A new species of Chaerilus from the Philippines

A new species of Chaerilus has been described from the northern parts of the island Luzon in the Philippines:

Chaerlius philippinus Lourenco & Ythier, 2008

The article also presents a redescription of Chaerilus celebensis based on new materials from the Celebes Islands (Sulawesi), Indonesia.

Reference:
Lourenco WR, Ythier E. A new species of Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Scorpiones, Chaerilidae) from the Philippines. Boletin Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa. 2008(42):27-31.

Family Chaerilidae

Part III of a major review of the scorpions of Iran has been published

Part III of a major review of the scorpions of Iran has been published in issue 69 of the journal Euscorpius.

The paper list 14 species (seven new records) from the Ilam province and their distribution. An identification key for the species in the province is given. Good color photos are presented for most species and also some habitat pictures.

Reference:
Navidpour S, Fet V, Kovarik F, & Soleglad ME. Scorpions of Iran (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part III. Ilam Province. Euscorpius. 2008(69):1-29. [Fulltext freely available]

Family Buthidae

An updated edition of Manny Rubio's excellent scorpion book available

Manny Rubio's "Scorpions - Complete Pet Owner's Manual" has been one of the best scorpion books for non-professional scorpion enthusiasts and pet owners. Now an updated edition is available:

Rubio M. (2008)
Scorpions: everything about purchase, care, feeding, behavior, and breeding. 2. ed. New York: Barron's. ISBN 0-7641-3981-9

The new edition is filled with great pictures and information. Even though the book is mainly intended for scorpion pet owners, other scorpion enthusiasts will also benefit from the general information and pictures. The book has a special chapter on scorpion venom and envenomations. The manuscript has been reviewed by scorpion experts Kari McWest and Luc Ross (and in part by Eric Ythier and myself), and should be as correct as possible.

This is probably the best popular book on scorpions available at the moment.

A phylogenetic review of the genus Hadurus and synonymization of Hoffmannihadrurus with Hadurus

Oscar Francke and Lorenzo Prendini have recently published a paper where they review the taxonomic history of the North American genus Hadrurus Thorell, 1876 and re-evaluate the phylogenetic relationships among the genus' species. In the same paper they also propose a synonymization of Hoffmannihadrurus Fet & Soleglad 2004 with Hadrurus. This means that the following names are valid for the two species previously included in Hoffmannihadrurus:

Hadrurus aztecus Pocock, 1902
Hadrurus gertschi Soleglad, 1976

Here is the abstract of the paper:

The ‘giant hairy scorpions’, genus Hadrurus Thorell, are the largest and most conspicuous scorpions in North America, but their systematics has long been confused. A new genus, Hoffmannihadrurus Fet et al. was recently created to accommodate the two species endemic to mainland Mexico, Hadrurus aztecus Pocock and Hadrurus gertschi Soleglad. In the present contribution, we review the taxonomic history of Hadrurus, re-evaluate the phylogenetic relationships among its component species with an analysis based on morphological characters and a taxon sample representing the known morphological variation, and assess the validity of the new genus. Seven independent analyses of the morphological character matrix, under weighting regimes that minimised length as well as those that maximised fit, each located a single most parsimonious tree with the following scheme of relationships: (Iurus ((Caraboctonus + Hadruroides) (H. aztecus ((H. gertschi + H. pinteri) (H. concolorous + H. hirsutus)) ((H. obscurus + H. spadix) (H. a. arizonensis (H. a. austrinus + H. a. pallidus)))))). This topology supports the monophyly of Caraboctoninae, Caraboctonini, Hadrurini, the ‘arizonensis’ subgroup, H. arizonensis and H. concolorous. It does not support the monophyly of Hoffmannihadrurus, Hadrurus, the ‘aztecus’ group, the ‘hirsutus’ group, and the ‘hirsutus’ subgroup, all of which were rendered paraphyletic by the grouping of H. gertschi with H. pinteri, rather than with H. aztecus. The results unequivocally demonstrate that the creation of a new genus for the mainland Mexican species was unfounded. We therefore propose the following new synonymy: Hoffmannihadrurus Fet et al., 2004 = Hadrurus Thorell, 1876, syn. nov.

Did you know that in Mexico the large Hadrurus are known as "Matacaballos", which actually means "Horse killers". Fortunately, studies have shown that the venom of these impressing scorpions has low toxicity against mammals.

Reference:
Francke OF, Prendini L. Phylogeny and classification of the gigant hairy scorpions, Hadrurus Thorell (Iuridae Thorell): a reappraisal. Systematics and Biodiversity. 2008;6(2):205-23. [Subscription required for fulltext]

Family Caraboctonidae

New Rhopalurus species from Colombia

A new species in the genus Rhopalurus has been described from northeastern Colombia:

Rhopalurus caribensis Teruel & Roncallo, 2008

The new species is closely related to Rhopalurus laticauda, and has probably been confused with this species in the past. The paper also discuss the taxonomy and distribution of Rhopalurus laticauda.

Reference:

Teruel R, Roncallo CA. Rare or poorly known scorpions from Colombia. III. On the taxonomy and distribution of Rhopalurus laticauda Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), with the description of a new species of the genus. Euscorpius. 2008(68):1-12. [Free fulltext]

Family Buthidae

A new troglobitic genus and species described from Australia

Erich Volschenk and Lorenzo Prendini has described an interesting new troglobitic genus and species from Ledge Cave, Barrow Island, off the north-western coast of Western Australia:

Aops Volschenk & Prendini, 2008 (Urodacidae)*
Aops oncodactylus Volschenk & Prendini, 2008 (Urodacidae)*

*The family Urodacidae was abolished by Soleglad, Fet & Kovarik in 2005 and the subfamily Urodacinae was transfered to Scorpionidae. Volschenk & Prendini have not accepted this deccision (more information about this), and retained the family Urodacidae (and placed the new genus and species in this family because of its close relationship to Urodacus). The taxonomy of The Scorpion Files follows Soleglad & Fet (2005), and I have here listed Aops in Scorpionidae. This is formally not correct, but is the best choice in the current situation until a new revision on higher scorpion systematics is published.

The paper also has a very interesting review of scorpion troglobites and discuss the different forms of troglobitic lifestyle and troglomorphisms (troglomorphic adaptions) in scorpions.

Here is the abstract from the paper:

"
We describe a new genus and species of troglomorphic scorpion from Ledge Cave, Barrow Island, off the north-western coast of Western Australia. This troglobite scorpion was initially difficult to place within the superfamily Scorpionoidea Latreille on account of its unusual morphology. Based on cladistic analysis, we demonstrate that this scorpion is phylogenetically most closely related to the endemic Australian genus Urodacus Peters (Urodacidae Pocock). The new taxon, named Aops oncodactylus, gen. et sp. nov., is the first troglobitic urodacid and the first troglobitic scorpion recorded from continental Australia. In light of this discovery, we re-assess the known diversity of troglobitic scorpions and the troglomorphic adaptations (troglomorphies) of cavernicolous scorpions. A distinction is recognised between the exclusive occurrence in cavernicolous habitats and the presence of troglomorphies, which are exhibited by some endogean (humicolous) scorpions. The definition of troglobitic scorpions is limited to species that are both restricted to cavernicolous habitats and exhibit pronounced troglomorphies. Only 20 scorpion species meet both criteria and are considered unequivocally troglobitic according to this definition.
"

Reference:
Volschenk ES, Prendini L. Aops oncodactylus, gen. et sp. nov, the frist troglobitic urodacid (Urodacidae: Scorpiones), with a re-assessment of cavernicolus, troglobitic and troglomorphic scorpions. Invertebrate Systematics. 2008;22:235. [Subscription required for fulltext]

Family Scorpionidae

A new book about scorpions and humans

Gerard Dupre has recently published the book "Des Scorpions et des Hommes". The publisher has released the following information about the book:

Historians of science have not paid much interest in the history of zoology and even less than the scorpionology. This gap is now partially filled with this book. The scorpions have always fascinated people in the same way that snakes across the danger they can pose to everyone. To classify these animals within the meaning of the zoological term is the subject of the first part of this study. Then the biology of these animals will be explored in the course of history since the earliest human writing until today. Finally, the main part of the book will reveal all reports that different civilizations and religions have had with scorpions through the mythology and medicine.

This french book of 424 pages includes 58 figures and is based on about 1200 references found in a dozen different languages. From size 14 x 20, it is available from the APCI at a price of 20 euros.