Orthochirus iranus Kovařík, 2004

Navidpour, Shahrokh, Kovařík, František, Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2008, Scorpions of Iran (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part I. Khoozestan Province, Euscorpius 65 (69), pp. 1-41 : 15-20

Orthochirus iranus Kovařík, 2004

Figures 4, 19, 24–26, 27-30, 31, 97–100; Table 2

Orthochirus sp. n.?: Kovařík, 1997a: 47 (in part).

Orthochirus iranus Kovařík, 2004: 13 ; Kovařík & Fet, 2006: 8.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Iran, Bushehr Province, cca 17km NW. Bandar-e Gonárer , 10 m, 29°38'32"N 50°26'56"E ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, Bushehr Province, cca 17km NW Bandar-e Gonarer (correct: Bandar-e-Gonaveh ), 10 m, 29°38'32"N 50°26'56"E, 3♂ 2♀ (holotype and paratypes), 13–14.X.1998, leg. P. Kabátek ; Chahak 15 km NW Bandar-e-Gonaveh by road, 29°40’N, 50°25’E, 20 m a.s.l., 3–5.V.1996 (loc No. 19 in Frynta et al., 1997: 4), 1♀ (allotype), leg. D. Král , 1♂ 1♀ (paratypes), leg. M. Kaftan ; Khoozestan Province, Chogha Zanbil (zikkurat), 32°00’N, 48°31’E, 100 m a.s.l., 5–6.V.1996 (loc No. 20 in Frynta et al., 1997: 4), 1im. ♂ (paratype), leg. M. Kaftan. All types are in FKCP.

KHOOZESTAN PROVINCE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, Khoozestan Province , Baghmalek district, Karbalai Ghasem village, 31°27'24"N 49°57'37"E (Locality No. H-201), XII.2006, 1♂ FKCP, leg. Kazemi & Habibzadeh ; Ahvaz-Omidiyeh road (40 km to Omidiyeh), 30°37'49"N 49°31'47"E (Locality No. OM-80), V. 2007, 1♂ RRLS, leg. Masihipour & Bahrani ; Chogha Zanbil (Locality No. CH-95), 1♂ FKCP, 2007, leg. Masihipour, Hayader & Bahrani ; Shadegan district , Toopjieh village, 30°39'33"N 48°36'44"E (Locality No. SH-75), 2006, 1♀ FKCP, leg. Hayader & Jahanifard ; Shadegan district , Toopjieh village, 30°39'33"N 48°36'44"E, 33 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 700), 2006, 2♀ FKCP, leg. Hayader & Jahanifard, (Locality No. SH-1 to 4) , IV.2007, 11♂ 9♀ 7ims. RRLS, 15♂ 7♀ 6ims. 1juv. FKCP, leg. Navidpour & Jahanifard ; Baghmalek district , Karbalai Ghasem village, 31°27'24"N 49°57'37"E (Locality No. B 7), IV.2007, 1♀ 1im. RRLS, leg. Salari ; Omidiyeh , 30°57'49"N 49°31'47"E, 21 m a.s.l. (Locality No. A- OM-1), V.2007, 1♂ FKCP, leg. Navidpour & Jahanifard ; near Masdjedsoleyman , 31°38'40"N 48°56'41"E, 53 m a.s.l. (Locality No. A-Ma 806-2), VIII.2007, 10♂ 4♀ RRLS, leg. Navidpour & Masihipour ; near Masdjedsoleyman , 31°38'40"N 48°56'41"E, 54 m a.s.l. (Locality No. A-ma 809), VIII.2007, 6♂ 3juvs. RRLS, 4♂ 2♀ FKCP, leg. Navidpour & Masihipour ; Shushtar (Locality No. SHO-014), VIII.2007, 2♂ 1im. FKCP, leg. Hayder ; Hamidiyeh , 31°27'57"N 48° 29'18"E, 13 m a.s.l. (Locality No. A-Ham-812), IX.2007, 5♂ 1♀ 13juvs RRLS, 4♂ 1♀ FKCP, leg. Masihipour & Navidpour ; Ahvaz–Masjedsoleyman road, 31°49'34"N 49°05'00"E, 53 m a.s.l. (Locality No. A-Ma-816-2), X.2007, 1♂ 1♀ RRLS, leg. Masihipour & Hayader.

