Big, bad spider eating innocent scorpion in Lebanon

 

Scorpions kill and eats spiders and it is not surprising that the roles are reversed sometimes. But there haven't been many reports of tarantulas preying on scorpions. Rami Khashab recently published an observation of a Middle East Black Tarantula, Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) preying on a small  Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Buthidae) in Lebanon.

The spider didn't seem to have been stung by the scorpion, who probably was killed instantly by the larger spider's chelicerae.

Abstract:
I report the first documented case of the buthid scorpion Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) serving as prey for the tarantula Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) in Lebanon. The observation was made during a nocturnal survey in the Mount Lebanon region. The case contributes to the limited records of tarantula predation on scorpions and underscores the role of prey-predator size asymmetry in facilitating high-risk predation among arachnids.

Reference:
Khashab R. Predation of Aegaeobuthus nigrocinctus (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) by a Middle East Black Tarantula, Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Lebanon. Euscorpius. 2025(423):1–3. [Open Access]

A review of Androctonus in Iran with four new species

 

 

Ersen Yagmur and co-workers recently published a review of the members of the genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828  (Buthidae) in Iran. Previously, most populations were assigned to the species A. crassicauda (Olivier, 1807), but this turned out to be a species complex with several hidden taxa. The current article have a redescription of the true A. crassicauda. 

Four new species are described from Iran:

Androctonus azerianus Yagmur & Kovarik, 2025.

Androctonus barahoeii Kovarik & Yagmur, 2025.

Androctonus caspius Kovarik, Yagmur, Fet & Lowe, 2025.

Androctonus transcaucasicus Kovarik, Yagmur, Fet & Lowe, 2025 (this species occurs in Armenia and Azerbaijan in addition to Iran).

Androctonus orientalis (Birula, 1900) is raised to species status from subspecies status (Prionurus crassicauda orientalis Birula, 1900).

Androctonus rostami Barahoei et al., 2025 is synonymized with Androctonus orientalis (Birula, 1900).

The article has an identification key for the confirmed species in Iran. A distribution map is also included. 

Abstract:
Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) is redescribed, based on the male neotype hereby designated, and a female topotype. Prionurus crassicauda orientalis Birula, 1900 is removed from synonymy, and elevated to species status as A. orientalis (Birula, 1900) stat. n., based on the lectotype, hereby designated, a paralectotype and newly collected specimens. A. rostami Barahoei et al., 2025 is synonymized with A. orientalis (Birula, 1900) stat. n., syn. n. In addition, four new species are described: A. azerianus sp. n. (Iran), A. barahoeii sp. n. (Iran), A. caspius sp. n. (Iran), A. transcaucasicus sp. n. (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran). All species are described and illustrated, and a map showing the confirmed distribution of the Androctonus species in Iran is provided.

Reference:
Yagmur EA, Kovarik F, Fet V, Lowe G, Moradi M, Kalami F. Review of Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 in Iran, with redescription of A. crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) and A. orientalis (Birula, 1900) stat. n., and descriptions of four new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2025(422):1–69. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A biochemical and proteomic study of Amazonian scorpion venoms

 

Studying the venom composition of scorpions is important. It is important to know the venom composition in medical important species to understand their pathological effect and better be able to develop antivenom or treatment. In addition, scorpion venom is a treasure chest filled with different peptides and toxins that can be used to develop medicines. 

Karla Bordon and co-workers recently published a study presenting a comprehensive biochemical characterization of venom from three Amazonian species, Tityus metuendus Pocock, 1897, T. silvestris Pocock, 1897 (both Buthidae) and Brotheas amazonicus  Lourenço, 1988 (Chactidae).

According to the article, "the results suggest a correlation between ecological divergence and venom composition, with implications for both toxicity and antivenom development".

