Hottentotta Birula, 1908

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 : 2-8

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.18590/euscorpius.2007.vol2007.iss58.1
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scientific name	Hottentotta Birula, 1908
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Hottentotta Birula, 1908 View in CoL

( Figs. 1–153 View Figures 1–4 View Figures 5–8 View Figures 9–12 View Figures 13–16 View Figures 17–20 View Figure 21 View Figure 22 View Figure 23 View Figure 24 View Figure 25 View Figure 26 View Figure 27 View Figure 28 View Figure 29 View Figure 30 View Figure 31 View Figure 32 View Figure 33 View Figure 34 View Figure 35 View Figure 36 View Figure 37 View Figure 38 View Figure 39 View Figure 40 View Figure 41 View Figure 42 View Figure 43 View Figure 44 View Figure 45 View Figure 46 View Figure 47 View Figure 48 View Figure 49 View Figure 50 View Figure 51 View Figure 52 View Figure 53 View Figure 54 View Figure 55 View Figures 56–59 View Figure 60 View Figure 61 View Figure 62 View Figure 63 View Figure 64 View Figure 65 View Figure 66 View Figure 67 View Figure 68 View Figure 69 View Figure 70 View Figure 71 View Figure 72 View Figure 73 View Figure 74 View Figure 75 View Figure 76 View Figure 77 View Figure 78 View Figure 79 View Figure 80 View Figure 81 View Figure 82 View Figure 83 View Figure 84 View Figure 85 View Figure 86 View Figure 87 View Figure 88 View Figure 89 View Figure 90 View Figure 91 View Figure 92 View Figure 93 View Figure 94 View Figure 95 View Figure 96 View Figure 97 View Figure 98 View Figure 99 View Figure 100 View Figure 101 View Figure 102 View Figure 103 View Figure 104 View Figure 105 View Figure 106 View Figure 107 View Figure 108 View Figure 109 View Figure 110 View Figure 111 View Figure 112 View Figure 113 View Figure 114 View Figure 115 View Figure 116 View Figure 117 View Figure 118 View Figure 119 View Figure 120 View Figure 121 View Figure 122 View Figure 123 View Figure 124 View Figure 125 View Figure 126 View Figure 127 View Figure 128 View Figure 129 View Figures 130–135 View Figures 136–141 View Figures 142–147 View Figures 148–153 , Table 1)

Androctonus View in CoL : C. L. Koch, 1838a: 45 (in part).

Buthus View in CoL : Kraepelin, 1898: 3; Kraepelin, 1899: 9; Pocock, 1903a: 178.

Buthus View in CoL (in part): Thorell, 1876: 103; Kraepelin, 1891: 185; Kraepelin, 1895: 80; Pocock, 1897a: 104; Pocock, 1899: 834; Pocock, 1900b: 56; Pocock, 1900a: 13; Kraepelin, 1903: 558; Kraepelin, 1913: 123; Werner, 1934: 269.

Buthus (Buthus) (in part): Pocock, 1890a: 126; Birula, 1897: 377.

Buthus (Hottentotta) Birula, 1908: 141 ; Birula, 1917: 22; Simon, 1910: 71(in part).

Hottentotta View in CoL : Werner, 1934: 269; Fet, 1989: 81; Sissom, 1990: 101; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 133.

= Dasyscorpio Pallary, 1938: 279 ; type species Buthus (Hottentotta) lutaudi Pallary, 1924 [= Hottentotta franzwerneri (Birula, 1914) View in CoL ] (syn. by Vachon, 1949: 146).

= Buthotus Vachon, 1949: 143 (1952: 229); type species Buthus judaicus Simon, 1872 [= Hottentotta judaicus (Simon, 1872) View in CoL ]; Pérez Minocci, 1974: 20; Vachon, 1979: 233; Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 164 (syn. by Francke, 1985: 4).

Buthotus (Buthotus) : Vachon, 1979: 236.

Hottentotta (Hottentotta) : Francke, 1985: 4.

