Two new species of Razianus from Pakistan

Correction: Publication date for this article has been corrected to 2014.

T. Muhammad Tahir and co-workers published an article on the little known genus Razianus Farzanpay, 1987 (Buthidae) in Iraq, Iran and Pakistan last summer. In addition to a redescription of Razianus zarudnyi (Birula, 1903), the paper describes two new species from Pakistan.

Razinaus birulai Tahir, Navidpour & Prendini, 2014

Razinaus farzanpayi Tahir, Navidpour & Prendini, 2014

An identification key for the four species known from Iraq, Iran and Pakistan is presented.

Abstract:
The scorpion fauna of Pakistan, like that of the rest of the Indian subcontinent, is poorly known and many new species may await discovery. We describe two new species of the buthid genus Razianus Farzanpay, 1987, i.e., Razianus birulai, sp. nov., and Razianus farzanpayi, sp. nov., the first records of this genus from Pakistan, raising the number of species in the genus to four and extending its distribution southeast. In addition, we redescribe the type species, Razianus zarudnyi (Birula, 1903), report the first record from Iraq, extending the distribution of Razianus further west, plot the known locality records of the three species occurring in Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan, and provide a key to their identification.

Reference:
Muhammad Tahir H, Navidpour S, Prendini L. First reports of Razianus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Iraq and Pakistan, descriptions of two new species, and redescription of Razianus zarudnyi. American Museum Novitates. 2014(3806):1-26. [Open Access]

Thanks to Joel Hallan for informing me about these two missing species from The Scorpion Files!

Family Buthidae