A new species of the little known genus Cicileus from Algeria

 

Lotfi Derradj and co-workers recently published an article describing a new species in the little known genus Cicileus Vachon, 1948 from southern Algeria.

Cicileus derradji Yagmur, Benali & Bikada

The article has an updated identification key for the genus.

Abstract:
A new scorpion species, Cicileus derradji sp. nov., is described from Tin Zaouatine District, In Guezzam Province, southern Algeria. The description is based on an adult male holotype, an adult female paratype and a juvenile specimen, and is supported by detailed morphological analyses, including colouration, morphometrics, carination patterns and trichobothrial arrangement. This discovery extends the known distribution of the genus Cicileus approximately 500 km southwestward within Algeria. With the addition of this species, the number of recognised species in the genus increases to six. The new species is compared with all previously known species of Cicileus, and detailed colour photographs, including images taken under ultraviolet illumination, are provided.

Reference:
Derradj L, Aydın Yağmur E, Benali N, Bikada M. Cicileus derradji sp. nov., a new species from southern Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae). African Zoology. 2026:1–11. [Subscription required for full text]

Thanks to Ersen Yagmur and Noureddine Benali for informing me about their new article!

Family Buthidae 

Two new species of Cicileus from Hoggar Mountains, Algeria

Wilson Lourenco and Andrea Rossi have described two new species of Cicileus Vachon, 1948 (Buthidae) from Hoggar Mountains in Algeria.

Cicileus hoggarensis Lourenco & Rossi, 2015

Cicileus montanus Lourenco & Rossi, 2015

Abstract:
Following the recent results published on the genus Cicileus Vachon, 1948 (Scorpiones, Buthidae), an intensive research in the collections of the Museum in Paris led to the characterization of two more new species, Cicileus hoggarensis sp. n. and Cicileus montanus sp. n., collected in the Hoggar Mountains in the south of Algeria. At present, the number of species is raised to five. With the description of two more new species, the distribution pattern of the genus is confirmed as associated with the Saharian Massifs. Moreover, an altitudinal pattern of speciation seems to take place in the Hoggar Mountains.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Rossi A. Two new species of Cicileus Vachon, 1948 from Hoggar Mountains in Algeria. Arachnida - Rivista Aracnologica Italiana. 2015;1(4):2-12.

Thanks to Dr. Rossi for sending me this article!

Family Buthidae

A new species in the rare genus Cicileus from Libya

The desert Sahara in North Africa hosts a lot of scorpions species. Among these are a few genera with limited distributions, representing endemic elements in the region. The rare genus Cicileus Vachon, 1948 (Buthidae) is one of them. Wilson Lourenco and Andrea Rossi have now discovered the third species in the genus from Libya.

Cicileus latellai Lourenco & Rossi, 2015

The biogeography of the genus is also discussed.

Abstract:
New considerations are proposed on the enigmatic genus Cicileus Vachon, 1948 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) and a new species Cicileus latellai sp. .n. is described from Libya based on one female and one male, collected respectively from Wadi Teshuinat and Tin Alkoum (Jabal Akakus), both in the Fezzan Province. The genus Cicileus was previously only known by two species, Cicileus exilis (Pallary, 1928) from Djanet in Algeria, and cicileus cloudsleythompsoni Lourenco, 1999 from Niger. At present, the number of species is raised to three and the distribution of the genus enlarged to Algeria, Niger and Libya.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Rossi A. New considerations on the genus Cicileus Vachon, 1948 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) and descritpion of a new species from Libya. Arachnida - Rivista Aracnologica Italiana. 2015;1(1):22-37.

Thanks to Andrea Rossi for sending me this article!

Family Buthidae