= Buthotus (Balfourianus) Vachon, 1979: 236 ; type species Buthus socotrensis Pocock, 1889 [= Hottentotta socotrensis ( Pocock, 1889) View in CoL ]. Syn. n.

Hottentotta (Balfourianus) : Francke, 1985: 4; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 145.

= Hottentotta (Deccanobuthus) Lourenço, 2000: 192 ; type species Hottentotta geffardi Lourenço, 2000: 192 [= Hottentotta pachyurus (Pocock, 1897) View in CoL ]. Syn. n.

Mesobuthus View in CoL : Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 186.

TYPE SPECIES. Scorpio hottentotta Fabricius, 1787 .

DIAGNOSIS: Dorsal trichobothria of femur arranged in beta-configuration with d 2 situated on dorsal surface. Trichobothrium d 3 of patella situated dorsal of dorsomedian carina. Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp usually located between est and et, or may be on level with trichobothrium est, rarely between est and esb. Trichobothrium eb clearly on fixed finger of pedipalp. Pectines with fulcra. Dentate margin of pedipalp-chela movable finger with distinct granules divided into 11–16 rows and 5–7 terminal granules. Cheliceral fixed finger with two ventral accessory denticles. Tergites I–VI of mesosoma bear three carinae. Carapace with distinct carinae, entire dorsal surface nearly planate. Third and fourth legs with well developed tibial spurs, first and second tarsomeres with paired ventral setae. First sternite with two granulated lateral stridulatory areas, which however may be reduced in some species (e. g. in H. pachyurus and H. trilineatus ). Ventrolateral carinae of fifth metasomal segment with all granules more or less equal in size and never lobate. Total length 30–130 mm.

COMMENTS. Most Hottentotta species are morphologically and colorwise sufficiently distinct and their distributions rarely overlap, which makes identifications relatively easy. In contrast, generic-level characters remain to be clearly defined, which has caused erroneous transfers of Indian species to the genus Mesobuthus and the creation of two subgenera that are hereby synonymized.

The genera Hottentotta and Mesobuthus have been often separated on unstable characters such as density of pubescence, shape (lyriform configuration) and definition of carinae on the carapace, and the number of terminal granules on movable fingers of pedipalps. It appears that the stable character that permits a clearcut separation of the two genera is the position of trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp in relation to trichobothrium est. In Hottentotta the trichobothrium db is between est and et ( Figs. 1 and 4 View Figures 1–4 ), whereas in Mesobuthus it is always between est and esb (see fig. 3 in Vachon, 1958: 127). Vachon & Stockmann (1968: 102, figs. 18 and 19) found variation in the position of this trichobothrium in the African species H. minax occidentalis , in which one specimen had the db on the fixed finger between est and esb, and another had it between est and et. I found the same variation in another African species, H. trilineatus . Here it is important to note that the genus Mesobuthus is not known to occur in Africa. I therefore believe that the position of trichobothrium db is a reliable primary character for distinguishing between Hottentotta and Mesobuthus , and that any possible exceptions can be satisfactorily resolved by other, secondary characters ( Hottentotta has ventrolateral carinae on the fifth metasomal segment with all granules more or less equal in size and never lobate and different carination of the carapace).

Vachon (1978: 236) erected the subgenus Balfourianus with the type species Buthus socotrensis Pocock, 1889 and again used as the chief character the position of trichobothrium db, this time in relation to trichobothrium et (see figs. 7 and 8 in Vachon, 1978: 236). I had an opportunity to examine many specimens of this species and found that in some specimens the trichobothrium db is between trichobothria et and dt, as Vachon says, but in other specimens it is on the same level as et ( Fig. 4 View Figures 1–4 ). H. socotrensis is morphologically similar to Afghan and Pakistan species ( H. alticola complex), and I am not convinced that it deserves to be placed in a separate subgenus. There definitely are other, more distinct groups of Hottentotta , for instance the south African H. arenaceus and H. conspersus with extremely inflated vesicles ( Fig. 28 View Figure 28 ), or large and densely hirsute Asian species (e.g. H. schach , Fig. 105 View Figure 105 ) versus smaller and much less hirsute but conspicuously granulate species that occur in both Africa and Asia ( Figs. 121 View Figure 121 and 77 View Figure 77 ). For these reasons I consider the subgenus Balfourianus synonymous with the nominotypical subgenus. It is important to note that H. socotrensis is not the only species of the genus which has the trichobothrium db situated between trichobothria et and dt. The same position of trichobothrium db occurs in two South African species, H. arenaceus and H. conspersus (fig. 45 in Lamoral, 1979: 543 and diagnosis below), which are morphologically very different from H. socotrensis . Already noted have been the extremely inflated vesicles, and another difference is in the expression of sexual dimorphism.

