Centruroides barbudensis (Pocock, 1898)

Teruel, Rolando & Madden, Hannah, 2012, The scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) of Sint Eustatius, Lesser Antilles, Euscorpius 145 (145), pp. 1-9 : 2-3

Centruroides barbudensis (Pocock, 1898)

Figures 2–3 , 8a–b

Records: Gilboa Hill (17°30.602N, 62°59.120W), September 2010, H. Madden, J. Morpeth (specimens photographed alive and released). Courtar Mountain (17°29.020N, 62°58.058W), August–November 2010, H. Madden, J. Morpeth, 1♂, 4♀♀ ( RTO: Sco-0522). The Quill (17°28.557N, 62°58.416W), 6 January 2010, A. Sánchez, J. Burgess, 5♂♂, 2♀♀ ( RTO: Sco-0460). September 2010, H. Madden, J. Morpeth (specimens photographed alive and released) .

Ecological Notes: all specimens were found at night with UV detection. The majority was discovered on the branches of trees and one was found in the leaf litter. It has been found in the following vegetation types: thorny woodland, dry evergreen forest, semi-evergreen seasonal forest, evergreen seasonal forest, and pioneer forest .

Comments: the above-given records are only a couple of representative samples which were collected for study. The species is common and widespread all over Sint Eustatius.

The study of the holotype of C. eustatius (temporarily housed at the Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Havana, Cuba) and the specimens recorded herein, and their direct comparison to additional samples of C. barbudensis from other islands (type locality included), confirms that the synonymy proposed by Armas (1983) is correct.

Figures

Figure 2: Adult male Centruroides barbudensis from Sint Eustatius, dorsal and ventral views.

Figure 3: Adult female Centruroides barbudensis from Sint Eustatius, dorsal and ventral views.

Figure 8: Live scorpions from Sint Eustatius, in their natural habitat: (a) adult male Centruroides barbudensis; (b) adult female Centruroides barbudensis; (c) adult female Oiclus purvesii; (d) juvenile Oiclus purvesii. Photos courtesy Alejandro J. Sánchez.