text for all in Marshall Digital Scholar. This is great news for the scorpion community.

Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998)

Due to the size of the book, each chapter can be downloaded separately.

Reference:
Fet, Victor, W. David Sissom, Graeme Lowe, and Matt E. Braunwalder. Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998). New York Entomological Society, 2000.

A new scorpion book has been published

A new scorpion book has recently been published by Dr. M. Habibulla entitled "The Secretive Life of the Amazing ‘Living Fossil' Scorpion". The book presents different sides of scorpion biology and is illustrated with color pictures. The book may be of interest for both professionals and scorpion enthusiasts.

Publishers overview: 
Scorpions began roaming the earth two hundred million years before dinosaurs, and yet they receive little fanfare. They are usually perceived as threats just waiting to sting and poison anyone they come across—some people even consider them to be evil. But the reality is that these armored arthropods are fascinating, beautiful invertebrates belonging to the group Arachnida, and the living scorpion of today has not changed much from their ancestors that lived hundreds of millions of years ago during the Silurian period. The scorpion has been with us for so long—and has had to evolve so little in terms of its structure and function—that it's now considered a living fossil. It was the first air-breathing, land-dwelling animal to inhabit the planet. They are truly fascinating: Scorpions are highly resistant to radioactivity, they can reproduce without males, they can give birth to as many as sixty little scorpions at a time, and they are so desperate to survive that they'll eat other scorpions when food is scarce. Explore the mysteries of this amazing creature, including its physiology, neurochemistry and natural behavior with The Secretive Life of the Amazing ‘Living Fossil' Scorpion.

Reference:
Habibulla M. The Secretive Life of the Amazing ‘Living Fossil' Scorpion. Bloomington, IN: Archways Publishing; 2016. 165 pp.

The book is available both in print and as an ebook, and can be purchased from Archways Publishing.

Thanks to Dr. Habibulla for sending me his book!

The book "Fauna of India - Scorpions" is now available online

Tikader and Bastawade's major work on Indian scorpions, Fauna of India - Scorpions, is now freely available online. This major book was published in 1983, and has detailed, comprehensive descriptions and information about the species of scorpions known from India at that time.The book has been made available online by The Zoological Survey of India.

Since the publication of this book, the scorpion fauna of India has been updated, and also many taxonomical changes have been made. But the book is still an important source of information for those interested in India's interesting scorpion fauna.

Fauna of India - Scorpions online [Open Access ]

The whole series Fauna of India is also available online.

Reference:
Tikader BK, Bastawade DB. Fauna of India. Scorpions. Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India; 1983. 670 p.

Thanks to Zeeshan Mirza for informing me about the online publishing of the Fauna of India!

A major reference book on scorpion venoms and scorpionism

Last Fall a major reference book on scorpion venoms and scorpionism around the world was published. I haven't read this book yet, but I will later and I plan to post information about the most interesting chapters in the blog. Unfortunately, the book is very expensive to purchase (unless your university has a Springer ebook subscription).

Information about the book Scorpion Venoms from Springer

The publisher has the following information about the content of the book:

• Provides accessible yet in-depth entries on the state of the art of scorpion venom research
• Introduces scorpion biology and ecology and covers studies of their venom and “anti-venoms”
• Contains species-centered overviews and examines the scorpion toxins
• Explores the complex interactions of scorpion venoms with the immune system

Scorpions have fascinated humans for a long time, first and foremost because of the harm the sting of a few species could cause but also due to their unique natural history and for the many biologically active compounds found in their venoms. This volume of the Toxinology handbook series covers all those aspects. The subjects are divided into seven sections starting with an introduction to the general aspects of scorpion biology and ecology, followed by the description of the “envenomation” pathophysiology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of venoms and their complex interactions with the immune system. The future of anti-scorpion venom therapy is then covered in two chapters dedicated to alternatives to the century-old techniques currently used to produce “anti-venoms”. The next section presents a world tour of “scorpionism” and dangerous scorpion species and their impact on human health. It is worth remembering that envenomation due to scorpion stings is a substantial health hazard in Asian, Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American countries, with over one million people stung by scorpions every year, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths. Species-centered overviews of “scorpion venoms” are presented in the next section, after which a section details the two main types of “scorpion toxins”. The last section covers high-throughput transcriptome and proteome screenings now known as “venomics”.

Reference:
Gopalakrishnakone P, Possani LDF, Schwartz E, Rodríguez de la Vega RC, editors. Scorpion Venoms. Dordrecht: Springer; 2014. [Subscritpion is required for access to the full text of the book]

Thanks to Dr. Adolfo Borges for sending me a copy of his chapter in the book and thereby notifying me about this book!

