A new field guide to the scorpions of South Africa

 

 South Africa (SA) is a hotspot for scorpions and hosts a high diversity of species from three families (Buthidae, Hormuridae and Scorpionidae). When it comes to medical importance, SA has a few very potent species in the genus Parabuthus Pocock, 1890 (Buthidae), but the majority of species are fortunately not a threat to humans. But it is important to be able to identify those species that may pose a threat, and a new field guide by long time SA scorpion expert Ian Engelbracht published earlier this year will be an invaluable tool for this.

This is one of the best scorpion books I have seen with clear and concise information (description/ identification, medical importance and distribution) and many high quality pictures. As far as I understand, all known species found in South Africa are mentioned and depicted in the book. This is quite impressing!

Regardless if you are a professional or a scorpion enthusiasts, I highly recommend this book if you are interested in SA scorpions.

Reference:
Engelbrecht I. Field Guide to Scorpions of South Africa. Century City: Struik Nature; 2023.

In Memoriam Rolando Teruel Ochoa (1974 – 2023)

 

As previously reported, our friend and scorpion expert Rolando Teruel sadly passed away 28.08.23. Luis F. de Armas & Sheyla Yong published yesterday an extensive obituary honoring this great Cuban arachnologist, who so many of us in the scorpions community had long-time relations with. 

Rolando left us too soon at the age of 49, but his impressing amount of research contributions on scorpions and other arachnids will live on. The obituary gives us an insight on Rolando's life and research, illustrated with many personal pictures from his life and career.

Rest in peace, Rolando!

Abstract:
This is an obituary of Rolando Teruel Ochoa (1974–2023), a great Cuban arachnologist. A full list of his works is appended, as well as a list of scorpions and other arachnids described by Rolando.

Reference:
de Armas LF, Yong S. In Memoriam Rolando Teruel Ochoa (1974 – 2023). Euscorpius. 2023(378):1-26. [Open Access]

A review on fossil scorpions found in amber

 

Amber is fossilized tree resin that are are popular as jewelry because of its fantastic colors and beautiful looks. But amber is also valuable because it sometimes have trapped animals and plants inside. Fossilized scorpions in amber is very rare, but quite a few specimens have been found and described.

Wilson Lourenco has recently published a review on fossilized scorpions found in amber from different parts of the world and how the study of these can contribute to our knowledge of today's scorpions. 

Abstract:
This synoptic review aims to bring some general information on fossil scorpions, namely those trapped in amber – fossilized resin – ranging from Lower Cretaceous through the Palaeocene and up to the Miocene. The question to be addressed is how the study of these fossils can be connected with possible present scorpionism problems. A precise knowledge of these ancient lineages provides information about the evolution of extant lineages, including the buthoids, which contain most known noxious species. Among the Arthropods found trapped in amber, scorpions are considered rare. A limited number of elements have been described from the Late Tertiary Dominican and Mexican amber, while the most ancient Tertiary amber from the Baltic region produced more consistent results in the last 30 years, primarily focusing on a single limited lineage. Contrarily, the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, also called Burmite, has yielded and continues to yield a significant number of results represented by several distinct lineages, which attest to the considerable degree of diversity that existed in the Burmese amber producing forests. As in my previous similar contributions to this journal, the content of this note is primarily addressed to non-specialists whose research embraces scorpions in various fields such as venom toxins and public health. An overview knowledge of at least some fossil lineages can eventually help to clarify why some extant elements associated with the buthoids represent dangerous species while others are not noxious.

Reference:
Lourenco WR. Scorpions trapped in amber: a remarkable window on their evolution over time from the Mesozoic period to present days. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 2023;29:e20230040. [Open Access]

First record of Vachoniolus globimanus from Jordan

 

The knowledge of the scorpion fauna of Jordan has increased in the last decade thanks to more field work and research, but this job is far from finished. In a recent paper, Bassam Abu Afifeh and co-workers have been able to confirm the presence of Vachoniolus globimanus Levy, Amitai & Shulov, 1973 (Buthidae) in Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.

