Diversity and distribution of the scorpion fauna in the Tiaret region in southeast Algeria

 

Mohammad Ait Hammou and co-workers have recently published a study on the diversity and distribution of the scorpion fauna of the Tiaret region in southeast Algeria.

The article is in French.

Abstract:
The present study aims to inventory the scorpions of the region of Tiaret which is located in the northwest of Algeria on the  one hand and on the other hand to establish the distribution patterns of each species. During two years of prospecting between 2021 and 2022, more than 467 scorpions were collected, divided into 17 species belonging to five genera (Androctonus, Buthacus, Buthiscus, Buthus and Scorpio) and grouped into two families (Buthidae and Scorpionidae). The Buthidae family is the most represented by 14 species of which 5 species are endemic to Algeria. On the other hand, the Scorpionidae family contains only 3 species with an endemic species in Algeria. The result of the relative abundance (RA%) shows that Androctonus australis is the most abundant with a value of 22.06% against 5.78% of that of Scorpio maurus. Shannon's index is estimated at 1.57 bits, indicating a high level of scorpion diversity in the study region (Tiaret). It should be noted that the inventory that we have drawn up constitutes a pioneering study on scorpions in this important region which contains more than 31% of Algerian scorpion species and brings together several species reported for the first time in this region.

Reference:
Ait Hammou M, Dahmani W, Chedad A, Feghoul MA, Benali N, El Bouhissi  M, et al. Diversie et modele de dtsribution des scorpions (Arachnida:Scorpiones) de la Region de Tiaret (Nord-Ouest Algerie). Arachnides. 2023(109):1-18. [Open Access]

Thanks to Mohammad Ait Hammou for sending me their article and to Gerard Dupre for sharing the journal archive of Arachnides on The Scorpion Files