A new species in the enigmatic genus Chiromachetes from India

I'm a great fan of the scorpions in the family Hormuridae after having kept a colony of parthenogenetic Liocheles australasiae (Fabricius, 1775) for more than 15 years. It is therefore great to see new species described in this special family. Zeeshan Mirza and co-workers have recently described a new species in the enigmatic genus Chiromachetes Pocock, 1899 (Hormuridae) from Western Ghats in India.

Chiromachetes sahyadriensis Mirza, Sanap & Zambre, 2015

The article has an unpdated identification key for the genus.

Abstract:
A new species of hormurid scorpion is described from the Western Ghats of India. Chiromachetes sahyadriensis sp. nov. differs from other members of this genus in the following set of characters: medium sized scorpions, total length reaching 62.9 mm, carapace flat, three pairs of lateral eyes, manus length/width ratio in males 4.6–4.8 and 3.4 in females, tarsi of leg ventrally with three spinoid setae at the base of tarsi. Dentate margin of pedipalp manus finger with two rows of granules fused at base. Pectines 8–9 in males, 6–8 in females. Lamellar hook positioned distinctly in basal half of hemispermatophore in proximity to the lamellae.

Reference:
Mirza Z, Sanap R, Zambre A. A New Species of the Enigmatic Genus Chiromachetes Pocock, 1899 (Scorpiones: Hormuridae) from Western Ghats, India, with a Key to the Genus. Euscorpius. 2015 (212):1-10. [Open Access]

Family Hormuridae

A new Buthus species from Algeria

Salah Eddine Sadine and co-workers have recently described a new species of Buthus Leach, 1815 (Buthidae) from Algeria.

Buthus saharicus Saddine, Bissati & Lourenco, 2015

Abstract:
Since the early 2000s, the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 (family Buthidae) has been the subject of an important number of studies. These concerned particularly the species belonging to the ‘Buthus occitanus’ complex. A number of populations previously considered as subspecies or varieties of B. occitanus Leach were raised to the rank of species, but also many new species have been described. Most of the species considered in these studies come from North Africa, in particular from Morocco, Mauritania, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, but only two new species were recorded from Algeria. At present, one more new species of Buthus is described from the Algerian Saharan Desert, raising the number of confirmed Buthus in Algeria to five. Since most Buthus species from North Africa, and in particular those from Algeria, inhabit more mesic environments than the Saharan Central compartment, the new species appears as the first true deserticolous species found in this country.

Reference:
Sadine SE, Bissati S, Lourenco WR. The first true deserticolous species of Buthus Leach, 1815 from Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae); Ecological and biogeographic considerations. C R Biol. 2015 Nov 26. [Subscription required for full text]

Family Buthidae

Two new species of Pandinurus from the Horn of Africa

Andrea Rossi is working on Scorpionidae materials from Africa and has now published two new species in the subgenus Pandiborrellius Rossi, 2015 (Scorpionidae) from the Horn of Africa.

Pandinurus lanzai Rossi, 2015 (Somalia)

Pandinurus sabbadinii Rossi, 2015 (Eritrea)

The article has an identification key for the subgenus Pandiborrellius.

 Abstract:

Reference:
Rossi A. Due ulteriori nuove specie del sottogenere Pandiborellius Rossi, 2015 dal Corno d'Africa (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae). Arachnida - Rivista Aracnologica Italiana. 2015;1(2):2-36.

Thanks to Dr. Rossi for sending me his article!

Family Scorpionidae

Revision of the genus Gint in Somalia with two new species

Previously this year, Andrea Rossi published a revision of the little known genus Gint Kovarik, Lowe, Pliskova & Stahlavsky, 2013 (Buthidae) from Somalia. Two new species were described.

Gint marialuisae Rossi, 2015

Gint monicae Rossi, 2015

In addition, the only known specimen of Buthus insolitus Borelli, 1925 was re-examined and transferred to Gint as Gint insolitus (Borelli, 1925).

Abstract:
The genus Gint Kovarik, Lowe, Pliskova & Stahlavsky, 2013 in Somalia is revised. Two new speices, Gint marialuisae sp. n., and Gint monicae sp. .n., are described; the holotype, and the only known specimen, of Buthus insolitus Borelli, 1925 is re-examined and moved to the genus Gint. An identification key for the four present species in Somalia is given: Gint insolitus (Borelli, 1925) comb. n., Gint marialuisae sp. .n., Gint monicae sp. n. and Gint calviceps (Pocock, 1900).

Reference:
Rossi A. Revisione del genere Gint Kovarik, Lowe, Pliskova & Stahlavsky, 2013 in Somalia con la descrizione di due nuove specie (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Arachnida - Rivista Aracnologica Italiana. 2015;1(2):50-63.

Thanks to Dr. Rossi for sending me his article!