A review of the family Bothriuridae

A representative for the family Bothriuridae, probably a species in the genus Bothriurus. Photo: Jan Ove Rein (C)

Here follows the final report from Kovarik & Ojanguren Affilastro's new book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. The sixth blog post from the book sums up the the news concerning the family Bothiuridae

Taxonomical changes in Bothriuridae:

There are actually no new species or synonymization in this review of the family Bothriuridae. A few species are declared nomen dubium:

Brachistosternus castroi Mello-Leitão, 1940 

Brachistosternus simoneae Lourenço, 2000

Cercophonius himalayensis Lourenço, 1996

Thestylus signatus Mello-Leitão, 1931

An identification key for the family and all the genera in the family is provided.

Reference:
Ojanguren Affilastro AA. Family Bothriuridae. In: Kovarik F, Ojanguren Affilastro AA, editors. Illustrated catalogue of scorpions Part II Bothriuridae: Buthidae I, genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. Prague: Clarion Productions; 2013. p. 6-131.

A review of the genus Lychas

A Lychas asper female from Tanzania. Photo: Jan Ove Rein (C).

Another report from Kovarik & Ojanguren Affilastro's new book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. The fifth blog post from the book sums up the the news concerning the genus Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 (Buthidae).

Taxonomical changes in Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 (Buthidae):

 New species:

Lychas armasi Kovarik, 2013 (Papua New Guinea)

Lychas cernickai Kovarik, 2013 (Laos)

Synonymization:

Lychas ceylonensis Lourenco & Huber, 1999 is synonymized with L. srilankensis Lourenco, 1997

Lychas eliseanneae Lourenco, 2011 is synonymized with L. shelfordi (Borelli, 1904)

Lychas feae (Thorell, 1889) is synonymized with L. shoplandi (Oates, 1888)

Lychas kaimana Lourenco, 2011 is declared nomen dubium. Lychas aberlenci Lourenco, 2013 is not mentioned in Kovarik's review. It is possible that this species was published after the manuscript for the book was finished or that Kovarik got it too late to include it into the text.

The chapter on Lychas has a section on observations on captive specimens in the genus.

An identification key for the genus is provided.

Reference:
Kovarik F. Family Buthidae. In: Kovarik F, Ojanguren Affilastro AA, editors. Illustrated catalogue of scorpions Part II Bothriuridae: Buthidae I, genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. Prague: Clarion Productions; 2013. p. 145-212.

Family Buthidae

A review of the genus Isometrus

A beatiful, unidentified Isometrus species from India. Photo. Aamod Zambre (C).

After a long break, I'm back going through Kovarik & Ojanguren Affilastro's new book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus and here is the fourth taxonomical update from the book.

Taxonomical changes in Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Buthidae):

 New species:

Isometrus feti Kovarik, 2013 (Indonesia)

Isometrus jendeki Kovarik, 2013 (Malaysia)

Isometrus neradi Kovarik, 2013 (Thailand)

Synonymization:

Isometrus haninanensis Lourenco, 2005 is synonymized with I. petrzelkai Kovarík, 2003

Isometrus lao Lourenco & Leguin, 2012 is synonymized with I. petrzelkai Kovarík, 2003

The species I. atherii Amir & Kamaluddin, 2008 and I. liaqatii Amir & Kamaluddin, 2008 are not mentioned i Kovarik's review. I'm not sure why. Personally, I think these taxa should be considered nomen dubium as it is possible to raise questions on the quality of the article describing them (e. g. the picture of the new species probably showing a specimens belonging to another genera). The two species will be listed as normal in The Scorpion Files until anyone publish a formal change of status for them.

The chapter on Isometrus has a section on observations on captive specimens in the genus.

An identification key for the genus is provided.

Reference:
Kovarik F. Family Buthidae. In: Kovarik F, Ojanguren Affilastro AA, editors. Illustrated catalogue of scorpions Part II Bothriuridae: Buthidae I, genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. Prague: Clarion Productions; 2013. p. 145-212.

Family Buthidae

A review of the genus Hottentotta

My favorite Hottentotta, Hottentotta flavidulus Teruel & Rein, 2010. Originally described from Afghanistan, but now also reported from Pakistan. Photo: Rolando Teruel (C).

I'm still working myself through Kovarik & Ojanguren Affilastro's new book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus and here is the third taxonomical update from the book.

Taxonomical changes in Hottentotta Birula, 1908 (Buthidae):

 New species:

Hottentotta mazuchi Kovarik, 2013 (Kenya)

Hottentotta trailini Kovarik, 2013 (Ethiopia)

Hottentotta ugandaensis Kovarik, 2013 (Uganda)

New status:

Hottentotta fuscitruncus (Caporiacco, 1936) - Restored from synonymy with H. trilineatus (Peters, 1861)

Hottentotta minusalta Vachon, 1959 - Elevated from subspecies status: H. alticola minusalta Vachon, 1959

Synonymization:

Hottentotta mateui Lourenco, Duhem & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2012 is synonymized with H. minax (L. Koch, 1875)

Reference:
Kovarik F. Family Buthidae. In: Kovarik F, Ojanguren Affilastro AA, editors. Illustrated catalogue of scorpions Part II Bothriuridae: Buthidae I, genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. Prague: Clarion Productions; 2013. p. 145-212.

