A new genus and species in the enigmatic family Pseudochactidae from China

 

The family Pseudochactidae Gromov, 1998 consisted for many year of only one genus and one species. In recent years a few more genera and species have been described, many from isolated areas. Victoria Tang has now described a new genus and species from the Yunnan Province of China, greatly increasing the distribution of this family.

Qianxie Tang, 2022

Qianxie solegladi Tang, 2022

The new species seems to be found only above ground and it exhibits no troglomorphism, which is different from its presumed sister genus, Troglokhammouanus Lourenço, 2007.

Abstract:
A new monotypic genus belonging to the basal scorpion family Pseudochactidae Gromov, 1998, Qianxie solegladi gen et. sp. n., is described from Yunnan Province of China. The family is recorded from China for the first time, vastly extending its known geographic range. The new genus shares morphological characters with both Pseudochactas Gromov, 1998 and Troglokhammouanus Lourenço, 2007. It differs from Pseudochactas and is similar to Troglokhammouanus in the shapes of anterior and posterolateral carapace margins, form of the circumocular sutures, distance between median ocelli, development of dorsoventral projection of patella, length of tarsal spinules, recurvature of the lateral margins and concavity of the surface of the sternum. It is similar to Pseudochactas in the degree of carapace granulation, pedipalp manus carination, secondary accessory and retroventral carinae of the chela manus, numbers of lamellae and teeth on the pectines, development of the median lateral carinae of metasomal segments III–IV and ventromedian carina of metasomal segment V. The new genus is hypothesized to be more closely related to Troglokhammouanus than to Pseudochactas and is placed in the subfamily Troglokhammouaninae.

References:
Tang V. A new scorpion genus and species from China, Qianxie solegladi gen. et sp. n. (Scorpiones: Pseudochactidae). Euscorpius. 2022(351):1-19. [Open Access]

Family Pseudochactidae

A new species of Buthacus from Algeria

 

Eric Ythier has recently described a new species of Buthacus Birula, 1908 (Buthidae) from Algeria.

Buthacus sadinei Ythier, 2022

The paper also confirm the status for a few another species in the genus.

Abstract:
A new species of Buthacus Birula, 1908 is described on the basis of one adult male specimen collected in Tindouf, Western Algeria. The new species is mainly characterized by a yellowish coloration without any spots, long pectines with marginal tips extending to the end of sternite V, a very long and curved telson aculeus, chela fingers almost straight with 9 and 10 rows of granules on fixed and movable fingers, respectively, external accessory granules moderate to strong, and tibial spurs moderate on leg III, long on leg IV. This new taxon belongs to the Buthacus leptochelys (Ehrenberg 1829) complex of species and represents the 10th known Buthacus species reported from Algeria. The new species is compared with the six other species of the “leptochelys” complex occurring in the region covering Western Algeria, Northern Mauritania, Northern Western Sahara and Morocco, namely B. occidentalis Vachon, 1953, B. stockmanni Kovařík, Lowe & Šťáhlavský, 2016, B. ziegleri Lourenço, 2000, B. mahraouii Lourenço, 2004, B. maroccanus Lourenço, 2006 and B. algerianus Lourenço, 2006, the three last species being confirmed again as valid species.

Reference:
Ythier E. A new species of Buthacus Birula, 1908 from Western Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Faunitaxys. 2022;10(28):1-6. [Open Access]

Thanks to Eric for helping me out with Buthacus information!

Family Buthidae

 

A comprehensive study of the phylogenetic relationships within the family Buthidae

 

The family Buthidae is the largest scorpion family with many and diverse species occuping many different habitats and ecosystems. This is also an important family as most species of medical importance are found herein. 

The intra-familial classification of the taxa within this family is far from resolved, and is primarly based on a system distinguishing six morpho-groups. The validity of these morpho-groups is unclear and has not been tested with phylogenetic analysis.