Lourenço (2000: 192) erected the subgenus Deccanobuthus with the type species Hottentotta (Deccanobuthus) geffardi Lourenço, 2000 and characterized the subgenus by:

(1) “ The keels of the carapace are feeble; the anterior median being almost absent ”. This is a gradational, hard-to-evaluate character without much of taxonomic value. I have examined the holotype of H. (D.) geffardi Lourenço, 2000 and disagree that the carinae (keels) of the carapace are feeble ( Fig. 79 View Figure 79 ).

(2) “ The dentition on the distal part of pedipalp-chela movable finger, present four terminal denticles “. The holotype of H. (D.) geffardi has five terminal denticles (granules) on both movable fingers of pedipalps ( Fig. 3 View Figures 1–4 ).

This discrepancy in interpretation is evidently due to the way in which terminal granules have been counted. Some authors considered the presence of the so-called terminal granule (which they called “terminal denticle”) natural and counted only the other granules, which they called simply “granules” (for example Sissom, 1990: 98 and 100). For clarity, I give the total number of granules. However, the noted discrepancy does not change the fact that in Hottentotta we can find specimens that have five (four and one) terminal granules, but none that would have only four (three and one – which is characteristic of the genus Buthus ) terminal granules (see Sissom, 1990: 98 and 100). The variation in the number of granules thus is exclusively upward, when in some species apart from specimens with five granules there are also specimens with six or seven granules (always one basal terminal granule, two internal terminal granules and a row from two to four external terminal granules).

(3) “ Metasomal segment I with 12 keels; II to IV with 10 keels and V with 7 keels ”.

The fifth metasomal segment with seven carinae, of which five are ventral (three median and two lateral), is the usual condition also in other species including e. g. H. socotrensis , that is in the so far accepted subgenus Balfourianus ( Fig. 111 View Figure 111 ). Unfortunately, this character cannot be utilized even on the species level because the ventral carinae are poorly developed in some specimens and the variation in their development cannot be attributed to sexual dimorphism. As to the 12 keels (carinae) on the first metasomal segment, Vachon (1978: 235) wrote of H. socotrensis : “According to R. I. Pocock (1903), because of the presence of a paired keel on the upper surface of the segment, the fourth segment bears 12 keels (which is unusual). Its existence could be settled. The keel consists of a row of granulae which may also occur (but less regularly) on the dorsal groove of almost all the segments, including the last one. It seems not to be a true keel.” A similar situation can be seen in the holotype of H. (D.) geffardi , where two carinae on the first metasomal segment are incomplete and consist of only a few granules; the same condition is present also in H. pachyurus (Pocock, 1897) .

Finally it needs to be noted that when proposing H. (D.) geffardi, Lourenço accepted that all Indian species of Hottentotta belong in Mesobuthus and, therefore, did not compare the new species with any of them. Upon examination of his holotype I am convinced that H. (D.) geffardi Lourenço, 2000 is a synonym of H. pachyurus (Pocock, 1897) (see below). I therefore conclude that the subgenus Deccanobuthus is synonymous with the nominotypical subgenus.

Fet & Lowe (2000: 134) considered the generic name Hottentotta a masculine noun in apposition. This name was used as a species epithet for Scorpio by Fabricius and for Buthus or Buthotus by most of subsequent authors (except Gervais, 1844, who changed it to hottentottus ).

List of species-group names in the genus Hottentotta Birula, 1908