Neobuthus montanus, Kovařík & Lowe & Awale & Elmi & Abdi, 2018

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Awale, Ahmed Ibrahim, Elmi, Hassan Sh Abdirahman & Abdi, Ali, 2018, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part XVII. Revision of Neobuthus, with description of seven new species from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somaliland (Buthidae), Euscorpius 271, pp. 1-82 : 67-73

Neobuthus montanus sp. n.

( Figs. 349–401, 415, 430, 435–438, Tables 4–5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C17174

2D-9364-4EEA-B253-C4AC45B9DB29

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland , Karim village, near Erigavo, 10°43'37"N 47°17'51"E, 2 035– 2070 m a.s.l. ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Somaliland , Karim village, near Erigavo, 10°43'37"N 47°17'51"E, 2035–2070 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 18SC, Fig. 401), 22.VIII.2018, 4♂

3♀ 1♂ juv. (holotype and paratypes, Nos. 1540, 1541, 1542), FKCP , 1♂ GLPC, leg. F. Kovařík ( UV detection) .

ETYMOLOGY. The type locality is in 2035–2070 m a.s.l. and represents the highest altitude where Neobuthus has been collected up to now. All other Neobuthus localities are between 30 and 1776 m a.s.l. That is why we named the new species N. montanus .

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 19–22 mm (males), 24–32 mm (females); carapace with area between anterior median carinae yellow; tergites with fuscous variable pigmentation; pedipalp relatively slender, males with femur L/ W 2.18 –2.34, patella L/ W 2.28 –2.44, chela L/ W 4.18 – 4.44; chela movable finger with 5–6 subrows of primary denticles, 4 external accessory denticles flanking proximal end of each subrow; trichobothria d 2 present or absent on dorsal surfaces of femur and patella; dorsoexternal and ventroexternal carinae on pedipalp patella in female present, smooth; posterior margins of tergites without or with 2–4 pairs of macrosetae; pedipalps, legs, metasoma and telson with moderately short, not spiniform macrosetae in male, and long, fine setae in females; males with sternites III–VI smooth weakly shagreened on margins, sternite VII finely granulated with 4 weak, granulated carinae; females with sternites smooth, sternite VII with 4 weak granulated carinae; metasoma I with median lateral carinae present in both sexes, metasoma II–III with median lateral carinae absent in both sexes; lateral surfaces of metasoma I–V granulated in both sexes, metasoma I–III more densely granulated; dorsal metasomal carinae II–V wholly absent; soles of telotarsi with relatively sparse setation, leg III of adults with 12–14 ventral macrosetae on telotarsus; pectine teeth: 16–20 (males), 13–14 (females).

DESCRIPTION. Total length of adult males 19–22 mm, of adult females 24–32 mm; measurements of carapace, telson, segments of metasoma and pedipalps given in Table 1; positions and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps shown in Figs. 372–375 and 378–379; trichobothrium d 2 present or absent on femur and patella; base color pale yellow with variable fuscous pigmentation and patterns of dark maculation on pedipalps, metasoma and partly on legs; chelicerae yellow with dark reticulation on anterior manus, dentition reddish. Sexual dimorphism: strong, adult males substantially smaller, but without differences in shapes of pedipalps, metasoma and telson; pedipalp patella and femur granulate and matte in males, smooth and glossy in females; sternites smooth in females and partially granulated in males; macrosetae on pedipalps, legs, metasoma and telson much longer and finer in females than males; other sex differences cited below.

Pedipalp ( Figs. 371–390). Pedipalp mostly sparsely hirsute; finely granulated in males and smooth in females; femur with five conspicuously granulose carinae, more strongly developed in males; patella with seven granulose carinae developed in males, and five smooth carinae in females; ventroexternal and dorsoexternal carinae on pedipalp patella in female present, smooth; chela with carinae missing or weakly indicated.

