26 July, 2016

A new species of Compsobuthus from Eritrea


Frantisek Kovarik and co-workers are continuing their publication series on the scorpion fauna of the Horn of Africa. In a recent article they review the genus Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949 (Buthidae) in this region, and a new species is described from Eritrea.

Compsobuthus eritreaensis Kovarik, Lowe, Pliskova & Stahlavsky, 2016

 The article also has habitat information for the members of Compsobuthus in this region.

Abstract:
All four Compsobuthus species of the Horn of Africa were newly collected, C. werneri firstly collected in Eritrea and C. eritreaensis sp. n. discovered during scorpiological expeditions in 2011–2016. Information is provided about their taxonomy, distribution, and ecology, fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as their habitat. The hemispermatophore of C. eritreaensis sp. n. is illustrated and described. In addition to morphological analysis, we also describe the karyotype of C. eritreaensis sp. n. (2n=22).

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G, Pliskova J, Stahlavsky F. Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part VI. Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949 (Buthidae), with a description of C. eritreaensis sp. n. Euscorpius. 2016(226):1-21. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

No comments: