Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807)

Karataş, Ayşegül & Çolak, Mehmet, 2005, Scorpions of Gaziantep Province, Turkey (Arachnida: Scorpiones), Euscorpius 30 (30), pp. 1-7 : 1-2

Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807)

Specimens examined: Gaziantep: Nizip, 01.VIII.1998: 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 1998 /262), 20 km north of Gaziantep-Nizip road, 07.VIII.2003: 1 ♂ ( ZDNU 2003 /566), old road from Şehitkâmil to Nizip (5 th km), 23.VII.2003: 2 ♀♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /469, 536), Şehitkâmil, 2 km west of old Nizip road, 23.VII.2003: 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /479), road from Gaziantep to Nizip (20 th km), 22.VIII.2003: 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /567), Şahinbey, south of Kızılhisar Village, 10.VII.2003: 1 ♂ ( ZDNU 2003 /477), new road from Şehitkâmil to Nizip (c. 15 th km), 25.VIII.2003: 1 ♂ ( ZDNU 2003 /478), Şehitkâmil, Y. Beylerbeyi (Serkenez) Village , 18.VII.2003: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /480, 537), Karkamış, Kızılpınar Village , 15.VIII.2004: 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2004 /752), Nizip, 25.VI.2003: 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /554), Nizip, Mağaracık Village , artificial caves (ruins) (480 m a.s.l.), 27.IX.2002: 2 ♀♀ ( ZDNU 2002 /346, 347) .

Comments: This species is known from the Sinai Peninsula ( Egypt) across the entire Middle East ( Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey (southeastern Anatolia), Iraq), the

Arabian Peninsula, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran (Fet & Lowe, 2000). Vachon (1951) reported A. crassicauda from Elazığ, Malatya, Mardin, and Şanli Urfa provinces. We found this species commonly in southeastern Anatolia, but it has not been known from Gaziantep. However, Crucitti & Vignoli (2002) recorded it probably from Gaziantep (?). This xerophilic species is common in Gaziantep, especially in the lowland in the southern half of this province. The specimens were collected by turning rocks, under stones near pistachio gardens and farmland in the lowland, or in the mountainous area with scarce vegetation, and also in crevices in two artificial caves far away from human settlements. Two specimens were found in the walls inside inhabited houses made of sundried bricks .