Carapace ( Figs. 353, 355–356). Strongly trapezoidal (narrower anteriorly), wider than long (L/ W 0.81 –0.91); posterior median postocular area flat, anterior median preocular area gently sloped downwards towards anterior margin; lateral flanks steeply sloped; ocular tubercle broad, prominent, located slightly anterior to middle of carapace; anterior margin straight, finely microdenticulate, with coarser granules overlapping edge, bearing 6–8 macrosetae; anterior median carinae weak, coarsely granular, other carinae indistinct; dense granulation covering most of carapace.

Chelicera ( Figs. 391–393). Fingers with typical buthid dentition ( Vachon, 1963, Lowe & Kovařík, 2016); fixed finger with large distal denticle, 1 subdistal denticle and 2 basal denticles fused into bicusp, single denticle on ventral surface at level of bicusp; dorsal margin of movable finger with 5 denticles: 1 large distal denticle, medium-sized subdistal and medial, and 2 small, partially fused basal denticles; ventral margin with 2 denticles.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 353–358). Tergites I–VI bear three carinae of which the lateral pair may be less conspicuous mainly on tergites I–IV; tergite VII bears five welldefined carinae (median, submedians and laterals); tergites I–VI densely granular, with coarser granules on posterior lateral areas; tergite VII densely granular; sternites III–VI smooth in both sexes, but weakly shagreened on margins in males; sternite VII with four well-defined carinae and densely, finely granulated in both sexes; sternum type 1, triangular in shape, smooth, with deep posteromedian invagination; genital opercula smooth; genital papillae present; pectines extending to around end of sternite IV in male and around a quarter of sternite IV in female; pectine teeth 16–20 in males, 13– 14 in females; combs with 3 marginal lamellae and 6–8 middle lamellae; marginal lamellae, middle lamellae and fulcra with dense cover of short dark reddish macrosetae; fulcra with 2–4 setae.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 394–398). Typical of the genus.

Legs ( Figs. 359–362). Coxa, femora, patella and tibia of all legs bearing variable numbers of short to medium length, straight, dark-reddish macrosetae; tarsi with mix of short and longer, dark-reddish macrosetae; basitarsi I– III slightly compressed with flat retrolateral surfaces, with bristle combs consisting of retrosuperior series of longer macrosetae, plus retroinferior and proinferior series of shorter macrosetae; telotarsi with two rows of short macrosetae on ventral aspect, 12–16 macrosetae on telotarsus III; tibial spurs moderate on leg IV and reduced on leg III.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 363–370). Metasoma and telson sparsely hirsute, setae moderately short in male and longer in female, straight and reddish; metasomal segments I with 10 carinae, II– IV with 4–6 carinae, V with 2 carinae; segments I with moderate, granulate dorsolateral carinae, other carinae relatively well developed; segments II–V without dorsal carinae; segment V with strong, granulate to dentate-lobate ventrolateral carinae; segments I–IV with granulation on all intercarinal surfaces except dorsal surfaces which are smooth; segment V granular on lateral and ventral surfaces, more coarsely so on ventral surface, granules not arranged along any traces of carinae; telson smooth, ventral surface sparsely, weakly granular; vesicle slightly elongated; aculeus stout, shorter than vesicle, tip of aculeus almost vertically directed.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish N. montanus sp. n. from all other species of the genus. According to the distribution (see Fig. 348) the type locality of N. montanus sp. n. is near to the localities of N. erigavoensis sp. n.. These two species have missing dorsal metasomal carinae in females ( Fig. 422), a unique character which differentiates these two species from all other Neobuthus species from Somaliland ( Fig. 423). The characters which unequivocally separate these two species are presented in the key below.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITY AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality 18SC ( Fig. 401) is a semi-rocky plain on the margin of Karim village very near the mountain pass in Daalo Forest and near to the station on the top where we tried to collect scorpions at an altitude of 2180 m without success. The first author visited the locality in the dry season and collected all specimens at night with UV light with the help of Petra Frýdlová and Tomáš Mazuch. At this locality, the first author recorded a minimum nighttime temperature of 15 ºC. The recorded humidity was 67% (maximum at night) .