09 March, 2023

The first chromosome study of genera in the family Iuridae

 


Cytogenetic analysis can be important in understanding scorpion taxonomy and evolution. So far, most studies have been on taxa in the family Buthidae. Ersen Yagmur and co-workers have now published a study on the chromosomes in the iurid genera Calchas Birula, 1899 and Neocalchas Yağmur, Soleglad, Fet & Kovařík, 2013. This is the first chromosome study of taxa in the family Iuridae.

Abstract:
The chromosomes of two species belonging to the scorpion family Iuridae are studied for the first time. Both analysed species displayed achiasmatic meiosis and no morphologically differentiated sex chromosomes; these features are typical for all scorpions. Both species possessed monocentric chromosomes, a characteristic specific to the entire parvorder Iurida. The karyotype of Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899 is composed of 82 chromosomes, and the diploid number of chromosomes in Neocalchas gruberi is 40. Despite this conspicuous difference in 2n chromosome morphology is mainly acrocentric. Both species possess two pairs of the 18S rDNA clusters identified by FISH. A higher number of rDNA loci may represent an ancestral state for the parvorder Iurida.

Reference:
Aydın Yağmur E, Koç H, Yeşílyurt F, Šťáhlavský F. The first chromosome study of the genera Calchas Birula, 1899 and Neocalchas Yağmur, Soleglad, Fet & Kovařík, 2013 (Scorpiones: Iuridae). Zoology in the Middle East. 2023:1-7. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Ersen for sending me this article!

Family Iuridae

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