Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828

Kovařík, František, 2004, A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, with descriptions of seven new species (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae), Euscorpius 15 (15), pp. 1-60 : 2

Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828

( Figs. 1–7 )

Buthus (Heterometrus) Ehrenberg in Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828: pl. 1, figs 1–2 (part, only fig. 2); Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1829: 351; Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1831: 2.

Buthus : C. L. Koch, 1836: 73; C. L. Koch, 1837: 36; C. L. Koch, 1837: 25; C. L. Koch, 1837: 45 (in part); Agassiz, 1846: 7 (in part); C. L. Koch, 1841: 1 (in part); C. L. Koch, 1850: 87 (in part).

Scorpio Linné, 1758: 624 (in part).

Heterometrus : Ausserer, 1880: 466; Kraepelin, 1905: 344; Kraepelin, 1913: 165; Kopstein, 1921: 128; Werner, 1934: 277; Couzijn, 1978: 327; Couzijn, 1981: 73; Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 518; Sissom, 1990: 136; Fet, 2000: 431; Prendini, 2000: 44; Soleglad & Fet, 2003: 88.

Pandinus : Thorell, 1876b: 199 (in part); Karsch, 1892: 307.

= Centrurus Ehrenberg in Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1829: 350 (TS: Centrurus galbineus C. L. Koch, 1838 ); C. L. Koch, 1837: 38; C. L. Koch, 1838: 110 (see Fet, 2000: 431).

= Palamnaeus Thorell, 1876a: 13 (TS: Palamnaeus petersii Thorell, 1876 ); Karsch, 1892: 307; Pocock, 1897: 114; Pocock, 1896: 77; Pocock, 1900: 84 (syn. by Karsch, 1879: 20; Kraepelin, 1899: 107).

= Heterometrus (Chersonesometrus) Couzijn, 1978: 330 (TS: Buthus fulvipes C. L. Koch, 1837 ); Couzijn, 1981: 131; Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 573; Fet, 2000: 438. Syn. n.

= Heterometrus (Gigantometrus) Couzijn, 1978: 330 ; (TS: Heterometrus swammerdami Simon, 1872 ); Couzijn, 1981: 159; Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 561; Fet, 2000: 443. Syn. n.

= Heterometrus (Javanimetrus) Couzijn, 1981: 124 (TS: Buthus cyaneus C. L. Koch, 1836 ); Fet, 2000: 444. Syn. n.

= Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) Couzijn, 1981: 120 (TS: Scorpio indus DeGeer, 1778 ); Fet, 2000: 446. Syn. n.

TYPE SPECIES. Buthus (Heterometrus) spinifer Ehrenberg, 1828 , by subsequent designation (Karsch, 1879: 20).

DIAGNOSIS: Pedipalp femur with three trichobothria, of them only one on internal surface. Patella of pedipalp with 19 trichobothria, three on ventral and 13 on external surface. Chela of pedipalp with 26 trichobothria. Retrolateral pedal spurs absent. Lateroapical margins of tarsi produced into rounded lobes. Metasomal segments I to IV with paired ventral submedian carinae. Stridulatory organ located on opposing surfaces of pedipalp coxa and first leg. Total length 60 to 180 mm.

COMMENTS. Couzijn (1978, 1981) described four subgenera but gave no characters that would permit to unequivocally distinguish them from the nominotypical subgenus. The invalidity of his subgenera is also clear from the below listed synonymizations of species across them, and I therefore regard all of them as synonyms. The only subgenus that could possibly be upheld is Gigantometrus, which comprises closely related species easily distinguishable from others. However, the genus Heterometrus contains more of such groups (e.g. H. madraspatensis and H. gravimanus , or H. petersii and H. laoticus ), and in my opinion they have the character of species groups rather than of subgenera.

I have found two characters in Heterometrus that could serve to justify subgeneric divisions. One of them is sexual dimorphism, which Couzijn for some reason did not include in his analysis. However, after examination of a majority of the species it has become clear that this character evolved in the genus more than once, because it differentiates otherwise closely related species that definitely cannot be placed in separate subgenera. As examples can serve H. liophysa , H. longimanus , H. spinifer and H. cimrmani sp. n., whose females and juveniles are virtually indistinguishable and the species can be reliably identified only on males. The other character is the genital operculum which comes in two basic shapes, but they cross some of the speciesgroup boundaries. I therefore believe that subgeneric divisions within the genus Heterometrus are not justified.

Figures

Figures 1–7: Heterometrus wroughtoni (Pocock, 1899), specimen labeled as paratype of Heterometrus (Chersonesometrus) pelekomanus Couzijn, 1981 syn. n. In Figs. 1 to 3 the first capital letters denote trichobothria situated on the manus, and the first lower-case letters denote those situated on the fixed finger of pedipalp. Figs. 4 to 6 show the distribution of trichobothria on the patella of pedipalp. Fig. 7 shows the distribution of trichobothria on the femur of pedipalp. Explanation: First letters: D, dorsal, E, external, I, internal, V, ventral. Second or second plus third letters: b, basal, sb, suprabasal, m, medial, st, subterminal, t, terminal, v, ventral. Numerals distinguish individual trichobothria of the same classification. Designation and description of trichobothria after Vachon (1974). Morphological terminology after Stahnke (1970).