Diplocentrinae Karsch, 1880

Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2003, High-level systematics and phylogeny of the extant scorpions (Scorpiones: Orthosterni), Euscorpius 2003 (11), pp. 1-175 : 114

Subfamily Diplocentrinae Karsch, 1880

Type Genus. Diplocentrus Peters, 1861 .

Synonyms.

Nebinae Kraepelin, 1905, new synonymy (valid as tribe name).

Composition. This taxon is downgraded here from family to subfamily rank. The subfamily includes two tribes, Diplocentrini and Nebini , and eight genera.

Distribution. Asia (Middle East), North America, Caribbean, Central and South America.

Taxonomic history. Interestingly, this taxon was originally established as a subfamily of Scorpionidae . Kraepelin (1905) elevated it to the family rank, and it was treated for almost 100 years as a family Diplocentridae (Sissom & Fet, 2000b) . Prendini (2000) in a detailed phylogenetic analysis demonstrated its position as

a sister group to Scorpionidae (our subfamily Scorpioninae ).

Biogeographic history. The disjunct range of Diplocentrinae includes Middle East and New World. Lamoral (1980: 443) suggested that its origin could be Mesozoic (after fragmentation of Laurasia). It is hardly possible to explain this range by Gondwanaland fragmentation. The subsequent radiation of Diplocentrinae could be Cenozoic, both in tropics and, especially, in the arid zones of North America and the Middle East (burrowing forms of Nebo , Diplocentrus , and Bioculus ).

Diagnosis. See Prendini (2000) for details on the diagnosis of this subfamily (as family Diplocentridae ).