COMMENTS: All examined specimens of Orthochirus iranus from Bushehr Province (types) lack trichobothrium d 2 on the dorsal surface of pedipalp femur. Some specimens from Khoozestan Province have this trichobothrium fully developed, some have it reduced and some lack it, although they are morphologically and colorwise identical and have been collected during the same day in the same place. One male examined even has the trichobothium on the right femur of pedipalp fully developed and on the left side reduced. All examined specimens found northward in Lorestan and Hamadan Provinces possess trichobothrium d 2. It is a situation that appears to warrant further study. It is clear now, however, that the presence or absence of trichobothrium d 2 on the femur of the pedipalp is not a generic and perhaps not even a specific character. This is because at one locality we have several specimens of Orthochirus iranus that differ only in having or lacking the d 2 trichobothrium. Since the presence or absence of trichobothrium d 2 on the femur of pedipalp is the only character separating Orthochirus Karsch from Paraorthochirus Lourenço et Vachon (Lourenço & Vachon, 1995, 1997; Kovařík, 2004), it follows that these two genera are synonyms, i.e. Paraorthochirus Lourenço et Vachon, 1997 , syn. n. = Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 .

DISCUSSION: The Type A ( Buthidae ) trichobothrium d 2 on the pedipalp femur is characterized as “petite” (Vachon 1974; Soleglad & Fet 2001, 2003), i.e. of a reduced size (of both areola and shaft). Soleglad & Fet (2001) introduced “petite” as a cladistic character for scorpion trichobothria, whereby in addition to a fully developed trichobothrium or its absence the “petite” condition as an intermediate state, when a trichobothrium is being lost or gained in the evolutionary process. As they wrote (Soleglad & Fet, 2001: 37), “Petite trichobothria are identified by their relatively smaller size than the other full-sized trichobothria found on the scorpion. This size differential can be quantified as a difference in the diameter of the trichobothrium follicle, typically exhibiting a reduction in diameter anywhere from 10 to 45% of a normal trichobothrium.” Soleglad & Fet (2001: Table A-1) noted that Buthidae “have the most reduced petite trichobothria”, but they did not quantify the reduction of d 2 on the femur. They considered a petite d 2 on the femur an ancestral (plesiomorphic) character state for the Buthidae . However, from the available literature it is not clear to what extent d 2 is reduced in various taxa. Some authors note it and clearly depict it in drawings: areola is usually depicted as a circle about two times smaller than in other trichobothria, and if the shaft is drawn (which is not always done), it is also depicted as very short. Probably the earliest clear drawing of this petite d 2 on the femur can be found in Vachon (1940: fig. 10) for Buthus (now Compsobuthus ) acutecarinatus ; see also Vachon (1952, 1979). Other authors comment on this reduction only in describing some taxa: e.g. Lourenço (1998: 243) specifically noted it as “very small” for Apistobuthus .

Complete absence (loss) of d 2 on the femur is a derived (synapomorphic) character rarely encountered in the Buthidae . It could have been lost several times independently, and is considered diagnostic for a number of buthid genera: Alayotityus , Baloorthochirus , Lissothus , Microbuthus , Microtityus , Orthochiroides , Orthochirus , Razianus (= Neohemibuthus ), and Zabius (Vachon, 1973, 1974, 1977; Sissom, 1990; Lourenço 1996, 2002; Kovařík, 2004). Also, in Orthochirus , presence of d 2 was reported in some populations (Levy & Amitai 1980: 95, 99, for O. “scrobiculosus” negebensis ). There are also reports of d 2 size variation (degree of reduction). Lourenço (Lourenço & Vachon, 1995: 301–305) considered “normal vs. reduced size” of

