Two new Euscorpius species from southern Turkey

The massive hidden species diversity in the European genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Euscorpiidae) is still being uncovered. This time, Tropea and Yagmur have described two new species from southern Turkey.

Euscorpius aladaglarensis Tropea & Yagmur, 2016

Euscorpius hakani Tropea & Yagmur, 2016

Abstract:
Two new species of scorpion of the genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 are described from southern Turkey based on morphological ratio and trichobothrial data. E. hakani sp. n. from Mt. Eşeler, in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey and E. aladaglarensis sp. n. from the Aladağlar Mts., in Niğde, Kayseri, and Adana Provinces. With the description of two new taxa, 17 species of Euscorpius are currently recognized in Turkey.

Reference:
Tropea G, Yagmur EA. Two New Species of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 from Southern Turkey (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae). Euscorpius. 2016(234):1-19. [Open Access]

Family Euscorpiidae

The scorpion fauna in desert oases in Morocco

Desert oases are unique habitats having their special fauna and flora. Few studies have been done on the diversity of scorpions in this kind of habitat, but Moulay Abdelmonaim El Hidan and co-workers have now published a study on the scorpion fauna of five oases in south eastern Morocco.

Abstract:
El Hidan MA, Touloun O, Boumezzough A. New data on the diversity of scorpion fauna in the oases of south eastern Morocco. Serket. 2016;15(1):1-7. [Open Access]

Reference:
Oases form a unique ecosystem, characterized by its specialization precisely due to the effect of isolation and richness. We studied scorpion communities of south eastern Morocco at five oases. Sampling of scorpions was based on hand collecting, during the day and at night with ultraviolet light detection; 246 individuals of six species of family Buthidae were collected. The richest site contained 5 species and had the highest diversity, H’= 1.57. The lowest diversity was H’= 0.85. The most similar communities were Tagounit and M’hamid elghizlane (100%). The scorpion community at Boumalne was the most dissimilar to the other four sites. Hottentotta gentili was the most abundant species, comprising 36.58% of the material collected, while Buthus boumalenii was the rarest. Most species within the collection of individuals had a greater affinity for rockyearthy habitats (66.67%). In terms of seasonal pattern, scorpion abundance was highest during spring and summer seasons. Our results indicate that species composition differ between the northern oases (Boumalne) and the four southern oases.

Thanks to Carlos Turiel for sending me this article!

A new species of Buthus from The Central African Republic

Wilson Lourenco has recently published a new species of Buthus Leach, 1815 (Buthidae) from The Central African Republic.

Buthus centroafricanus Lourenco, 2016

Abstract:

A new species belonging to the genus Buthus Leach (Scorpiones, Buthidae) is described from Woodland Savannah formations in Central African Republic. The new species can be included in the ‘Buthus occitanus complex’ of species, and probably can be associated with the ‘Buthus occitanus’ from French occidental Africa (AOF) previously reported by Vachon from this large region located southern of the Sahel. This is the first record of a Buthus species from Central African Republic, and the most southern one within the known distribution of the genus. With the description of Buthus centroafricanus sp. n., the status of one more population of Buthus spp. from the sub-saharan region of Africa is clarified.

Reference:
Lourenco WR. A new species of the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from dry forest formations in Central African Republic. Serket. 2016;15(2):71-9. [Open Access]

Thanks to editor Hisham El-Hennawy of Serket for sending me a link to the latest issue of the journal!

Family Buthidae

First record of Androctonus robustus in Iran

Iran has a a rich and diverse scorpion fauna that has been subjected to several surveys in the last year. Ersen Yagmur and co-workers recently published a short note presenting the first record of Androctonus robustus Kovarik & Ahmed, 2013 (Buthidae) in Iran.

Reference:
Yagmur EA, Moradi M, Larti M, Lashkari S. First record of Androctonus robustus Kovařík & Ahmed, 2013 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) for Iran. Zoology in the Middle East. 2016;Published online: 28 Oct 2016. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Dr. Ersen Yagmur for sending me his article!

An update on the Saharan scorpion fauna in Morocco

Oulaid Touloun and co-workers have recently published an article on the species composition and geographical distribution of the Saharan scorpion fauna of Morocco.

Abstract:
Objective: To describe the species composition of scorpions and to study its geographical distribution in Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab regions in July 2014.
Methods: To locate scorpions, the ground was examined through searching the places under the stones, rocks and in burrows. The nocturnal missions were also conducted using portable ultraviolet lamps. The scorpions were subsequently identified in the laboratory.
Results: The results of the investigations in these regions showed the presence of five scorpion species, two of which Androctonus gonneti and Buthus bonito were endemic in Morocco.
Conclusions: This work is allowed to complete the inventory of the studied scorpion fauna and provides some considerations on the distribution patterns in the study area.

Reference:
Touloun O, Hidan MAE, Boumezzough A. Species composition and geographical distribution of Saharan scorpion fauna, Morocco. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease. 2016;6(11):878-81. [Open Access]