Family Buthidae

A review of the genera Compsobuthus and Sassanidotus

Compsobuthus sp. from Israel. Photo: Jan Ove Rein (C)

I'm working myself through the new book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus and here is the second taxonomical update from the book.

The following taxonomical updates have been done in the genera Compsobuthus Vachon, 1947 and Sassanidotus Farzanpay, 1987:

Compsobuthus becvari Kovarik, 2003 is synonymized with Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900).

Compsobuthus fuscatus Hendrixson, 2006 is synonymized with Compsubuthus manzonii (Borelli, 1915).

Compsobuthus kafkai Kovarik, 2003 is synonymized with Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900).

Compsobuthus lowei Lourenco & Duhem, 2012 is synonymized with Compsobuthus setosus Hendrixson, 2006.

Compsobuthus sobotniki Kovarik, 2004 is synonymized with Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900).

The following species is declared nomen dubium until further investigations:

Compsobuthus humaae Amir, Kamaluddin & Kahn, 2005

The book has an identification key to the valid species of the genus and a distributional table.

Reference:
Kovarik F. Family Chaerilidae. In: Kovarik F, Ojanguren Affilastro AA, editors. Illustrated catalogue of scorpions Part II Bothriuridae: Buthidae I, genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. Prague: Clarion Production; 2013. p. 131-44.

There and back again: Suddenly the number of species in Buthidae fell below 1000.


Family Buthidae

A review of the genus Chaerilus

Pregnant female of Chaerilus sp. from Nepal. Photo: Jan Ove Rein (C)

I've finally gotten Frantisek Kovarik's and Andres Ojanguren Affilastro's great book Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus and I will update you with the taxonomical updates from the book in the time to come.

The following taxonomical updates have been done in the family Chaerilidae:

Chaerilus anneae Lourenco, 2012 is synonymized with Chaerilus julietteae Lourenco, 2011.

Chaerilus dibangvalleycus Bastawade, 2006 is synonymized with Chaerilus assamensis Kraepelin, 1913.

Chaerilus phami Lourenco, 2011 is synonymized with Chaerilus petrzelkai Kovarik, 2000.

Chaerilus philippinus Lourenco & Ythier, 2008 is synonymized with Chaerilus celebensis Pocock, 1894.

Chaerilus spinatus Lourenco & Duhem, 2010 is synonymized with Chaerilus celebensis Pocock, 1894.

Chaerilus thai Lourenco, Sun & Zhu, 2010 is synonymized with Chaerilus celebensis Pocock, 1894.

The following species are declared nomen dubium until further investigations:

Chaerilus kampuchea Lourenco, 2012
Chaerilus lehtrarensis Khatoon, 1999
Chaerilus vietnamicus Lourenco & Zhu, 2008

The book has an identification key to the valid species of the genus and a distributional table.

Reference:
Kovarik F. Family Chaerilidae. In: Kovarik F, Ojanguren Affilastro AA, editors. Illustrated catalogue of scorpions Part II Bothriuridae: Buthidae I, genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus. Prague: Clarion Production; 2013. p. 131-44.

Family Chaerilidae

New book: Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part II. Bothriuridae; Chaerilidae; Buthidae I., genera Compsobuthus, Hottentotta, Isometrus, Lychas and Sassanidotus

The second book in the Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions series is now announced, this time authored by Frantisek Kovarik and Andres Ojanguren Affilastro. I haven't seen the book yet, but if it has the same quality as the first volume this will be an important book for all interested in scorpions.

The book is in English and contains 332 species including 143 synonyms of which 19 are new (total of 475 taxa). Described are eight new species of the family Buthidae. The volume has 400 pages in A4 format, is hard-bound, and contains 1621 color photos of specimens in their habitats, during mating and parental care, morphology of conserved specimens, and of localities. Also included are 253 black-and-white photos, 110 drawings, and 26 distribution maps. The price is 80 euros (105 USD), which includes postage.

The book can only be ordered from the homepage of Frantisek Kovarik.

A review of the book will be published when I have read it.

First aid guide to spider bites & scorpion stings in South Africa

I just got a copy of Jonathan Leeming's nice First aid guide to spider bites & scorpion stings. This is a small field guide informing about medical important spiders and scorpions in South Africa and what to do if you are bitten/stung.

Short and understandable information combined with nice color pictures make this guide an important tool for peoples living in or visiting South Africa.

The book can be purchased from Jonathan's Homepage.

Thanks to Jonathan for sending me the book!

