A new species of Opisthacanthus from southern Madagascar

 

Eric Ythier has recently described a new species of Opisthacanthus Peters, 1861 (Hormuridae) from a dry savannah biotop in southern Madagascar.

Opisthacanthus lourencoi Ythier, 2022

Abstract:
A new species of Opisthacanthus Peters, 1861, subgenus Monodopisthacanthus Lourenço, 2001, is described on the basis of six specimens collected in the dry savannah formations of Beraketa, Androy region, in the south of Madagascar. The new species is mainly characterized by a moderate size with a total length of 45-47 mm, a general coloration brownish with some dark variegated zones on the body and metasoma, two vestigial carinae on sternite VII, a genital operculum with an almost oval shape in female, without any incision as its base, leg tarsi with two lateral rows of spines and trichobothrium em2 distal to em1 on patella. The new taxon described here raises the number of known species for the genus Opisthacanthus (Monodopisthacanthus) in Madagascar to 14, and the total number of currently recognized species for the genus to 36.

Reference:
Ythier E. A new species of Opisthacanthus Peters, 1861 from the dry savannah formations of southern Madagascar (Scorpiones: Hormuridae). Faunitaxys. 2022;10(45):1-7. [Open Access]

Family Hormuridae

An updated list of scorpion taxa in Europe and their distribution

 

The scorpion fauna of Europe has grown very much in the last 15 years with new taxa being described every year. An overview of all species and their distribution has not been published for several years, but Gerard Dupre has recently done this in the latest issue of the journal Arachnides.

The article is in French.

Abstract:
La faune des scorpions d’Europe a connu ces dernières années d’importantes modifications tant sur le plan systématique que sur le plan géographique. L’étude la plus récente est celle de Fet en 2010 qui étudie les modifications à cette date mais sans faire de bilan détaillé. Nous présentons une proposition faunistique tout en étant bien conscient que certaines ombres demeurent encore.

References:
Dupre G. Proposition pour une faunistique des scorpions d'Europe. Arachnides. 2022(106):1-14. [Open Access]

Thanks to Gerard for sending me the article, which can be downloaded from The Scorpion Files!

A new species of Teuthraustes from Brazil

 

Wilson Lourenco and Eric Ythier have recently described a new species of Teuthraustes Simon, 1878 (Chatcidae) the State of Amazonas, Brazil.

Teuthraustes japura Lourenco & Ythier, 2022

Abstract:
A new species of scorpion, Teuthraustes japura sp. n. (Scorpiones: Chactidae), is described from the State of Amazonas, Brazil. This is the fourth species of the genus to be collected in the lowlands of South America, and the third record of a species of Teuthraustes from the Brazilian Amazonia. The total number of species of Teuthraustes is now raised to 28. The distribution patterns of the genus are commented upon, and its known geographical distribution is also extended.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Ythier E. The genus Teuthraustes Simon, 1878 (Scorpiones: Chactidae) in Brazil with description of a new species. Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2022(40):119-25.

Thanks to Nicolas Machiavel for informing me about this article!

Family Chactidae

Research on the impact of constipation on scorpion sex life win The 2022 Ig Nobel Prize in biology

 

Do you remember my blog post in June about articles on the costs of autotomy (tail loss) in scorpions? The authors behind these articles, Solimary García-Hernández and Glauco Machado, have now won The 2022 Ig Nobel Prize in biology. 

 According to the price homepage, "The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that make people LAUGH, then THINK. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people’s interest in science, medicine, and technology".

Studying how constipation affects the sex life of scorpions has probably raised a few eye browes and I understand why they got this world famous prize. I guess this is probably the first Ig Nobel Prize to scorpion researchers.

Congratulations!

Reference:
Ig® Nobel Prize Winners 2022. Available from: https://improbable.com/ig/winners/ [Cited: 20.09.22]

A short horror story for the weekend: "Monster-Katydid ate scorpion alive!"

 

Scorpions have many predators, including members of their own family. The soft-bodied members in Orthoptera (grashoppers and katydids) have traditionally been considered frequent members on the scorpion menu. But in a recent article,  Marllus Rafael Negreiros Almeida and co-workers report of a reversal of roles: Predation of a Chactopsis sp. scorpion (Chactidae) by a Hyperomerus sp. katydid. Large katydids are fierce predators with a powerful and painful bite, but this is the first report of predations on scorpions by this invertebrate group.

Abstract:
Orthopterans are an important component of the food chain. The species belonging to the order Orthoptera are herbivores or predators, and several behave as opportunistic predators. However, their predatory habits are not well understood. Here we report the predation of a Chactopsis sp. scorpion by a Hyperomerus sp. katydid in a fragment of terra firme forest in the western Brazilian Amazon. The specimens were found on a 60-cm tall bush. The scorpion showed spasmodic motions of the metasoma while it was being devoured by the katydid. This is the first report of a predator–prey interaction between an orthopteran and a scorpion in the Amazon biome. We believe that records of this type are important to allow a better understanding of predator-prey interactions in tropical invertebrate communities.

Reference:
Almeida MRN, Nascimento JAdF, Machado EO, Lira AFdA. Once a prey, now a predator: an unusual record of a scorpion (Scorpiones: Chactidae) predated by a katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) in the western Brazilian Amazon. Acta Amazonica. 2022;52(3):229-31. [Open Access]

Longevity of the medical important scorpion Tityus bahensis in captivity

 

José Brites-Neto and Felipe S. Figueiredo have recently published an article presenting data for the longevity of the medical important scorpion Tityus bahensis (Perty, 1833) (Buthidae) from Brazil in captivity. 