Abstract:
Scorpionism is a growing public health concern in Brazil, with the Amazon region presenting the highest mortality rates but remaining understudied, especially regarding local scorpion venoms composition. This study presents the first comprehensive biochemical characterization of venoms from three Amazonian species—Tityus metuendus (TmetuV), Tityus silvestris (TsilvV), and Brotheas amazonicus (BamazV)—using an integrated approach combining Multi-Enzymatic Limited Digestion (MELD)-based bottom-up proteomics, highresolution LC-MS/MS, chromatography, zymography, and enzymatic assays. Tityus serrulatus venom was included as a reference. Significant biochemical differences were observed: TsilvV was rich in 20–30 kDa proteins and showed strong metalloprotease activity; BamazV exhibited high molecular weight proteins and potent phospholipase A2 (PLA2)
activity but lacked proteolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities; TmetuV showed the highest hyaluronidase activity and abundance of α-KTx neurotoxins. Zymography revealed a conserved ~45 kDa hyaluronidase in all species. Three novel components were partially characterized: BamazPLA2 (Group III PLA2), Tmetu1 (37-residue α-KTx), and TsilvMP_A (a metalloprotease homologous to antarease). This is the first application of MELD-based proteomics to Amazonian scorpion venoms, revealing molecular diversity and functional divergence within Tityus and Brotheas, emphasizing the need for region-specific antivenoms. These findings provide a foundation for future pharmacological studies and the discovery of bioactive peptides with therapeutic potential.

Reference:
Bordon KC, Santos GC, Martins JG, Wiezel GA, Amorim FG, Crasset T, et al. Pioneering Comparative Proteomic and Enzymatic Profiling of Amazonian Scorpion Venoms Enables the Isolation of Their First α-Ktx, Metalloprotease, and Phospholipase A2. Toxins. 2025;17(8):411. [Open Access]

Thanks to Jonas Martins for sending me their article!

An updated checklist of the Chaerilus species from Vietnam and a description of the female of Chaerilus honba

 

Wilson Lourenco and co-workers recently published some updated data om the Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Chaerilidae) in Vietnam. The female of Chaerilus honba Lourenço, 2019 is also described. 

Abstract:
Chaerilus honba Lourenço, 2019 is recorded for the first time from Nui Chua National Park, Vietnam. The single specimen found within the dry forest represents at the same time the first female known, which is described in detail. Furthermore, an updated checklist of the Chaerilus species from Vietnam is provided and biogeographical relations between southern Vietnamese coastal forests are discussed.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Nguyen TQ, Luu TH, Bressel J, Ziegler T. New insights on the genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877 from Vietnam and description of the female of Chaerilus honba Lourenço, 2019 based on a new record from Nui Chua National Park (Scorpiones: Chaerilidae). Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2025(46):76–80. [No full text found]

Thanks to Professor Thomas Ziegler for sending me their article!

Family Chaerilidae

A systematic revision of the European Buthus species with 10 synonymizations

 

As readers of this blog will know, there have been major increase of Buthus Leach, 1815 (Buthidae) species in Europe in the last two decades. Initially, the only species known from the Iberian Peninsula was Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789). But this species complex was split into several new species, and in 2025 the number had reached almost 20.

Recently, Javier Blasco-Aróstegui and co-workers published a major systematic revision based on samples collected across the known distribution, rigorous phylogenetic analyses combining morphology, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, morphometric analyses, and ecological data. Their analysis has concluded with the synonymization of 10 species from the Iberian Peninsula. 

Buthus gonzalezdelavegai González-Moliné and Armas, 2024 is synonymzed with Buthus delafuentei Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

Buthus (Androctonus) ajax C.L. Koch, 1839 is synonymized with Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839).

Buthus gabani Ythier, 2021 is synonymized with Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839).

Buthus castellano Teruel and Turiel, 2022 is synonymized with Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839).

Buthus baeticus Teruel and Turiel, 2020 is synonymized with Buthus ibericus Lourenço and Vachon, 2004.

Buthus alacanti Teruel and Turiel, 2020 is synonymized with Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

Buthus serrano Teruel and Turiel, 2020 is synonymized with Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

Buthus pedrosousai Teruel and Turiel, 2021 is synonymized with Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020.

 Buthus pyrenaeus Ythier, 2021 is synonymized with Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789).

Buthus balmensis Ythier and Laborieux, 2022 is synonymized with Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789).

The remaining nine valid species from the Iberian Peninsula are redescribed and data on distribution and habitats are given. A identification guide for the nine species is also available.