Family Buthidae

Indian Scorpions eGuide for IOS and Android

If you are interested in Indian scorpions, there is now available an Indian Scorpions eGuide for IOS and Android. The app presents details for 38 species of India's more than 120 species, and has many high quality pictures of the scorpions. The app costs $ 3.79.

I have not yet downloaded the app, but the author is Zeeshan Mirza, is a well known Indian scorpion zoologist, and I'm quite sure that the quality of this app is good and will be useful both for professionals and amateurs. Hopefully, the app will include more species in the future.

Indian Scorpions eGuide (IOS)

Indian Scorpions eGuide (Android)

A new species of Auyantepuia from French Guiana

Eric Ythier has recently described a new species in the genus Auyantepuia Gonzalez-Sponga, 1978 (Chactidae) from French Guiana.

Auyantepuia laurae Ythier, 2015

The genus Auyantepuia was synonymized with other genera by Soleglad & Fet, 2005. Lourenço & Qi (2007) chose not to accept this synonymization, and described the new species in Auyantepuia in 2007. The same has been done in the present paper.The taxonomy of The Scorpion Files follows Soleglad & Fet (2005), but it is impossible for me to know where to put the new species. To solve this, I have reinstated Auyantepuia in The Scorpion Files for species described after the synonymization until a new revision on the family Chactidae is published.

Abstract:
A new species of scorpion belonging to the genus Auyantepuia González-Sponga, 1978 (family Chactidae Pocock, 1893) is described on the basis of three specimens collected in a rainforest formation located in Saut Sabbat, South of Mana, French Guiana. This is the tenth species of the Guiano-Amazonian genus Auyantepuia, and the fifth reported from French Guiana.

Reference:
Ythier E. A new species of Auyantepuia González-Sponga, 1978 (Scorpiones, Chactidae) from French Guiana. ZooKeys. 2015;539:97-109. [Open Access]

Thanks to Eric Ythier for sending me his article!

Family Chactidae

Three new Uroplectes from tropical central Africa

The scorpion fauna of tropical, central Africa is poorly known and much of the knowledge we have is based on old materials collected before the use of UV-lights and other modern trapping methods. The scorpion diversity in this area is probably greater than previously known.

Lorenzo Prendini has now published an article based on new material of Uroplectes Peters, 1861 (Buthidae) from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Three new species are described.

Uroplectes katangensis Prendini, 2015 (Malawi)

Uroplectes malawicus Prendini, 2015 (Malawi)

Uroplectes zambezicus Prendini, 2015 (Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe)

In addition, the following taxa are synonymized (or previous synonymizations are confirmed):

Scorpiobuthus apatris Werner, 1939 = Uroplectes chubbi Hirst, 1911
Uroplectes jutrzenkai Penther, 1900 = Uroplectes vittatus (Thorell, 1876).
Uroplectes andreae Pocock, 1899 = Uroplectes occidentalis Simon, 1876 (new synonym)
Uroplectes chubbi briodi Schenkel, 1932 = Uroplectes vittatus (Thorell, 1876) (new synonym)

Abstract:
The scorpion fauna of tropical central Africa is poorly known and may be more diverse than generally recognized. The present contribution describes three morphologically similar, and probably monophyletic species of Uroplectes Peters, 1861, which have gone undetected, despite being distributed across a large area, extending from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Uroplectes malawicus, sp. nov., and Uroplectes zambezicus, sp. nov., occurring south of Lake Malawi and in the Zambezi River Valley, respectively, appear to be sister species. Uroplectes katangensis, sp. nov., is based on a single female from the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Based on their punctate metasomal segments, the new species appear to be most closely related to Uroplectes chubbi Hirst, 1911. The markedly concave, shagreened dorsomedian surfaces on metasomal segments I–IV resemble the stridulatory surfaces on the metasomal segments of most Parabuthus Pocock, 1890, and, together with the robust metasoma and worn tips of the aculeus observed in some specimens, suggest that these species may also be capable of stridulation. Based on examination of type material, the following synonyms were confirmed: Scorpiobuthus apatris Werner, 1939 = Uroplectes chubbi Hirst, 1911; Uroplectes jutrzenkai Penther, 1900 = Uroplectes vittatus (Thorell, 1876). The following new synonyms are presented: Uroplectes andreae Pocock, 1899 = Uroplectes occidentalis Simon, 1876, new synonym; Uroplectes chubbi briodi Schenkel, 1932 = Uroplectes vittatus (Thorell, 1876), new synonym. Lectotypes are designated for U. chubbi and U. jutrzenkai.

Reference:
Prendini L. Three new Uroplectes (Scorpiones, Buthidae) with punctate metasomal segments from tropical central Africa. American Museum Novitates. 2015 (3840):1-32. [Open Access]

Family Buthidae