Heterometrus latimanus (Pocock, 1894)

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 : 21

Heterometrus latimanus (Pocock, 1894)

Scorpio latimanus Pocock, 1894: 74 .

Palamnaeus latimanus : Pocock, 1900: 90.

Heterometrus latimanus : Kraepelin, 1899: 113; Takashima, 1945: 92; Minnocci, 1974: 38.

Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) latimanus : Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 545; Fet, 2000: 448.

Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) indus : Couzijn, 1981: 121 (in part).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. India ; BMNH.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. India oriental, 1960, 2♀, collector unknown, FKCP .

DIAGNOSIS. Adults 70–105 mm long. Color of adults uniformly reddish brown to black. Legs may be lighter colored than body. Pectinal teeth number 13–15. Chela lobiform, rounded and convex, its adult female length to width ratio 1.6–1.7. Entire manus covered by rounded granules, without carinae. Patella of pedipalp without pronouced internal tubercle. Carapace usually smooth and glossy, but granules always present anteriorly and occasionally on other margins. Vesicle of telson usually shorter or as long as aculeus.

COMMENTS. Scorpio latimanus Pocock, 1894 was synonymized by Couzijn (1981: 121) with H. indus , whereas Tikader & Bastawade (1983: 545–550) considered it a valid species. H. latimanus differs from H. indus in the shape of the pedipalp chela, which is also convex and lacks setae. In H. indus the anterior portion of the carapace is not granulated.

DISTRIBUTION. India (Pocock, 1894: 74). Unfortunately , neither the types nor the specimens in my colection bear precise locality data .