Abstract:
The Palearctic buthid scorpion genus Buthus Leach, 1815, distributed from southwestern Europe (southern France and the Iberian Peninsula) across Africa north of the Sahara, to the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, has undergone extensive taxonomic revision in the past two decades. Despite these efforts, its taxonomic composition remains confused, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Iberian Peninsula, where 20 putative species were recognized in the past two decades. Molecular phylogenetic studies of Buthus in northwestern Africa and southwestern Europe, based on a few, mostly mitochondrial gene loci, recovered a monophyletic origin for the European clade of Buthus and suggested the existence of several distinct lineages on the Iberian Peninsula. However, relationships with the species of Buthus from the North African Maghreb remained ambiguous. Morphological descriptions of new or revalidated species of Buthus, based in part on the molecular phylogenies but lacking robust diagnoses, and making little attempt to consider geographical variation, compounded the confusion. The present contribution provides a comprehensive, integrative revision of the European species of Buthus based on samples, including topotypes, collected across the known distribution, rigorous phylogenetic analyses combining morphology, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, morphometric analyses, and ecological data. Nine valid species of Buthus are recognized across France, Portugal, and Spain, and 10 new synonyms presented: Buthus delafuentei Teruel and Turiel, 2020 = Buthus gonzalezdelavegai González-Moliné and Armas, 2024, syn. n.; Buthus elongatus Rossi, 2021; Buthus garcialorcai Teruel and Turiel, 2020; Buthus halius (C.L. Koch, 1839) = Androctonus ajax C.L. Koch, 1839, syn. n. = Buthus gabani Ythier, 2021, syn. n. = Buthus castellano Teruel and Turiel, 2022, syn, n.; Buthus iaspis Teruel and Turiel, 2022; Buthus ibericus Lourenço and Vachon, 2004 = Buthus baeticus Teruel and Turiel, 2020, syn. n.; Buthus manchego Teruel and Turiel, 2020 = Buthus alacanti Teruel and Turiel, 2020, syn. n. = Buthus serrano Teruel and Turiel, 2020, syn. n. = Buthus pedrosousai Teruel and Turiel, 2021, syn. n.; Buthus montanus Lourenço and Vachon, 2004; Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789) = Buthus pyrenaeus Ythier, 2021, syn. n. = Buthus balmensis Ythier and Laborieux, 2022, syn. n. Revised, comparative diagnoses and illustrations are provided for each species, together with a distribution map and key to their identification.

Reference:
Blasco-Aróstegui J, Simone Y, Prendini L. Systematic revision of the European species of Buthus Leach, 1815 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Bulletin of The American Museum of Natural History. 2025(476):1–131. [Open Access]

Thanks to Yuri for sending me their article!

Family Buthidae

A new species in the rare genus Lanzatus from Ethiopia

 

Frantisek Kovarik and Graeme Lowe published recently a description of a new species in the rare genus Lanzatus Kovarik, 2001 (Buthidae) from Ethiopia. 

Lanzatus fuscipalpis Kovarik & Lowe, 2025

Abstract:
The rare Horn of Africa buthid genus Lanzatus Kovařík, 2001, known only from Somalia and Somaliland, is recorded for the first time from Ethiopia. We describe a new species Lanzatus fuscipalpis sp. n. fully illustrated with color photographs showing its morphology, habitus, hemispermatophore, and collection sites.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G. Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part XLIII. Lanzatus fuscipalpis sp. n. from Ethiopia (Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2025(421):1–13. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

Three new species of Androctonus from Morocco

 

Frantisek Kovarik and co-workers have investigated new materials from the occidental regions and recently they published the discovery of three new species of Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Buthidae) from Morocco.

Androctonus argoubi Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky 2025

Androctonus stockmanni Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky 2025

Androctonus vaneki Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky 2025

The article has an identification key for the three new species and the morphological similar A. sergenti Vachon, 1948.

Abstract:
New data are presented on the taxonomy and distribution of the dark species of the genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 in Morocco and Western Sahara. Three new species, A. argoubi sp. n., A. stockmanni sp. n., and A. vaneki sp. n. from Morocco are described, characterized by having metasoma I–IV ventrally punctate, a character that is well developed in A. stockmanni sp. n., and A. vaneki sp. n., and weakly developed in A. argoubi sp. n. Dark species from Morocco are compared with A. sergenti Vachon, 1948, and A. bourdoni Vachon, 1948. We describe and compare their external morphology, illustrating their characters comprehensively in color photographs. The hemispermatophores of two species are described and illustrated, and a map showing the distributions of the studied species is provided. Furthermore, for all three newly described species, we provided their karyograms, which are very similar (2n = 24) and demonstrate the karyotypic uniformity of the entire genus Androctonus.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G, Stahlavsky F. Three new species of Androctonus from Morocco (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2025(420):1–29. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae