Detailed morphology description and images of the medical important scorpion Hemiscorpius lepturus

 

Fenik Sherzad Hussen and co-workers recently published a study with a detailed description of the morphology of Hemiscorpius lepturus Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae). The article also includes detailed morphological images taken by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). 

Abstract:
Hemiscorpius lepturus Peters, 1861 is redefined in both sexes. The detailed external morphologies of chelae, pectinal organs, chelicerae, telsons, and legs I–IV were surveyed with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) in both sexes of H. lepturus for the first time. The constellation arrays, batlike shaped peg sensilla, trichobothria, and the other sensillar and epicuticular structures were described, and their functional morphologies were interpreted considering the species’ habitat and other climatic preferences. The constellation arrays, basiconic sensilla, function as a chemoreceptor (hygro-reception or/and thermo-reception) by its location on the pedipalp in the habitat. The shape of the peg sensilla is remarkably bat-like in both sexes and this shape has not been observed or recorded in any scorpion species, functioning as mechanoreception and contact chemoreception. There are three slit sensilla as single slit, dual and triple slit sensilla on I–IV walking legs, being mechanoreceptors as proprioceptors detecting strain and substrate vibrations during movement. Isolated single slit sensillum was recorded on the chelicerae surface of a scorpion species for the first time.

Reference:
Hussen FS, Erdek M, Yagmur EA. External morphology of Hemiscorpius lepturus Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Hemiscorpiidae). Arthropoda Selecta. 2023;32(4):419-37. [Open Access]

Thanks to Ersen for sending me their article!

Orthochiroides is back again as a valid genus and a new species in the genus from Somaliland is described

 

The genus Orthochiroides  Kovarik, 1998 (Buthidae) was synonymized with Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 by Lourenco & Ythier in 2021. This decision is now changed in a recent article by Kovarik & Lowe after analyzing more than 40 morphological characters. Orthochiroides is back as a valid genus with the original four species previously assigned to the genus.

 A new species Orthochiroides is desrcibed from Somaliland increasing the number of species to five.

Orthochiroides somalilandus Kovarik & Lowe, 2022

An identification key for the genus is included.

Abstract:
The genus Orthochiroides Kovařík, 1998 is reanalyzed. Revised diagnoses and new illustrations for the genus and all four of its species are presented. A new species, O. somalilandus sp. n. from Somaliland is described and illustrated. Phylogenetic relationships of the genus with several other similar genera of small buthids are inferred from a parsimony analysis of 43 discrete morphological characters. The recent synonymy of Orthochiroides with Orthochirus is refuted and the genus is revalidated.

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G. Review of Orthochiroides Kovařík, 1998 with description of a new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2022(349):1-42. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

Genus Babycurus split into a new genus and two new species from the Arabian Peninsula

Frantisek Kovarik and co-workers recently published a review of the genus Babycurus Karsch, 1886 (Buthidae) resulting into splitting this genus into two genera. The taxanomical decisions from this study are:

Barbaracurus Kovarik, Lowe & Stahlavsky, 2018 (New genus distributed mainly in the Arabian Peninsula and The Horn of Africa). Species included after review:
B. exquisitus (Lowe, 2000) (Previously in Babycurus)
B. prudenti Lourenço, 2013 (Previously in Babycurus)
B. somalicus (Hirst, 1907) (Previously in Babycurus)
B. sofomarensis (Kovarik, Lowe, Seiter, Pliskova &Stahlavsky, 2015) (Previously in Babycurus)
B. subpunctatus (Borelli, 1925) (Previously in Babycurus)
B. ugartei (Kovarik, 2000) (Previously in Babycurus)
B. winklerorum Kovarik, Lowe &Stahlavsky, 2018 (New species from Oman)
B. yemenensis Kovarik, Lowe, Seiter, Pliskova &Stahlavsky, 2015 (New species from Yemen)
B. zambonellii (Borelli, 1902) (Previously in Babycurus)

Babycurus Karsch, 1886 (Strictly African distribution). Species included after review:
B. ansorgei Hirst, 1911
B. brignolii Lourenço & Rossi, 2017 (Declared Nomen Dubia)
B. buettneri Karsch, 1886
B. centrurimorphus Karsch, 1886
B. dunlopi Kovarik, Lowe, Seiter, Pliskova &Stahlavsky, 2015
B. gigas Kraepelin, 1896
B. jacksoni (Pocock, 1890)
B. kirki (Pocock, 1890)
B. melanicus Kovarik, 2000
B. multisubaculeatus Kovarik, 2000
B. pictus Pocock, 1896
B. solegladi Lourenço, 2005
B. taramassoi Borelli, 1919
B. wituensis Kraepelin, 1913

Babycurus ornatus Werner, 1936 is declared as a junior synonym of Lychas burdoi (Simon, 1882).

The article has an identification key for Barbaracurus.

Abstract:
The genus Babycurus Karsch, 1886 sensu lato is split into two genera, a strictly African genus Babycurus, and the new genus Barbaracurus gen. n., which mainly includes species from the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula. Two new species Barbaracurus winklerorum sp. n. from Oman and B. yemenensis sp. n. from Yemen are described, compared with other species, and fully illustrated with color photos of morphology, habitus, live specimens and collection localities. Males of Barbaracurus somalicus (Hirst, 1907) comb. n. and Barbaracurus zambonellii (Borelli, 1902) comb. n. are recorded for the first time and fully illustrated. Babycurus ornatus Werner, 1936 from Mozambique is shown to be a junior synonym of Lychas burdoi (Simon, 1882), a species from the same area. Babycurus brignolii Lourenço et Rossi, 2017 is designated to be a nomen dubium. Hemispermatophores are des-cribed and illustrated to show their differences between the species and genera. Analyses of karyotypes reveal a similar degree of interspecific variability of diploid chromosomal numbers within the genera Babycurus (2n=16–30) and Barbaracurus gen. n. (2n=22–36).

Reference:
Kovarik F, Lowe G, Stahlavsky F. Review of the genus Babycurus Karsch, 1886 (Arachnida, Scorpiones, Buthidae), with descriptions of Barbaracurus gen. n. and two new species from Oman and Yemen. Euscorpius. 2018(267):1-41. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A revision of the cryptic genus Microbuthus and the description of a new species

Graeme Lowe and co-workers have recently published a review of the cryptic genus Microbuthus Kraepelin, 1898 (Buthidae) from western and eastern coasts of North Africa and the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. A new species is also described.

Microbuthus satyrus Lowe, Kovarik, Stockmann & Stahlavsky, 2018 (Oman, Yemen)

Abstract:
The taxonomy of the genus Microbuthus is reviewed, and a new species from Oman and Yemen, M. satyrus sp. n., is described and fully illustrated with color photographs of live and preserved specimens, as well as of its habitat. It is compared to the closely similar species M. litoralis, which we also illustrate. Synonymy of the type species M. pusillus Kraepelin, 1898 with M. litoralis (Pavesi, 1885) is confirmed, and the species is recorded for the first time from Yemen. Hemispermatophores of M. satyrus sp. n., M. gardneri Lowe, 2010, and M. kristensenorum Lowe, 2010 are illustrated and compared, and we also describe the karyotypes of these three Microbuthus species. The number of chromosomes is the same in all analyzed species (2n=26).

Reference:
Lowe G, Kovarik F, Stockmann M, Stahlavsky F. Review of Microbuthus with description of M. satyrus sp. n. (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Oman and Yemen. Euscorpius. 2018(263):1-22. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A revision of the genus Butheolus with a new genus and species

Graeme Lowe has recently published a revision of the genus Butheolus Simon, 1882 (Buthidae) mainly based on materials from Oman. The main conclusions are:

Xenobuthus Lowe, 2018 (new genus distributed in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen).
Xenobuthus anthracinus (Pocock, 1895) (redescribed and moved from Butheolus).
Xenobuthus arabicus ((Lourenço & Qi, 2006) (moved from Butheolus).
Xenobuthus xanthus Lowe, 2018 (new species from Oman).

Butheolus harrisoni Lowe, 2018 (new species from Oman).

The article has has an identification guide for the genera Butheolus and Xenobuthus.

Abstract:
The genus Butheolus Simon, 1882 is revised based on new material from Dhofar Province in Oman. B. gallagheri Vachon, 1980 is redescribed, and a related new species, B. harrisoni sp. n., is also described. The species B. anthracinus (Pocock, 1895) is redescribed and moved to a new genus Xenobuthus gen. n., that is differentiated from Butheolus by size, pedipalp finger dentition, setation, granulation and hemispermatophore structure, and a related new species, X. xanthus sp. n., is also described. Revised diagnoses are provided for the genus Butheolus, and for the species B. thalassinus Simon, 1882, and B. villosus Hendrixson, 2006, a key is given for the species examined in this study, and the status of other related species discussed.

Reference:
Lowe G. The genera Butheolus Simon, 1882 and Xenobuthus gen. nov. (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Oman. Euscorpius. 2018(261):1-73. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae

A review of the genus Leiurus with several new species

The medical important genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Buthidae) is widespread across North Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. For many years only one species was known in the genus, but in the last decade a couple of new species have been described.

Graeme Lowe, Ersen Yagmur and Frantisek Kovarik have now published a major review of Leiurus. Existing species are redescribed and the following taxonomical changes have been made.

Leiurus arabicus Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014 (New species from Saudi Arabia).

Leiurus brachycentrus (Ehrenberg, 1829) (New status, restored from synonymy).

Leiurus haenggii Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014 (New species from Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen).

Leiurus heberti Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014 (New species from Oman).

Leiurus hebraeus (Birula, 1908) (New status, elevated from subspecies status. Previous name Leirurus quinquestriatus hebraeus (Birula, 1908).

Leiurus macroctenus Lowe, Yagmur & Kovarik, 2014 (New species from Oman).

Leiurus nasheri Kovarik, 2007 (Synonymized with L. brachycentrus).

An updated identification key for the genus is provided. Biogeography of the genus is also discussed.

Abstract:
The taxonomy of buthid scorpions belonging to the genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 is reviewed. Four new species are described from the Arabian Peninsula: L. macroctenus sp. n. from coastal fog deserts in Oman; L. haenggii sp. n. from mountains of the Red Sea coast, Hadramaut and Dhofar, in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman; L. arabicus sp. n. from the central Najd Plateau and eastern plains in Saudi Arabia; and L. heberti sp. n. from Jabal Samhan in Oman. L. brachycentrus (Ehrenberg, 1829) stat. n. from the Tihamah plain of the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia and Yemen is restored from synonymy and redescribed. Leiurus nasheri Kovařík, 2007 was found to be a junior synonym of L. brachycentrus stat. n. L. quinquestriatus hebraeus (Birula, 1908) is elevated to species level as L. hebraeus (Birula, 1908) stat. n. Revised diagnoses are given for L. quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828), L. abdullahbayrami Yağmur, Koç et Kunt, 2009, L. jordanensis Lourenço, Modrý et Amr, 2002, and L. hebraeus (Birula, 1908). Key characters used to diagnose and separate species include morphometrics, granulation, tricho-bothriotaxy, tarsal setation, dentition of metasomal carinae and color pattern. Detailed illustrations are provided and the affinities and biogeography of the genus are discussed.

Reference:
Lowe G, Yagmur EA, Kovarik F. A Review of the Genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) with Description of Four New Species from the Arabian Peninsula. Euscorpius. 2014 (191):1-129. [Free full text]

Family Buthidae

Three new species of Compsobuthus from Africa and The Middle East

Frantisek Kovarik has published three new species of Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949 from East Africa and The Middle East.

Compsobuthus krali Kovarik, 2012 (Yemen)
Compsobuthus levyi Kovarik, 2012 (Jordan and Israel)
Compsobuthus somalilandus Kovarik, 2012 (Somaliland)

An identification key for the genus is supplied.

Abstract:
Compsobuthus krali sp. n. of the werneri group from Yemen, C. levyi sp. n. of the werneri group from Jordan and Israel, and C. somalilandus sp. n. of the acutecarinatus group from Somaliland are described. A key to all species of the genus Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949 is presented.

References:
Kovarik F. Three New Species of Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949 from Yemen, Jordan, Israel, and Somaliland (Scorpiones:Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2012 (150):1-10. [Free full text]

Family Buthidae

A new Compsobuthus from UAE

Wilson Lourenco and co-workers have looked into some of the Compsobuthus species from the Middle East and have described a new species from United Arab Emirates:

Compsobuthus birulai Lourenco, Leguin & Duhem, 2010 (Buthidae)

A better description is presented for Compsobuthus acutecarinatus (Simon, 1882) and C. maindroni (Kraepelin, 1900). The distribution of C. acutecarinatus is confined to Yemen and parts of Oman and previous reported findings from Africa are probably misidentifications. Compsobuthus maindroni is limited to Oman and parts om UAE. Previous proposed distribution on East Africa is probably based on misidentifications.

Abstract:
Two species of the genus Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949, C. acutecarinatus (Simon) and C. maindroni (Kraepelin), have been the subject of several publications in the last three decades. Nevertheless, same doubts remain about their precise identity and range of geographic distribution. We give here precise re-diagnoses in the light of the type material now clearly identified. The holotype at C. acutecarinatus is properly illustrated and measured. A lectotype is designated for C. maindroni, from the large syntype series. A new species of Compsobuthus is also described from United Arab Emirates.

Reference:
Lourenço WR, Leguin EA, Duhem B. Notes on the type material of Compsobuthus acutecarinatus (Simon, 1882) and C. maindroni (Kraepelin, 1900), and description of a new species from United Arab Emirates. Zoology in the Middle East. 2010;50:119-26.

Family Buthidae

New Buthus species

The taxonomy of the genus Buthus has a long and complex history with many subspecies and "variations". In the last 10 years, several new species have been raised from the "Buthus occitanus species complex" in Europe and North Africa.

The presence of the genus Buthus in the Arabian Peninsula has previously not been confirmed properly, but Wilson Lourenco has now described a new species from Yemen (and thereby confirming the presence of Buthus in the Arabian Peninsula:

Buthus yemenensis Lourenco, 2008 (Buthidae)

In the same paper, Buthus occitanus berberensis Pocock, 1900 from Somalia is raised to species status:

Buthus berberensis Pocock, 1900 (Buthidae)

Detailed justification for this new combination is not given in the paper, but other subspecies of B. occitanus have been given species status previously. A molecular study of the genus is strongly needed to sort out which species in the Buthus occitanus and Buthus atlantis species complexes that are valid. This is especially important because members of the Buthus occitanus species complex in North Africa cause serious morbidity in several countries.

Abstract:
In recent years several contributions to the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 (the family Buthidae) and in particular to the ‘Buthus occitanus’ complex of species were proposed. These led to the definition of several species, previously considered only as subspecies or varieties, but also the description of new species. The species considered in these studies come mostly from North and Western Africa. At present, the questionable presence of the genus Buthus in the Arabian Peninsula is rediscussed and one new record from Yemen is confirmed with the description of a new species.

Reference:
Lourenco WR. About the presence of the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 in the Arabian Peninsula and description of a new species (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Entomol Mitt Zool Mus Hamburg. 2008;15 (179):45-52.

Family Buthidae

Revised diagnosis and redescription of Apistobuthus susanae

Apistobuthus is a remarkable genus in the family Buthidae because of the members incredible "winged" tail (the seccond tail segment is laterally flattened and disc-shaped). This characteristic is unique among scorpions.

For many years, only one species was known (A. pterygocercus Finnegan, 1932 from central and southern regions of the Arabian Peninsula). In 1998, another species was described (A. susanae Lourenco, 1998) from the Khoozestan Province in Iran.

A. susanae has only been known from one specimen, but Navidpour & Lowe (2009) have now published a redescription of the species based on several new specimens. New characteristics separating A. susanae from A. pterygocercus are also presented. Info on habitat is also presented.

Abstract:
The scorpion Apistobuthus susanae Lourenc¸o 1998 is redescribed based on new specimens collected from Khoozestan Province, Iran. It is distinct from A. pterygocercus Finnegan 1932 found in the dunes of Rub’ al-Khali. The two species cannot be separated by previously used diagnostic characters. Instead, A. susanae is differentiated from A. pterygocercus by new characters, including more robust legs and pedipalps, shorter pectines, stronger carination, and complete fusion of central lateral and posterior median carinae of the carapace.

Interestingly, Apistobuthus is the only new scorpion genus ever described by a woman (Dr. Susan Finnegan in 1932). A. susanae is named after her.

Reference:
Navidpour S, Lowe G. Revised diagnosis and redescription of Apistobuthus susanae (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Jornal of Arachnology. 2009;37(1):49-59. [Subscription required for fulltext, but free fulltext after 12 months]

Family Buthidae