65. No, 2008 — Euscorpius

18

Kraepelin.. 26 O (femur glabrifrons right on Orthochirus present d 2. 23 petite.,) arrow, 2004 ík white Kova ř by indicated. iranus . O (2 25 d. trichobothrium femur on right development of d missing is, 2

2004 showing, ík ř. seta, Kova view iranus small by dorsointernal. O. 24. replaced,, femur femur femur left left pedipalp present on missing on Orthochirus ,) d Oman 2 2004 is d, 2: (26 n. . ík, – ř 23 comb Kova Figures 1903,) iranus

19

Province Khoozestan of Scorpions:. al et Navidpour

Right. 28 - 27.) arrow white by indicated (

2 d trichobothrium of development showing, view dorsointernal, 2 d aberrant. femur showing pedipalp, showing 2004 ík, femur

řKovaLeft.

30 iranus 29 2 -. Orthochirus sized d reduced: 30 – 27 showing Figures femur this trichobothrium as a character separating Paraorthochirus glabrifrons from P. goyffoni . It is thus not clear whether d 2 is always present as petite or may be sometimes reduced further and become vestigial. No detailed study of its size variability has been done.

We analyzed under SEM four specimens of O. iranus [all from Iran, Khoozestan province, Shadegan- Toopjieh village, 30°39'33"N 48°36'44"E (Locality No. SH-1 to 4)]. For comparison, we also imaged Paraorthochirus glabrifrons from Oman that has d 2 (left femur; Fig. 23). Of four observed specimens of O. iranus one (SH.1.4) lacks d 2 on both femora (Figs. 24– 26); in the other three specimens the presence of d 2 varies. The second specimen (SH.1.1) has a petite d 2 on both femora (imaged on right femur, Figs. 27–28); the third specimen (SH.1.2) is asymmetric, with a petite d 2 only on the right side (not imaged), whereas the left femur (Fig. 26) has no d 2 (however, there is a seta in place of d 2, and under low magnification it could be mistaken for a reduced trichobothrium). The fourth specimen (SH.1.3) has a petite d 2 on both femora; the right femur (Fig. 28) has a normally developed petite d 2, whereas on the left femur the d 2 is aberrant (Figs. 29– 30); it has an aberrant areola with the lattice structure incompletely developed, and the shaft is absent (underdeveloped or broken). This teratology could be an additional indication of developmental instability of d 2 in this population.

We measured areola diameter of petite d 2 and regular-size d 1 in two specimens using SEM images at 1000x ( Table 2). Even this small sample shows that there is variability in absolute size both among petites and other trichobothria, as well as in their relative size. Observed reduction of 22 to 48% falls roughly within limits defined by Soleglad & Fet (2001). It is advisable to conduct a detailed statistical study of trichobothrial size variability to define gaps between “petite” and regular-size trichobothria.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FROM IRAN (all possess trichobothrium d 2). Iran, Hamadan Province, ca 2000 m a.s.l., 35 km SE of Hamadan, Gonbad vill. env., 7– 8.V.1996, 1♂ 1♀ 1juv., leg. V. Šejna ; Lorestan Province, Dorúd , 1700 m, 33°26'57"N 49°01'14"E, 2♂ 2♀, 8– 10.X.1998, leg. P. Kabátek ; Lorestan Province, Jeiugir env., 500 m a.s.l., 32°19'37"N 48°30'40"E, 1♂ 1♀, 10– 11.X.1998, leg. P. Kabátek ; Deh Bahri , 7–8.IV.2000, 29°05'370"N 57°55'539"E, 1957 m a.sl., 1♀, leg. M. Kaftan. All specimens are in FKCP.

DISTRIBUTION: Iran, Bushehr and Khoozestan Provinces ( Kovařík, 2004: 13), Lorestan and Hamadan provinces (first report).