Abstract:
The brown scorpion Tityus bahiensis is a species of medical importance to the state of São Paulo. Citizens who encounter scorpions in their homes bring them alive to our public health vivarium. The age of the scorpions was unknown at the time of delivery, but the time was recorded as the start of their longevity in our terrarium. All scorpions were juveniles or adult when brought to us. Some were removed from the study and transferred to another facility for venom extraction and anti-venom production. For scorpions continuing in this study, handling was minimized, and no venom extraction was done. This survival time to death is considered important because dangerous scorpions are often maintained in public health vivaria for possible venom extraction. Data collection was within the time period from 2015 to 2021, with the distinguishing features of each scorpion used for identification. The survival time for males ranged from 42 and 503 days and for females 69 and 365 days. The halflife in captivity of the received scorpions was 285 (Confidence Interval: 203 to 365) days.

Reference:
Brites-Neto J, Figueiredo FS. Longevity of Tityus bahiensis (Perty, 1833) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in a public health vivarium in Brazil. Arachnology. 2022;19(2):547-50. [Subscription required for full text]

A phylogenetic study of the family Iuridae reveals three new genera

 

The family Iuridae are mainly found in Turkey and Greece and contains some of the largest scorpions in Europe. There have been some studies of this family in the recent years, but in a recent article Aristeidis Parmakelis and co-workers have conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the family and based on this suggested several taxonomic decisisons.

The subfamily Calchinae Birula, 1917 is raised from synonymy with Iurinae Thorell, 1876.

The three new genera are described (listed with the taxa assiciated with them):

Anatoliurus Parmakelis, Dimitriadou, Gkigkiza, Karampatsou, Stathi, Fet, Yağmur & Kovařík, 2022.

A. kraepelini (von Ubisch, 1922 (Turkey: Antalya, Isparta, Konya, Karaman, Mersin, and Muğla Provinces; Greece: Megisti (Kastelorizo) Island.

A. kumlutasi (Yagmur, Soleglad, Fet & Kovarik 2015) (Turkey: Hıdırellez Cave in Antalya).

Letoiurus Parmakelis, Dimitriadou, Gkigkiza, Karampatsou, Stathi, Fet, Yağmur & Kovařík, 2022.

L. rhodiensis (Soleglad, Fet, Kovarik & Yagmur, 2012) (Greece: Rhodes Island; Turkey: Muğla Province.

Metaiurus Parmakelis, Dimitriadou, Gkigkiza, Karampatsou, Stathi, Fet, Yağmur & Kovařík, 2022.

M. kadleci (Kovarik, Fet, Soleglad & Yagmur, 2010) (Turkey: Antalya and Mersin Provinces).

M. stathiae (Soleglad, Fet, Kovarik & Yagmur, 2012) (Greece: Karpathos Island). 

Abstract:
Iuridae is a family of scorpions that exhibits a highly complex biogeographic and taxonomic history. Iuridae taxa are mainly found in Turkey and Greece, whereas a single species is found in northern Iraq. Several taxonomic revisions have been conducted on this family that initially comprised two genera. The latest taxonomic review, based on morphological and anatomical features, raised the number of Iuridae genera to four, and the number of species to 14.

Sequence data from three molecular markers (COX1, 16S rDNA, ITS1) originating from numerous Iuridae taxa were analyzed within a phylogenetic framework. Divergence time-estimate analyses, species delimitation approaches and estimation of ancestral areas were implemented in order to: (1) reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of the Iuridae taxa, (2) evaluate the morphological classifications, and (3) obtain insights into the biogeographic history of the family in the East Mediterranean.

The multi-locus phylogeny clearly confirms an ancient division into two clades, Calchinae and Iurinae. Ancient patterns of isolation and dispersal are revealed. Both subfamilies are largely confined to the Anatolian peninsula and its few coastal islands; only the most derived genus Iurus has dispersed westward to Crete and Peloponnese. Based on our findings, three new genera of Iurinae (Metaiurus, Anatoliurus, and Letoiurus) are established. The genus Neocalchas emerges as one of the most ancient scorpion clades, with divergence time about 27 mya.

Reference:
Parmakelis A, Dimitriadou D, Gkigkiza E, Karampatsou L, Stathi I, Fet V, et al.  The evolutionary history of the relict scorpion family Iuridae of the eastern Mediterranean. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2022:107622. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Gerard Dupre for sending me this article!

Family Iuridae

Two new Euscorpius species from Greek islands

 

Gioele Tropea and co-workers are continuing the never ending quest to unravel all the secrets of the Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Euscorpiidae) populations of Europe. In a recent article they describe two new species from the islands Skyros and Andros in Greece.

Euscorpius simaiakisi Tropea, Fet, Parmakelis & Stathi, 2022 (Andros Island, Greece)

Euscorpius triantisi Tropea, Fet, Parmakelis & Stathi, 2022 (Skyros Island, Greece)

Abstract:
Two new scorpion species are described from Skyros and Andros Islands (Greece), Euscorpius triantisi sp. n. and E. simaiakisi sp. n. respectively, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Identity and level of divergence of these taxa are confirmed by a phylogeny based on multiple DNA markers (Parmakelis et al., 2013 b). Euscorpius triantisi sp. n. forms a sister clade to E. mylonasi Fet et al., 2014 from Euboea; the new species is characterized primarily by higher trichobothrial numbers (Pv = 8 and Pe-et = 6). E. simaiakisi sp. n. forms a sister clade to E. kritscheri Fet et al., 2013 from Tinos; the new species is primarily characterized by lower trichobothrial numbers (Pv = 7 and Pe-et = 5).

Reference:
Tropea G, Fet V, Parmakelis A, Stathi I. Two new species of Еuscorpius (Scorpiones, Euscorpiidae) from Skyros and Andros islands, Greece. Zoodiversity. 2022;56(4):307-22. [Open Access]

Thanks to Gioele for sending me their article!

Family Euscorpiidae