Centruroides margaritatus (Gervais, 1841)

Teruel, Rolando & Roncallo, César A., 2010, Rare or poorly known scorpions from Colombia. IV. Additions, synonymies and new records (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Scorpionidae), Euscorpius 105 (105), pp. 1-15 : 1-2

Centruroides margaritatus (Gervais, 1841)

Figs. 1 , 10

Centruroides gracilis: Gómez & Otero, 2007: 56 ; fig. 4a (misidentification).

New Records: COLOMBIA, Magdalena Department, Santa Marta city, January 2009, leg. J. A. Vargas, 1 juvenile (Sco-0422) . La Guajira Department, Riohacha, José A. Galán District, 8 November 2006, leg. C. A. Roncallo, 1♀ (Sco-0360); Riohacha, Barrio Arriba District , 25 July 2007, leg. C. A. Roncallo, 1♂ (Sco- 0375); Riohacha downtown, 25 June 2008, leg. W. Ramos, 1♂ (Sco-0395), 5 October 2008, leg. C. A. Roncallo, 1 juvenile (Sco-0421); Riohacha graveyard, August 2009, leg. C. A. Roncallo, 1♂ (Sco-0420); Serranía de Macuira , 3 km west of Nazareth , 14 July 2007, leg. J. Echavarría, 1♀ (Sco-0374) .

Remarks: all specimens recorded herein were collected under different conditions, but always associated to human environments: inside inhabited houses (two specimens from Riohacha and those from Santa Marta and Nazareth), walking on the streets at night (two specimens from Riohacha), and under rock in a sandy beach (one specimen from Riohacha).

These Colombian specimens of C. margaritatus match in all diagnostic features the samples studied from other localities throughout Central America and Greater Antilles, with the single exception of the base color of the body and appendages, which is light yellowish with a more contrasting dark pattern.

The precise geographical distribution of this species in Colombia is currently unknown. Previously published records must be considered as unreliable, because at least in some cases it has been confused with C. gracilis , as is evident from those papers, which have been supplemented with photographs (i.e., Gómez & Otero, 2007: 56; fig. 4a). These misidentifications could explain why some authors have recorded supposed hybridization between these two species (Lourenço, 1991b) or even doubted about their taxonomic validity (Lourenço, 1997); otherwise, both species are not even closely related and belong to different species-groups (R. Teruel, unpublished data).

Figures

Figure 1: Adult male and female of Centruroides margaritatus from Riohacha, entire dorsal view.

Figures 10–11: 10 (top). Geographical distribution of Centruroides margaritatus in Caribbean Colombia (only confirmed records included). 11 (bottom). Geographical distribution of Rhopalurus caribensis: previous records (black squares), new records (white squares).