New Orthochirus species from The Middle East

Frantisek Kovarik and co-workers have recently published a revision of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 (Buthidae) from Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Three new species are described and one species is elevated from subspecies status.

Orthochirus fomichevi Kovarik, Yagmur, Fet & Hussen, 2019 (New species from Turkey & Iraq)

Orthochirus gantenbeini Kovarik, Yagmur, Fet & Hussen, 2019 (New species from Iran)

Orthochirus navidpouri Kovarik, Yagmur, Fet & Hussen, 2019 (New species from Iran)

Orthochirus mesopotamicus Birula, 1918 (Elevated to species status. Previous status: Orthochirus scrobiculosus mesopotamicus Birula, 1918)

The article has an identification key for the species in the region.

Abstract:
Three new species, Orthochirus fomichevi sp. n. from Turkey and Iraq, O. gantenbeini sp. n. from Iran (Khoozestan Province), and O. navidpouri sp. n. from Iran (Khoozestan and Lorestan Provinces) are described, compared with other Orthochirus species from the region, and fully illustrated with color photos. Lectotype of O. mesopotamicus Birula, 1918 stat. n. from Iran (Khoozestan Province) is designated. Emended diagnoses are given for O. iranus Kovařík, 2004, O. iraqus Kovařík, 2004, O. mesopotamicus Birula, 1918 stat. n., and O. zagrosensis Kovařík, 2004. A key and a distribution map are included.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Yagmur EA, Fet V, Hussen FS. A review of Orthochirus from Turkey, Iraq, and Iran (Khoozestan, Ilam, and Lorestan Provinces), with descriptions of three new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2019(278):1-31. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A new genus of burrowing scorpion from the Arabian Peninsula

Graeme Lowe and co-workers have recently published an article describing a new genus and and a new species i the family Buthidae from the Arabian Peninsula. A second species is transferred to the new genus.

Trypanothacus Lowe, Kovarik, Stockmann & Stahlavsky, 2019 - New genus from Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Trypanothacus barnesi Lowe, Kovarik, Stockmann & Stahlavsky, 2019 - New species from Oman.

Trypanothacus buettikeri (Hendrixson, 2006) - New combination. Previously name Buthacus buettikeri Hendrixson, 2006.

Abstract:
We define a new fossorial buthid genus Trypanothacus gen. n., similar to Buthacus Birula, 1908, differing primarily in telson shape, with a bulbous vesicle and aculeus shorter than the vesicle, and in heavier dentition on metasomal segments II–III and IV. The new genus includes two species: T. barnesi sp. n. from Oman and T. buettikeri (Hendrixson, 2006) comb. n. from Saudi Arabia, the latter transferred from Buthacus. We provide detailed illustrations of both species from preserved materials, and in vivo habitus and natural habitat are shown for T. barnesi sp. n.. Information is also provided on ecology and captive rearing of T. barnesi sp. n., and on its karyotype (2n=26). The new genus is compared to genera Buthacus and Vachoniolus Levy et al., 1973. Telson morphology of these genera is analyzed and compared with other psammophilous and pelophilous buthids. In certain subgroups of scorpions, we find that aculeus length can be related to psammophily and body size. As a highly diverse multifunctional organ, the telson is shaped by complex environmental and genetic factors. We propose that telson morphology can nevertheless be useful for taxonomy if it is carefully applied.

Reference:
Lowe G, Kovarik F, Stockmann M, Stahlavsky F. Trypanothacus gen. n., a new genus of burrowing scorpion from the Arabian Peninsula (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2019(277):1-29. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A new species of Orthochirus from Iran

Shahrokh Navidpour and co-workers have published a new paper on the scorpion fauna of Iran and a new species of Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 (Buthidae) is described.

Orthochirus carinatus Navidpour, Kovarik, Soleglad & Fet, 2019

Abstract:
Nine species of scorpions belonging to two families are reported from the Alborz, Markazi and Tehran Provinces of Iran. Of these, Compsobuthus kaftani Kovařík, 2003 is recorded from Tehran Province for the first time; Compsobuthus matthiesseni (Birula, 1905) is recorded from Alborz Province for the first time; Hottentotta saulcyi (Simon, 1880) is recorded for Alborz and Markazi Provinces for the first time; Iranobuthus krali Kovařík, 1997 is recorded for Tehran Province for the first time; Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839) is recorded from Alborz, Markazi and Tehran Provinces for the first time; Odontobuthus doriae (Thorell, 1876) is recorded from Alborz Province for the first time; and Scorpio kruglovi Birula, 1910 is recorded for Alborz and Markazi Provinces for the first time. Orthochirus carinatus sp. n. from Iran (Alborz and Tehran Provinces) is described and fully complemented with color photos of preserved specimens, as well as of its habitat.

