Orthochirus afar Kovařík et Lowe, 2016

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme & Šťáhlavský, František, 2016, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part IX. Lanzatus, Orthochirus, and Somalicharmus (Buthidae), with description of Lanzatus somalilandus sp. n. and Orthochirus afar sp. n., Euscorpius 232, pp. 1-38 : 10-15

Orthochirus afar Kovařík et Lowe , sp. n.

( Figs. 41–77, 155, Table 1) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:991F421D-

D1D9-4ED6-A191-50AE4865FD29

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Ethiopia, Afar Region, Gewane , 10°09'38"N 40°39'45"E, 631 m a.s.l. , FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Ethiopia, Afar Region, Gewane , 10° 09'38"N 40°39'45"E, 631 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 12EO, Figs. 76–77), 23–24.XI.2012, 1♂ (holotype, Figs. 41– 42, 45–46, 49, 59–60, 66–68, 74) 1♂ 1♀ (paratypes, Figs. 43–44, 47–48, 50–58, 61–65, 69–71, 75) 1♂ juv. (paratype), leg. F. Kovařík , FKCP; 11°43'22"N 40°56' 52"E, 457 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 12EM, Fig. 73), 20. XI.2012, 1♀ juv. (paratype, Fig. 72), leg. F. Kovařík , FKCP.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the Afar ( Afar: Qafár ) people, also known as the Danakil and Adal, an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They reside primarily in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and northern Djibouti, although some also live in the southern end of Eritrea. The Afars speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. Both recorded localities of this species are within their territory.

DIAGNOSIS: Adults from 23 mm (male) to 29 mm (female) long. Base color uniformly black, sternites III– VI brown with yellow zones indicated, pedipalp movable fingers yellow, tarsomeres of legs yellow to white, telson reddish brown. Pectine teeth number 18–20 in males, 16–17 in females. Metasomal segments IV–V ventrally punctate, without median carinae; areas between punctae smooth. Entire metasoma glabrous. Dorsal surface of metasomal segments III–V smooth medially. Pedipalp chela movable finger bear 10 or 11 rows of granules, with internal and external accessory granules. Fixed fingers bear 9 rows of granules, with internal and external accessory granules. Tarsomeres of legs without bristlecombs.

DESCRIPTION. Adults 23 mm (male)– 29 mm (female) long. Habitus as shown in Figs. 41–44. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 51–54 and 56–57. On femur, trichobothrium d 2 missing, distance between d 1 and d 3 shorter that distance between d 3 and d 4, e 1 situated between d 3 and d 4. Only minor sexual dimorphism in pectines ( Figs. 46 vs. 48), no difference between sexes in relative lengths or widths of pedipalps and metasomal segments.

Coloration ( Figs. 41–48). Base color uniformly black, sternites III–VI brown with yellow zones indicated, seventh sternite black. Chelicerae brown to black, reticulate. Pedipalp movable finger yellow, lighter than manus. Tarsomeres of legs yellow to white. Telson reddish brown.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 45–48). Entire carapace covered by large granules. Carinae absent. Anterior margin of the carapace almost straight, weakly convex medially. Tergites granulated, coarsely so in males. Tergite VII pentacarinate. Pectinal tooth count 18–20 (2x18, 3x19, 1x20) in males, 16–17 (3x16, 1x17) in females. Pectine marginal tips extend to end of fourth sternite in both sexes. The pectines with three marginal lamellae, 6–7 middle lamellae. Lamellae and fulcra bear numerous pale setae. Sternites III–VI smooth without carinae. Sternite VII densely granulated, with one pair of carinae.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 66–71). First and second metasomal segments bear a total of 10 granulated carinae. Segments III–V lacking lateral carinae, segments IV and V with only dorsal and ventrolateral carinae, all smooth, sometimes incomplete. First metasomal segment granulated, second segment partly granulated, other segments smooth. All segments punctate. Punctae weak on first segment, stronger on segments II–V. Areas between punctae smooth. Dorsal surface of all metasomal segments smooth medially except for first segment. Entire metasoma and telson glabrous. Short, thin setae may emerge from some punctae. Telson punctate, lacking granules.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 49–60). Pedipalp femur granulate, bearing 5 granulate carinae. Patella with 7 smooth, well developed carinae. Chela with smooth carinae which may be discernible throughout length of fixed finger. Movable finger with 10 or 11 rows of granules, flanked by 9 or 10 internal and 8 or 9 external accessory granules, 4 subterminal granules, one terminal granule. Fixed finger with 9 rows of granules, flanked by 8 internal and 8 external accessory granules.

Legs ( Figs. 61–65). Legs III and IV with tibial spurs. Retrolateral and prolateral pedal spurs present on all legs. Femur, patella, tibia and partly tarsomere I carinate and smooth. Patella with only a few solitary setae and spines. The tibia with only several spines on the external aspect. Tarsomeres of legs without bristlecombs.

Measurements. See Table 1.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish O. afar sp. n. from all other species of the genus. O. afar sp. n. is similar to O. aristidis from Egypt and Sudan. These two can be separated unequivocally by: 1) fixed and movable fingers of pedipalp with 9 and 10–11 rows of granules in O. afar sp. n., vs. 8 and 9 rows of granules in O. aristidis ; 2) sternites III–VI brown with yellow zones indicated in O. afar sp. n. ( Figs. 46 and 48), vs. black without yellow zones in O. aristidis (fig. 4 in Lourenço & Leguin, 2011: 3); 3) sternite VII densely granulated, bearing one pair of carinae in O. afar sp. n. ( Figs. 46 and 48), vs. two pairs of moderate carinae with some minute granulations in O. aristidis (Lourenço & Leguin, 2011: 2) ; 4) on pedipalp femur, distance between trichobothria d 1 and d 3 shorter than distance between d 3 and d 4, trichobothrium e 1 situated between d 3 and d 4 in O. afar sp. n. ( Fig. 57), vs. distance between d 1 and d 3 approximately equal to that between d 3 and d 4, trichobothrium e 1 is situated between d 2 and d 3 in O. aristidis (fig. 27 in Lourenço & Leguin, 2011: 14); 5) pectinal tooth count 18–20 in males, 16–17 in females of O. afar sp. n., vs. 16–18 in males, 13–16 in females of O. aristidis .

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The first author visited the type locality 12EO ( Figs. 76–77) on 23–24 November 2012 and collected four type specimens in a narrow area on the margin of a hillside ( Fig. 76) by UV detection at night. In addition to O. afar sp. n. which was very rare there, the first author also recorded at this locality Buthus awashensis Kovařík, 2011 , Compsobuthus abyssinicus (Birula, 1903) , Neobuthus awashensis Kovařík et Lowe, 2012 , and Parabuthus abyssinicus Pocock, 1901 . The first author visited the second locality 12EM ( Fig. 73) on 20 November 2012 shortly after sunset and also recorded at this locality (UV detection) Buthus awashensis and Neobuthus awashensis .