Formalization of a few taxonomcial decisions

 

Victoria Tang has previously published a number of nomenclatural, taxonomic, and faunistic acts in a an article that is formally not valid according to the Code of Zoological Nomenclature. She has now published some of these decisions formally in the journal Euscorpius. Here are some main takeaways;

Scorpiops langxian Qi et al., 2005 and S. pococki Qi et al., 2005 (Scorpiopidae) are declared nomina dubia and junior subjective synonyms of S. tibetanus Hirst, 191.

Reddyanus wenjieae Huang et al., 2025 (Buthidae) is considered  nomen dubium.

Chaerilus tessellatus Qi et al., 2005 (Chaerilidae) is considered  nomen dubium.

Scorpiops hardwickii (Gervais, 1843) and S. petersii Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiopidae) are not distributed in China.

The article has also an discussion about the status of some of the populations of Scorpiops tibetanus Hirst, 1911 in China.

The author encourages readers to also read the original article for a deeper understanding of the arguments for her decisions. Readers are also recommended to read her article "Misapplication of statistics in scorpiology: a case study" for more information about the challenges in scorpion taxonomy that Tang addressees.

The author has asked me to mention an error in the article: The term "ventral pectinal teeth count" should be "patella ventral trichobothrium count", as defined in Abbreviation. 

Abstract:
Several nomenclatural, taxonomic, and faunistic decisions put forth in Tang (2026) are formalized herein: (1) four nomina dubia, Chaerilus tessellatus Qi et al., 2005, Scorpiops langxian Qi et al., 2005, S. pococki Qi et al., 2005, and Isometrus (Reddyanus) wenjieae Huang et al., 2025; (2) two junior subjective synonyms, Scorpiops langxian = S. pococki = S. tibetanus Hirst, 1911 syn. n.; (3) one new “aspidonym”, Scorpiops obluda Tang, 2026 sp. indet. nomen nudum; and (4) removal of Scorpiops hardwickii (Gervais, 1843) and S. petersii Pocock, 1893 from the Chinese scorpiofauna. Reddyanus tibetanus (Lourenço & Zhu, 2008) is maintained as a junior subjective synonym of R. assamensis (Oates, 1888). Alloscorpiops Vachon, 1980, Dasyscorpiops Vachon, 1974, Euscorpiops Vachon, 1980, Neoscorpiops Vachon, 1980, Plethoscorpiops Lourenço, 2017, Vietscorpiops Lourenço & Pham, 2015, and Alloscorpiops ( Laoscorpiops) Lourenço, 2013 are maintained as junior subjective synonyms of Scorpiops Peters, 1861.

Reference:
Tang V. Formalization of nomenclatural acts proposed in Tang (2026) (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Chaerilidae, Scorpiopidae). Euscorpius. 2026(438):1–14. [Open Access]

Thanks to Victoria for sending me her articles and for alle her help and information with The Scorpion Files!

A new species of Reddyanus from China

 

Jian Huang and co-workers have described a new species of Reddyanus Vachon, 1972 (Buthidae) from China.

 Reddyanus wenjieae (Huang, Liu & Di, 2025)

The authors have described this species as Isometrus (Reddyanus) wenjieae Huang, Liu & Di, 2025, because they do not accept the genus status for Reddyanus. There is no justification or formal decision about this genus in the article. This genus is valid in The Scorpion Files, and the new species is therefore placed in Reddyanus.

In addition, the authors states that they do not accept the synonymization of Reddyanus tibetanus (Lourenço & Zhu, 2008) with Reddyanus assamensis (Oates, 1888). They do not provide any justification for this, neither do they present a formal decision. Because of this, this synonymization is still valid in The Scorpion Files.

There are some disagreement on the status of these taxa in China. See Tang (2025) for more information.

Abstract:
Isometrus (Reddyanus) wenjieae sp. n. from Guangdong Province (China), is described and properly illustrated. The new species shows a combination of distinctive morphological characters: (i) a total length ranging from 30.6 mm to 43.9 mm, (ii) pectinal teeth count 13 to 16 in males and 14 to 15 in females, (iii) fulcra present (iv) legs with markings, (v) ventral side of the subaculear tooth with two granules. A distribution map for the members of subgenus Reddyanus in China is equally provided.

Reference:
Huang J, Liu Z, Di Z. Isometrus wenjieae sp. n., a new species of the subgenus Reddyanus from China (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Faunitaxys. 2025;13(49):1–8. [Open Access]

Thanks to Eric for sending me this article!

Family Buthidae