Abstract:
Four species of the genus Vachoniolus have been described from Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The scorpion Vachoniolus globimanus Levy, Amitai and Shulov, 1973 is recorded from Jordan for the first time. Specimens of this species have been collected from Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. Morphological analysis, morphometric values, and taxonomic features were used to identify the collected specimens. This record extends the known distribution range of the genus Vachoniolus from central, western and southern Arabian Peninsula and Iran to the northwest in southern Jordan. The aim of the present study is to identify and describe the newly collected scorpion species from Wadi Rum desert in Jordan with additional ecological notes on their habitat.

Reference:
Afifeh BA, Al-Saraireh M, Amr ZS. First Record of the Scorpion Vachoniolus globimanus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Jordan. Jordan Journal of Biological Sciences. 2023;16(3):525-30. [Open Access]

Thanks to Luis Roque for informing me about this article!

Confirmation of the presence of the cosmopolitan scorpion Isometrus maculatus in India

 

Isometrus maculatus (DeGeer, 1778) (Buthidae) is a real cosmopolitan with its presence in at least 70 countries around the world. Its presence in India has never been confirmed, and also Sri Lanka as the original home of this species has been debated.

 Shubhankar Deshpande and co-workers recently published a morphological and molecular analysis of specimens of Isometrus maculatus from India, Taiwan and Japan. The study confirms the presence of this species in northeast India. In addition, the authors propose to consider Sri Lanka as the true home of I. maculatus.

Abstract:
We present molecular data on Isometrus maculatus (DeGeer, 1778) for the first time from India, Japan, and Taiwan based on the COI gene and justify the cosmopolitan nature of this species. We also address the first population of I. maculatus found in Teliamura, Tripura, India and give its detailed description and comparison with the rest of the Isometrus species from India. Furthermore, we discuss the justification for considering Sri Lanka as the true home of I. maculatus.

Reference:
Deshpande S, Joshi M, Kawai K, Deb A, Lee J-D, Bastawade D, et al. Molecular and morphological confirmation of Isometrus maculatus (DeGeer, 1778) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Northeast India and East Asia. Euscorpius. 2023;2023(374):1-19. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

Another new species in the medical important genus Leiurus

 

As a I stated a few days ago, the members of the genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828  (Buthidae) has the most potent scorpion venom in the world, and knowledge about taxonomy and distribution is very important. Abdulmani H. Al-Qahtni and co-workers have recently published a new species in this genus from the Majami al-Hadb Protected Area in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia based on morphological and molecular analysis.

Leiurus hadb Al-Qahtni, Al-Salem, Alqahtani & Badry, 2023

The article has an identification guide for the genus in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract:
A new species, Leiurus hadb Al-Qahtni, Al-Salem, Alqahtani & Badry, sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the Majami al-Hadb Protected Area in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia. The new species is compared with species of Leiurus distributed in Saudi Arabia, especially L. arabicus Lowe, Yağmur & Kovařík, 2014. The integrated results indicate that the population found in Majami al-Hadb represents a distinct species, which is described herein. Moreover, the molecular analysis is conducted on the mitochondrial gene 16S rRNA to compare L. hadb sp. nov. with samples of L. arabicus and L. haenggii from Saudi Arabia. The analysis revealed a genetic divergence ranging from 6.0 to 12%. The combination of molecular evidence and morphological characteristics provides adequate support for recognizing the Majami al-Hadb population as a distinct species. Additionally, an identification key for the genus Leiurus found in Saudi Arabia is also provided.

Reference:
Al-Qahtni AH, Al-Salem AM, Mesfer F, Al Balawi MS, Allahyani WS, Alqahtani AR, Badry A. A new species and a key to the genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys. 2023(1178):293–312. [Open Access]

Thanks to Eric and Gerard for sending me this article!

Family Buthidae 

The Scorpion Files News Blog has reached more than 1 000 000 visits

 

The Scorpion Files News Blog has had more than one million visits since its start in 2008 (1 011 901)! The first post was published 08.02.08, and since there have been 1320 posts. Who thought that this project on scorpions would become so much used.

A big thanks to all of you for supporting and using The Scorpion Files and The Scorpion Files News Blog! This wouldn't have been possible without your support and help.

Will start working to get two million visits :)

Jan Ove Rein
Editor

A new species of Leiurus from Sinai, Egypt

 

The genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Buthidae) is one the scorpion taxa that has gone from having one species to include many species thanks to improved morphological and genetic taxonomical methods in addition to more specimens available from new and different habitats. The members of this genus has the most potent scorpion venom in the world, and knowledge about taxonomy and distribution is very important.

Ahmed Badry and co-workers have recently published a new species in the genus Leiurus from Sinai, Egypt.

Leiurus sinai Badry, Saleh, Lourenco & Ythier, 2023

Abstract:
The genus Leiurus was first described by Ehrenberg in 1828 as Androctonus (Leiurus) quinquestriatus. For almost two centuries, it was considered monotypic, with only two valid subspecies: Leiurus quinquestriatus quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828) and Leiurus quinquestriatus hebraeus (Birula, 1908). However, over the last 20 years, several new species of Leiurus have been described in Africa and the Middle East. Despite this, some populations, such as those in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, remained poorly defined. Previous studies suggested that the Sinai population is distinct from both L. quinquestriatus and L. hebraeus (Birula, 1908). In this study, we conducted a more comprehensive comparison of the Sinai population and L. quinquestriatus and L. hebraeus using morphological and molecular evidence. Our results suggest that the Sinai population indeed represents a distinct species, which we describe based on this evidence.

Reference:
Badry A, Salehi M, Sarhan MMH, Youness M, Lourenco WR, Ythier E. A new species of Leiurus Ehrenberg (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Sinai, Egypt and comments on its relationships with L. quinquestriatus and L. hebraeus using morphological and molecular evidence. Faunitaxys. 2023;11(54):1-10. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

 

Phylogeography of the desert scorpion Mesobuthus mongolicus in Asia

 

Phylogeography is an importing tool for understanding the spatial distribution of taxa and the genetic variation within and between taxa. 

Chen-Ming Shi and co-workers have recently published a study investigating the phylogeography of the desert scorpion Mesobuthus mongolicus (Birula, 1912) (Buthidae)*. The questions they try to answer is where and when did the desert scorpion originate and how have climatic forces shaped the dispersal of the species in Asia.

*Please note that this species was synonymized with Mesobuthus thersites (C. L. Koch, 1839) in 2022.

Abstract:
A comprehensive understanding of phylogeography requires the integration of knowledge across different organisms, ecosystems, and geographic regions. However, a critical knowledge gap exists in the arid biota of the vast Asian drylands. To narrow this gap, here we test an “out-of-Central Asia” hypothesis for the desert scorpion Mesobuthus mongolicus by combining Bayesian phylogeographic reconstruction and ecological niche modeling. Phylogenetic analyses of one mitochondrial and three nuclear loci and molecular dating revealed that M. mongolicus represents a coherent lineage that diverged from its most closely related lineage in Central Asia about 1.36 Ma and underwent radiation ever since. Bayesian phylogeographic reconstruction indicated that the ancestral population dispersed from Central Asia gradually eastward to the Gobi region via the Junggar Basin, suggesting that the Junggar Basin has severed as a corridor for Quaternary faunal exchange between Central Asia and East Asia. Two major dispersal events occurred probably during interglacial periods (around 0.8 and 0.4 Ma, respectively) when climatic conditions were analogous to present-day status, under which the scorpion achieved its maximum distributional range. M. mongolicus underwent demographic expansion during the Last Glacial Maximum, although the predicted distributional areas were smaller than those at present and during the Last Interglacial. Development of desert ecosystems in northwest China incurred by intensified aridification might have opened up empty habitats that sustained population expansion. Our results extend the spatiotemporal dimensions of trans-Eurasia faunal exchange

Reference:
Shi CM, Zhang XS, Liu L, Ji YJ, Zhang DX. Phylogeography of the desert scorpion illuminates a route out of Central Asia. Curr Zool. 2023;69(4):442-55. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Victor Fet for sending me this article!