A review of the genus Orthochirus from Asia

 Frantisek Kovarik, Victor fet and Ersen Yagmur have recently published another review of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 (Buthidae) from Asia. These are the main conclusions:

New species:

Orthochirus birulai Kovarik, Fet & Yagmur, 2020 (Pakistan)

Orthochirus formozovi Kovarik, Fet & Yagmur, 2020 (Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan)

Orthochirus grosseri Kovarik, Fet & Yagmur, 2020 (Uzbekistan)  

Orthochirus kryzhanovskyi Kovarik, Fet & Yagmur, 2020 (Pakistan)

Orthochirus nordmanni Kovarik, Fet & Yagmur, 2020 (Afghanistan)

Orthochirus sejnai Kovarik, Fet & Yagmur, 2020 (Iran)

New status:

Orthochirus persa (Birula, 1900) Raised from subspecies status: Butheolus melanurus persa Birula, 1900.

Synonymizations:

Paraorthochirus blandini Lourenço & Vachon, 1997 = Orthochirus blandini (Lourenço & Vachon, 1997) is synonymized with Orthochirus fuscipes (Pocock, 1900)

Afghanorthochirus erardi Lourenço & Vachon, 1997 = Orthochirus erardi (Lourenço & Vachon, 1997) is synonymized with Orthochirus persa (Birula, 1900)

The article has an identification key to all Orthochirus found in ten Asian countries.

Abstract:
We describe six new species of Orthochirus: O. birulai sp. n. (Pakistan), O. formozovi sp. n. (Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan), O. grosseri sp. n. (Uzbekistan), O. kryzhanovskyi sp. n. (Pakistan), O. nordmanni sp. n. (Afghanistan), and O. sejnai sp. n. (Iran). Descriptions are complemented with color photographs of preserved specimens. The identities of Orthochirus melanurus (Kessler, 1874) (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), O. persa (Birula, 1900) stat. n. (Afghanistan, Iran), and O. scrobiculosus (Grube, 1873) (Turkmenistan) are reexamined, based on detailed study of the type specimens; lectotypes of all three species are designated. We demonstrate for the first time that the name O. scrobiculosus, previously used as an ‘umbrella’ for various Orthochirus from Central Asia and the Middle East, is currently applicable only to a few confirmed populations from the southwestern Turkmenistan, near the Caspian Sea. New synonymies are proposed at the species level: Paraorthochirus blandini Lourenço & Vachon, 1997 = Orthochirus fuscipes (Pocock, 1900), syn. n. and Afghanorthochirus erardi Lourenço & Vachon, 1997 = Orthochirus persa (Birula, 1900), stat. n., syn. n. We provide a distribution map and a key to all Orthochirus found in ten Asian countries: Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (41 species).

Reference:
Kovarik F, Fet V, Yagmur EA. Further review of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Asia: taxonomic position of O. melanurus, O. persa, O. scrobiculosus, and description of six new species. Euscorpius. 2020(318):1-78. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae