Orthochirus aristidis (Simon, 1882)

Lourenço, Wilson R. & Leguin, Elise-Anne, 2011, Further considerations on the species of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 from Africa, with description of three new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 123 (123), pp. 1-19 : 1-3

Orthochirus aristidis (Simon, 1882)

( Figs. 1−5 , 22 , 27 , 33 ; Tab. 1)

Type material: Nubia ( Egypt / Sudan), near to the

Nile (Aristide Letourneux leg.). One pre-adult female here designated as lectotype (RS-1771 - Simon’s number 4272). One adult female, 3 males and 2 female juveniles designated paralectotypes (RS-8832). Deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris.

Note: The pre-adult female designated as lectotype is the only specimen in the series which corresponds in size and number of pectinal teeth to the values given by Simon (1882) in the original description.

Revised diagnosis based on type material and on one female topotype collected in Sudan ( Nubia ), Wadi Halfa, X/1975 (P. Brignoli) .

Medium sized scorpions, reaching a total length of 30 mm for males and for females. (Measurements in Table 1.)

Coloration (based on topotype). Dark reddish-brown to blackish. Prosoma: carapace blackish; furrows reddish-yellow; median and lateral eyes surrounded by black pigment. Mesosoma: blackish; carinae and granulations very dark. Metasomal segments dark reddish to blackish; telson reddish; aculeus paler than vesicle. Metasomal carinae blackish. Venter reddish-brown; pectines yellowish. Chelicerae reddish-brown with blackish granules; teeth reddish-yellow. Pedipalps: femur and patella blackish; chela hand dark brown; fingers yellowish. Legs blackish with three distal segments reddish-yellow.

Morphology. Carapace moderately to strongly granular; anterior margin with a slight convexity. Carinae and furrows moderate. Median ocular tubercle almost at the centre of the carapace; median eyes separated by more than one ocular diameter. Three pairs of lateral eyes. Sternum subtriangular to subpentagonal, wider than long. Mesosoma: tergites with strong granulation; median carina moderate to weak in all tergites. Tergite VII pentacarinate with strong carinae. Venter: genital operculum elongated, divided longitudinally into two suboval plates. Pectinal tooth count 16 to 18 in males, 13 to 16 in females; basal middle lamellae of each pecten not dilated. Sternites almost smooth with slit-like spiracles; VII with four moderate carinae with some minute granulations. Metasomal segments rounded, with carinae moderately to strongly marked; granulations moderately marked, except on I; segment I with ten carinae; other segments with some carinae and strongly marked punctuations; ventral aspect of segments II to V without granulations. Intercarinal spaces smooth. Telson smooth with a few punctuations; aculeus slightly longer than the vesicle and moderately curved; subaculear tooth absent. Cheliceral dentition characteristic of the family Buthidae (Vachon, 1963) ; movable finger with basal teeth strongly marked; ventral aspect of both finger and manus with thin setae. Pedipalps: femur with five carinae, moderately granular; patella with seven carinae; chela without carinae, smooth. Fixed and movable fingers with 8/9 rows of denticles; accessory denticles present. Trichobothriotaxy: A-β; neobothriotaxy ‘minorante’ (Vachon, 1974, 1975). Legs: tarsus with two row of setae ventrally. Tibial and pedal spurs moderately marked on all legs.

Distribution: Egypt, Sudan,? Ethiopia, Djibouti.

Figures

Figures 1−2: Orthochirus aristidis, female lectotype, dorsal and ventral aspects.

Figures 3−4: Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia, dorsal and ventral aspects, showing coloration pattern.

Figure 5: Orthochirus aristidis, female (alive) from Djibouti.

Figures 22−26: Disposition of the granulation over the dentate margin of the movable finger. 22. Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia. 23. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. 24. Orthochirus tassili sp. n., female paratype. 25. Orthochirus cloudsleythompsoni sp. n., male holotype. 26. Orthochirus atarensis sp. n., female paratype.

Figures 27−32: Femur, dorsal aspect, showing trichobothrial pattern. 27. Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia. 28. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. 29. Orthochirus tassili sp. n., female paratype. 30. Orthochirus cloudsleythompsoni sp. n., male holotype. 31−32. Orthochirus atarensis sp. n., male holotype and female paratype.

Figures 33−38: Sternum and genital operculum. 33. Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia. 34. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. 35. Orthochirus tassili sp. n., female paratype. 36. Orthochirus cloudsleythompsoni sp. n., male holotype. 37. Orthochirus atarensis sp. n., female paratype. 38. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. Ventral aspect of metasomal segments I−V and telson, showing granulations on segment V.