References:
Navidpour S, Kovarik F, Soleglad ME, Fet V. Scorpions of Iran (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part X. Alborz, Markazi and Tehran Provinces with a Description of Orthochirus carinatus sp. n. (Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2019(276):1-20. [Open Access]

Familiy Buthidae

A new species of Pandinurus from Somaliland

Thanks to Frantisek Kovarik and his team we have in the last years seen a much needed update of the scorpion fauna of East Africa. In a new contribution recently published, Kovarik and co-workers present a new species of Pandinurus Fet, 1997 (Scorpionidae) from Somaliland.

Pandinurus fulvipes Kovarik, Lowe & Mazuch, 2019

The male of Pandiborellius meidensis (Karsch, 1879) from the same area is described from the first time.

Abstract:
The male of Pandiborellius meidensis (Karsch, 1879) is introduced for the first time and illustrated in detail with color photos, and sexual dimorphism and occurrence of the species are discussed. Pandinurus fulvipes sp. n. from Somaliland is described and fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as of its habitat.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G, Mazuch T. Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part XIX. Pandiborellius meidensis (Karsch, 1879) and Pandinurus fulvipes sp. n. (Scorpionidae) from Somaliland. Euscorpius. 2019(275):1-18. [Open Access]

Family Scorpionidae

A new species of Chaerilus from Malaysia

Frantisek Kovarik has recently published a new species of Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Chaerilidae) from Malaysia.

Chaerilus alberti Kovarik, 2019

Abstract:
Chaerilus alberti sp. n. from Malaysia (Cameron Highlands) is described and fully illustrated with color photographs of preserved specimens, as well as of their habitat. Males of C. alberti sp. n. have a unique shape of chela which is stout with the manus swollen anteriorly. They are compared to other species from Southeast Asia from all of which C. alberti sp. n. differs by the shape of pedipalp chela parallel or swollen posteriorly or medially. Pedipalp chela is illustrated with color photographs of 21 of these species.

Reference:
Kovarik F. Chaerilus alberti sp. n. from Malaysia (Scorpiones: Chaerilidae). Euscorpius. 2019(274):1-9. [Open Access]

Family Chaerilidae

A new species of Centruroides from Mexico

Mexico is a hotspot for the medical important genus Centruroides Marx, 1890 (Buthidae) with appr. 45 species registered and now Javier Ponce-Saavedra and Oscar F. Francke have described a new species from Sonora State, Mexico.

Centruroides lauriadnae Ponce-Saavedra & Francke, 2019

Abstract:
Centruroides lauriadnae sp. n. is described from Sonora State, Mexico. This species belongs to the so called “striped” group in the genus (sensu Hoffmann, 1932). It is compared with the 2 other species recorded for Sonora: C. pallidiceps Pocock and C. sculpturatus Ewing, as well as compared with C. suffusus (Pocock) of northern México.

Reference:
Ponce-Saavedra J, Francke OF. Una especie nueva de alacrán del género Centruroides (Scorpiones: Buthidae) del noroeste de México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad. 2019;90:e902660. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

Scorpion pectines are probably important in finding the way home

Burrowing scorpions are usually good at finding their way home to their burrows. But how to they manage this? Gaffin and Brayford published a study late in 2017 studying the importance of the pectines in navigation. It has been well known that the pections has chemo- and mechano (vibration) sensitive sensors that are important in reproduction and prey capture, but can they also play a role in navigation?

Their study seems to confirm that the massive amount of peg sensillas on the pectins help the scorpion create a sort of chemical texture map of the area the scorpion moves in. This map can be used to quickly find the way home to the burrow after a successful prey capture.

Abstract:
The navigation by scene familiarity hypothesis provides broad explanatory power for how bees and ants navigate from the hive to distant food sources and back. The premise is that the visual world is decomposed into pixelated matrices of information that are stored and readdressed as the insects retrace learned routes. Innate behaviors in these insects (including learning walks/flights and path integration) provide the important goal-directed views to allow the initial retracing (i.e., the insect must learn the scene while moving toward the goal because everything looks different while moving away). Scorpion navigation may use a similar premise, with the chemical and textural features of the environment substituting for visual input. Scorpion pectines support thousands of chemo- and mechano-sensitive units called peg sensilla, each containing at least 10 energetically expensive sensory neurons. We have long wondered why pectines have so many pegs and associated neurons. Many sand scorpions emerge onto the surface from their home burrows at night to pursue insect prey and somehow find their way back to their burrows. Based on the measured resolution of peg sensilla, we have calculated that sufficient information exists in sand’s texture to enable scorpions to retrace previously experienced paths with little to no chance of confusion. Preliminary evidence of learning walks and path integration in scorpions is also congruent with the navigation by chemo-textural familiarity hypothesis.

Reference:
Gaffin DD, Brayfield BP. Exploring the chemo-textural familiarity hypothesis for scorpion navigation. J Arachnol. 2017;45:265-70. [Open Access]

Thanks to Matt Simon for telling me about this "old", but interesting paper that I seem to have missed when it was published!