Scorpions and scorpionism in Panama

Adolfo Borges is the editor of a the book entitled "Los escorpiones y el escorpionismo en Panamá. Volumen I". Co-authors of the book are Roberto Miranda and Hildaura A. de Patino. The book is written in Spanish and was published in the end of 2011, but I didn't know about it until now.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the book you can contact Science National Secretariat of Panama (SENACYT), The University of Panama, or The Gorgas Memorial Institut. To get a copy of the chapter "Scorpions and their Venoms; Why scorpion venoms can be lethal to humans" it is possible to contact Dr. Adolfo Borges via email: borges.adolfo@gmail.com.

Reference:
Borges A, editor. Los escorpiones y el escorpionismo en Panamá. Volumen I. Panama: Universidad de Panamá (UP), Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud (IGNES), Secretaria Nacional de Ciencias, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT); 2011.

Thanks to Dr. Borges for sending me a copy of the book!

New genus and species from Cuba

Cryptoiclus rodriguezi Teruel & Kovarik, 2012 female from Cuba. Photo: Rolando Teruel (C)

I just got my hands on Kovarik and Teruel's wonderful book "Scorpions of Cuba", previously mentioned in this blog. This is a very informative book covering all known scorpions described from Cuba (with color pictures of all species and many habitat pictures too), but a new genus and couple of new species was also discovered by the authors while researching for the book:

Scorpionidae:

Cryptoiclus Teruel &Kovarik, 2012 - A new genus endemic for eastern Cuba.
Cryptoiclus rodriguezi Teruel & Kovarik, 2012 - Only known species in the genus.

Cryptoiclus seems to be a very rare taxa. Only four specimens have been collected during 25 years of intensive searching.

Buthidae:

Microtityus pusillus Teruel & Kovarik, 2012 (new species)
Microtityus flaviscens Teruel, 2001 (new status - previously M. fundorai flaviscens Teruel, 2001)

You will find updated identification keys to all scorpion taxa known so far from Cuba.

The "Scorpions of Cuba" book is a must for all scorpion researchers and enthusiasts interested in the scorpion fauna of Cuba, Caribbean and Central America!

Reference:
Teruel R, Kovarik F. Scorpions of Cuba. Jakub Rolcik - Clarion Production; 2012. ISBN 978-80-904340-1-1.

Thanks to Rolando Teruel for sharing a picture of the new species Cryptoiclus rodriguezi!

Family Scorpionidae
Family Buthidae

New book: Scorpions of Cuba

Rolando Teruel and Frantisek Kovarik have published a new book, Scorpions of Cuba. Here is information about the book:

A new book in English by Rolando Teruel and Frantisek Kovarik. The island of Cuba hosts the most diverse scorpion fauna per area, and this book is the result of its long-range studies. Treated are all 54 species in the form of keys, comments on morphology,  habitats and distribution maps, 636 color photos depicting preseved as well as live specimens, their mating, parental care and localities, and presented are descriptions of two new taxa - Cryptoiclus rodriguezi gen. et sp. n. (Diplocentrinae) and Microtityus pusillus sp. n.

  

More information on the book can be obtained at http://kovarex.com/scorpio/, where 11 selected pages give an idea about the internal arrangement and appearance of the publication. The book can be ordered directly from the second author at kovarik.scorpio@gmail.com. The price is 60 euros (75 USD), which includes postage.

I have not seen the book yet, but I'm quite sure it will be great. I will write a review of the book as soon as I get it.

New and extended edition of popular German scorpion book

The German scorpion book "Skorpione" by Mahsberg, Lippe and Kallas published in 1999 was a well written and informative book. Dr. Dieter Mahsberg has now informed me that a new, revised and extended version of the book has recently been published. I have not yet read the book, but I'm quite sure that the book will be of great interest for scorpion hobbyists and others with an interest in scorpions.I will be back with a more detailed review after I get the book.

The book can be ordered from Natur and Tier Verlag.

Mahsberg, Lippe & Kallas (2012)
Skorpione - Lebensraum, Haltung, Nachzucht.
ISBN 978-3-86659-165-3 (144 pages)

From the publisher:
Skorpione faszinieren durch ihr urtümliches, bizarres Erscheinungsbild ebenso wie durch überaus spannende Verhaltensweisen. Diese komplett überarbeitete, neu gestaltete und um zehn Artporträts erweiterte Auflage des Klassikers schlechthin zum Thema Skorpione schildert ausführlich die Biologie der Tiere und bietet alle Informationen, die Terrarianer zu ihrer sicheren, artgerechten sowie erfolgreichen Pflege und Nachzucht benötigen. Darüber hinaus liefert die Vielzahl der Artsteckbriefe konkrete Haltungshinweise zu den vorgestellten Skorpionen.


PS! If you haven't yet guessed it, the book is published in German.