A new species of fossil scorpion in Mexican amber

Scorpions are rarely found in amber and specimens like this one is uncommon.

Wilson Lourenco has recently described a new species of fossil scorpion found in amber from Chiapas, Mexico.

Tityus knodeli Lourenco, 2014 (Buthidae)

The new species is quite similar to extant members of Tityus, but this genus is not present in Mexico today. As this is a fossil species, it is not listed in the species list of The Scorpion Files.

Abstract:
Tityus (Brazilotityus) knodeli sp. n., a new species of fossil scorpion, is described from a specimen in amber from Chiapas, Mexico. The new species is clearly related to the extant fauna of the Neotropical region and is tentatively placed in the genus Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836, presently largely distributed in the Neotropical region but not in Mexico.

Reference:
Lourenco WR. A new species of scorpion from Chiapas amber, Mexico (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2014 (24):59-63.

Thanks to professor Lourenco for sending me his paper!