Jana Stundlova and co-workers have now published a study where they have attempted to conduct a phylogenetic relationships among Buthidae and assess the validity of morphology-based groupings. They confirm that the traditionally recognized Buthus and Tityus morpho-groups form well supported clades, but the remaining four morpho-groups (Ananteris, Charmus, Isometrus, Uroplectes) do not.

The authors also conclude that some genera in Buthidae need a taxonomic revision and that it is also necessary to evaluate the characters used for taxonomic studies in this family.

Abstract:
The family Buthidae represents an early-diverging and most species-rich lineage of extant scorpions, but its internal phylogenetic relationships are still poorly understood. The family is traditionally divided into six morpho-groups; however, the monophyly of some of them remains unclear. We combined multilocus sequence data with extensive taxon sampling to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among Buthidae and assess the validity of the morphology-based groupings. We recovered a monophyletic Buthus group as a sister clade to all the remaining Buthidae. We also found support for the monophyly of the Tityus group, but the remaining morpho-groups were recovered as para-/polyphyletic. Our results also suggest that some genera are in need of a taxonomic revision.

Reference:
Štundlová J, Šťáhlavský F, Opatova V, Stundl J, Kovařík F, Dolejš P, et al. Molecular data do not support the traditional morphology-based groupings in the scorpion family Buthidae (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2022:107511. [Subscription required for full text]

Family Buthidae

Three new species of Euscorpius from Italy

 

Gioele Tropea and Aristeidis Parmakelis have done an analysis of the different populations in Italy and France beloning to the species Euscorpius concinnus (C. L. Koch, 1837) (Euscorpiidae). The study resulted in three new species from Italy:

Euscorpius latinus Tropea & Parmakelis, 2022

Euscorpius stefaniae Tropea & Parmakelis, 2022

Euscorpius trejaensis Tropea & Parmakelis, 2022

Euscorpius concinnus (C. L. Koch, 1837) is now considered endemic for Italy.

 In addition, Euscorpius niciensis (C.L. Koch, 1841) is elevated to species status from subspecies status as E. capathicus niciensis. This species occurs both in France and Italy.

Abstract:
In the present work, several scorpion populations assigned to Euscorpius concinnus (C.L. Koch, 1837) and Euscorpius carpathicus niciensis (C.L. Koch, 1841) are reconsidered on a phylogenetic, morphological, and geographical basis. Three new species are described, E. latinus sp. nov., E. stefaniae sp. nov., and E. trejaensis sp. nov., while E. niciensis stat. nov. is elevated to species status. Ecological and biogeographical data are provided for the revised taxa. Following these taxonomic changes, the number of species comprising the subfamily Euscorpiinae has increased to 90. The scorpion species present in Italy increased to 27, with one species belonging to the family Buthidae, one species to Belisariidae, and 25 species to Euscorpiidae.

Reference:
Tropea G, Parmakelis A. Reconsideration of some populations of Euscorpius concinnus complex (Scorpiones, Euscorpiidae). ZooKeys. 2022(1100):117-64. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Gioele for sending me their article!

Family Euscorpiidae

Orthochiroides is back again as a valid genus and a new species in the genus from Somaliland is described

 

The genus Orthochiroides  Kovarik, 1998 (Buthidae) was synonymized with Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 by Lourenco & Ythier in 2021. This decision is now changed in a recent article by Kovarik & Lowe after analyzing more than 40 morphological characters. Orthochiroides is back as a valid genus with the original four species previously assigned to the genus.

 A new species Orthochiroides is desrcibed from Somaliland increasing the number of species to five.

Orthochiroides somalilandus Kovarik & Lowe, 2022

An identification key for the genus is included.

