Brotheinae Simon, 1879

Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2003, High-level systematics and phylogeny of the extant scorpions (Scorpiones: Orthosterni), Euscorpius 2003 (11), pp. 1-175 : 96-97

Subfamily Brotheinae Simon, 1879 , new rank

Type Genus. Brotheas C. L. Koch, 1837 . Synonyms.

Belisariinae Lourenço, 1998, new synonymy (valid as tribe name).

Composition. This subfamily is established here. It includes two tribes, Brotheini (four genera) and Belisariini (one genus).

Distribution. Europe, South America.

Taxonomic history. The name Brotheidae, based on the type genus Brotheas C.L. Koch, 1837 , is here taken out of synonymy ( Sissom, 2000a: 288). It was never used as a valid family-group name since suggested by Simon (1879: 92) as a family Broteidae (incorrect original spelling), but remained an available synonym. Its establishment as a subfamily does not enable priority of Brotheidae Simon, 1879 over Chactidae Pocock, 1893 and Chactoidea Pocock, 1893 ; this situation is specifically addressed by the Article 35 of the Code (ICZN, 1999): “After 1999, if a family group name is older than a prevailing name for a higher family group rank, it does not displace the junior name”.

Biogeographic history. Disjunct range of Brotheinae is a remarkable relict feature, paralleled in scorpions at the subfamily level only in Scorpiopinae and Diplocentrinae . Both the European Belisariini (a single monotypic genus Belisarius ) and the South American Brotheini could be relicts of much earlier (Pangean?) distribution of Chactidae . Disjunct distribution of some South American genera of Brotheini can be attributed to the recent (Pleistocene) fluctuations of tropical rainforest (Lourenço, 1988, 1994, 1996b; Monod & Lourenço, 2001).

Diagnosis. Synapomorphies. Patellar trichobothria distance between esb 1 and esb 2 is much greater than distance between em 1 and em 2; ventral surface of leg tarsus dominated with setal pair configuration, median row of spinules essentially obsolete. Important Symplesiomorphies. Hemispermatophore truncal flexure absent; hemispermatophore lamina terminus tenuous, thin, highly tapered; stigma shape small and circular.