Hottentotta jabalpurensis, Kovařík, 2007

Kovařík, František, 2007, A revision of the genus Hottentotta Birula, 1908, with descriptions of four new species (Scorpiones, Buthidae), Euscorpius 58 (58), pp. 1-107 : 31-32

Hottentotta jabalpurensis sp. n.

( Figs. 48–51 , 136–141 , Table 1)

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. India, Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur ; CASC and FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. India, Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur , VIII.1957 – VIII.1958, 23♂ 16♀ 21juvs. (holotype, allotype and paratypes, Figs. 48–51 ), leg. P. Susai Nathan. Holotype, allotype and most of paratypes are in CASC , 6 paratypes (3♂ 3♀) are in FKCP .

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the type locality.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 50–80 mm. For habitus see Figs. 48–51 . Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp situated between trichobothria et and est or level with trichobothrium est. Male with fingers proximally twisted, manus of pedipalps wider than female. Pectinal teeth number 30–36 in males, 26–30 in females. Chelicerae yellow, reticulate. Nearly entire body hirsute, pedipalps, dorsal surface of mesosoma, legs, lateral and ventral surfaces of metasomal segments, and vesicle densely hirsute. The hairs are long. Color uniformly yellow to reddish brown. Ventral carinae on metasomal segments usually black. Femur of pedipalp with 5 carinae. Patella with 2 or 4 carinae on internal surface, no other carinae. Chela lacks carinae. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 13–14 rows of granules and 5 or 6 terminal granules. Seventh mesosomal sternite smooth, with 4 well marked black carinae. First to fourth metasomal segments with 10 carinae; fifth segment with 5 or 7 carinae. Metasoma granulated between carinae. Dorsal surface often very finely granulated, often bears 2 short, inconspicuous marginal carinae. Telson also granulated. Dorsal carinae of metasomal segments bear terminal granules of size approximately equal to preceding granules. First metasomal segments of adult female wider than long (in male usually as longer than wide), second metasomal segment longer than wide for both sexes. Second to fourth metasomal segment width ratio about 1.1. Telson bulbous, especially in large females.

DESCRIPTION: Total length of both sexes is 50 to 80 mm. The habitus is shown in Figs. 48–51 . Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and of the pedipalps, and numbers of pectinal teeth in the holotype and allotype are given in Table 1. Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp is situated between trichobothria et and est ( Fig. 1 ), rarely is on the same level as trichobothrium et. Pectinal teeth number 30–36 in males and 26–30 in females. Chelicerae yellow, reticulate. The male has fingers proximally twisted, manus of pedipalps wider than female.

COLORATION: The color is uniformly yellow to reddish brown. Ventral carinae on metasomal segments are usually black. The specimens have been preserved in alcohol since 1958.

MESOSOMA AND CARAPACE: The mesosoma has three carinae on the dorsal surface and two carinae on the ventral surface with the exception of the seventh segment, whose ventral surface bears four well marked carinae. The dorsal surface is sparsely to densely granulated, whereas the ventral surface is smooth.

PEDIPALPS: The pedipalps are densely hirsute. The hairs are long. The femur of pedipalps has five carinae and the dorsal surface is covered by very fine granules. The ventral surfaces of femur and patella are smooth to glossy. The patella with 2 or 4 carinae on internal surface, no other carinae. Chela lacks carinae. The movable fingers of the pedipalps have 13–14 cutting rows of granules and 5 or 6 terminal granules.

METASOMA AND TELSON: The first metasomal segment of adult female wider than long (in male usually as longer than wide), second metasomal segment longer than wide for both sexes. The first through fourth segments bear 10 carinae, and the fifth segment bears five carinae and on the ventral surface has additional rows of granules that may form two more carinae. The dorsal surface is often very finely granulated and may bear two short, inconspicuous marginal carinae. Surfaces between carinae are sparsely to densely granulated. Dorsal carinae of metasomal segments bear terminal granules of size approximately equal to preceding granules. Second to fourth metasomal segment width ratio about 1.1. Telson bulbous, especially in large females.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish H. jabalpurensis sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. H. jabalpurensis sp. n. is closest to H. tamulus , from which it differs in having the entire body and especially the metasoma densely hirsute, and the patella of pedipalp with long hairs. In contrast, H. tamulus has the metasoma only sparsely hirsute and the patella of pedipalp bears dense but short hairs.

Figures

Figure 48: Hottentotta jabalpurensis, sp. nov., dorsal view, male holotype.

Figure 49: Hottentotta jabalpurensis, sp. nov., ventral view, male holotype.

Figure 50: Hottentotta jabalpurensis, sp. nov., dorsal view, female allotype.

Figure 51: Hottentotta jabalpurensis, sp. nov., ventral view, female allotype.

Figures 136–141: Hottentotta jabalpurensis, sp. nov., male paratype. 136–138. Pedipalp trichobothrial pattern. 136. Chela, external and ventral views; closed circle on chelal fixed finger external view designates internal trichobothrium i. 137. Femur, dorsal view; circled area shows internal trichobothria of femur from an internal perspective. 138. Patella, dorsal and external views. 139. Telson, lateral and ventral views. 140. Metasomal segment V, ventral view. 141. Chelal movable finger showing dentition; closeup of finger tip shown in ellipse.

Figures 1–4: 1–3. H. zagrosensis, holotype. 1. chela external, 2. femur dorsal, 3. movable finger. 4. H. socotrensis, chela external.