Abstract:
The genus Orthochiroides Kovařík, 1998 is reanalyzed. Revised diagnoses and new illustrations for the genus and all four of its species are presented. A new species, O. somalilandus sp. n. from Somaliland is described and illustrated. Phylogenetic relationships of the genus with several other similar genera of small buthids are inferred from a parsimony analysis of 43 discrete morphological characters. The recent synonymy of Orthochiroides with Orthochirus is refuted and the genus is revalidated.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G. Review of Orthochiroides Kovařík, 1998 with description of a new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2022(349):1-42. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A new species of Scorpiops from Laos

 

Wilson Lourenco & Eric Ythier has recently described a new species in the genus Scorpiops Peters, 1861 (Scorpiopidae) from Laos.

Scorpiops (Euscorpiops) piceus Lourenco & Ythier, 2022

The authors have kept the genera synonymizations made by Kovarik in in 2020 (all genera except for Parascorpiops Banks, 1928 were synonymized with Scorpiops), but have revalidated some of the ex-genera as subgenera in the current paper. [The information in this paragraph was corrected 13.05.22]

Abstract:
A new species, Scorpiops (Euscorpiops) piceus sp. n., belonging to the family Scorpiopidae Kraepelin, 1905 is described based on one adult female and one juvenile male collected in the Province of Khammouane, Laos. The new species presents most features exhibited by scorpions of the genus Scorpiops subgenus Euscorpiops, and is characterized by a very dark pigmentation overall, a large global size and a distinct trichobothrial pattern. This new species may represent one endemic element for the fauna of Khammouane region. This new taxon represents the 100th described species among the currently recognized species for the genus Scorpiops and the 36th for the subgenus Euscorpiops. Comments are also added on the validity of the generic division of the groups included in the family Scorpiopidae and a number of these are revalidated at the subgeneric level.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Ythier E. A new species of the genus Scorpiops Peters, 1861, subgenus Euscorpiops Vachon, 1980 from Laos (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae). Faunitaxys. 2022;10(27):1-9. [Open Access]

Thanks to Gerard Dupre for informing me about this article!

Family Scorpiopidae

A new species of Lychas from Thailand

 

Eric Ythier and Wilson Lourenco have recently described a new species of Lychas C.L. Koch, 1845 (Buthidae) from Thailand.

Lychas chanthaburiensis Ythier & Lourenco, 2022

Abstract:
A new species of Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 is described on the basis of one adult male specimen collected in Khao Khitchakut, Chanthaburi Province, in the South-East of Thailand. The new species is mainly characterized by a moderate size for the genus with a total length of 46.9 mm, a general coloration yellowish with metasomal segment V, telson and chela fingers reddish yellow and some greyish spots on the prosoma, tergites and metasoma, all carinae weakly marked with intercarinal spaces smooth to weakly granular, and a slender metasoma. This new taxon represents the 33rd described species among the currently recognized species for the genus Lychas. The number of known Lychas species in Thailand is increased to five.

Reference:
Ythier E, Lourenco WR. A new species of Lychas C. L. Koch, 1845 from Thailand (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Faunitaxys. 2022;10(26):1-7. [OPen Access]

Thanks to Eric and Gerard for informing me about this article!

Family Buthidae

Redescription and new information about the little known scorpion Buthiscus bicalcaratus from Northern Africa

 

Faraj Aboshaala and co-workers have recently published an article with a redescription and updated information about the little known scorpion Buthiscus bicalcaratus Birula, 1905 (Buthidae) based on new materials from Libya.

Abstract:
The monotypic genus Buthiscus was described by Birula (1905) with the species Buthiscus bicalcaratus from the Sahara Desert of southern Tunisia. Until now, huge gaps exist in the knowledge of this species which is classified as endemic to North Africa. This paper aims to enrich the existing knowledge on this poorly known species with redescribing specimens of both sexes collected from Libya using widely illustrated redescription, in light of modern standards ruling the taxonomy of scorpions.

Reference:
Aboshaala F, Yağmur EA, Sadine SE, Ghaliow M, Badry A. On the poorly known species Buthiscus bicalcaratus Birula, 1905 (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Serket. 2022;18(3):263-73.

Thanks to Ersen Yagmur for sending me this article!

