28 June, 2023

A new species of Heteroctenus from an interesting habitat in Cuba

 


Rolando Teruel and Sheyla Yong have recently published the discovery of a new species of Heteroctenus Pocock, 1893 (Buthidae) from several localities in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Río.

Heteroctenus turieli Teruel & Yong, 2023

The new species has a troglobitic life style occupying cracks, cavities and caves in mogotes in the area of distribution. The article includes an identification key for the genus in Cuba.

The article is in Spanish.

Abstract:
In the present contribution, a remarkable new species of scorpion of the genus Heteroctenus Pocock, 1893, is described from several localities in the Sierra de los Órganos range, in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Río. This new taxon represents a litophilic and troglophilic scorpion, which also fills a biogeographical gap so far existing in Cuban scorpiology: western Cuba remained the only region of the archipelago where no locally endemic or original species of this genus had ever been described or confirmed. Now, Heteroctenus accounts for seven species present in Cuba, all of them being endemics.

Reference:
Teruel R, Yong S. Una Nueva Especie de escorpion del genero Heteroctenus Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), de Cuba Occidental. Revista Iberica de Arachnologia. 2023(42):119-29. [Available from authors]

Family Buthidae

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