Two new species of Vaejovis from Mexico

 

Fernanda Chavez-Samayoa and co-workers have recently described two new species of Vaejovis C.L. Koch, 1836 (Vaejovidae) from Mexico.

Vaejovis aguazarca Diaz-Plascencia & Gonzalez-Santillan, 2022

Vaejovis aquascalentensis Chavez-Samayoa & Gonzalez-Santillan, 2022

Abstract:
Two new species of the genus Vaejovis (C L Koch 1836) belonging to the mexicanus group from Aguascalientes, Mexico, are described and compared to other species closely related to them geographically and morphologically. The species are compared based on the nomenclature and homology proposed by Gonzalez-Santillan and Prendini (2013). An extension of the homology, functionality, and nomenclature of the hemispermatophore proposed by Monod et al. (2017) is applied to vaejovid scorpions for the first time. We provide meristic evidence to support species delimitation and an identification key to the mexicanus species group (Soleglad, 1973) from Aguascalientes. We provide new records that broaden the distribution area, supplement its diagnosis, and expand the description, including details on the hemispermatophore and the telotarsi of Vaejovis tenamaztlei Contreras- Felix et al., 2015.

Reference:
Chávez-Samayoa F, Díaz-Plascencia JE, González-Santillán E. Two new species of Vaejovis (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae) belonging to the mexicanus group from Aguascalientes, Mexico, with comments on the homology and function of the hemispermatophore. Zoologischer Anzeiger. 2022;298:148-69. [Subscritpion required for full text]

Thanks to Fernanda Chavez Samayoa and Luis Roque for sending me this article!

Family Vaejovidae

The use of stinger vs pinchers in scorpion prey capture

 

Morphological differences in pedipalps and cauda have an impact in prey capture tactics, sting use and venom use in scorpions. Scorpions with large, powerful pedipalps will often not use their stinger and rely on the power of the pedipalps compared to species with more slender pedipalp. Also, the type of prey (defenses, restistance ability etc.) has an impact on the scorpion's prey capture strategies.

Luis Fernando García and co-workers have recently published a study testing how scorpion species with different pincher morphologies and venom efficacies use the pedipalps and the stinger differently during prey capture.

Not surprisingly they found that species with massive pinchers and high pinch force used the stinger less for prey subjugation than species with slender pinchers. They also found that species with robust pinchers had a greater pinch force than species with more slender pinchers. 

Abstract:
Background: Scorpions can use their pincers and/or stingers to subdue and immobilize their prey. A scorpion can thus choose between strategies involving force or venom, or both, depending on what is required to subdue its prey. Scorpions vary greatly in the size and strength of their pincers, and in the efficacy of their venom. Whether this variability is driven by their defensive or prey incapacitation functionis unknown. In this study, we test if scorpion species with different pincer morphologies and venom efficacies use these weapons differently during prey subjugation. To that end, we observed Opisthacanthus elatus and Chactas sp. with large pincers and Centruroides edwardsii and Tityus sp. with slender pincers.
Methods: The scorpion pinch force was measured, and behavioral experiments were performed with hard and soft prey (Blaptica dubia and Acheta domesticus). Stinger use, sting frequency and immobilization time were measured.
Results: We found that scorpions with large pincers such as O. elatus produce more force and use the stinger less, mostly subjugating prey by crushing them with the pincers. In C. edwardsii and Tityus sp. we found they use their slender and relatively weak pincers for holding the prey, but seem to predominantly use the stinger to subjugate them. On the other hand, Chactas sp. uses both strategies although it has a high pinch force.
Conclusions: Our results show that scorpionspecies with massive pincers and high pinch force as O. elatus use the stinger less for prey subjugation than scorpionspecies with slender pincers.

Reference:
Garcia LF, Valenzuela-Rojas JC, Gonzalez-Gomez JC, Lacava M, Meijden Avd. Pinching or stinging? Comparing prey capture among scorpions with contrasting morphologies. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 2022;28:e20210037. [Open Access]