Tityus (Archaeotityus) mraceki, Kovařík, 2007

Kovařík, František, 2007, Description of Tityus mraceki sp. n. from Colombia and synonymization of T. meridanus González-Sponga with T. nematochirus Mello-Leitão (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 54 (54), pp. 1-7 : 1-3

Tityus (Archaeotityus) mraceki sp. n.

( Figs. 1–4 , Table 1)

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Colombia, Juanchaco near Buenaventura, mangrove swamp on the Pacific shore ( Fig. 4 ); author´s collection ( FKCP).

TYPE MATERIAL. Colombia, Juanchaco near Buenaventura, 15–20 September 1995, holotype ♂, leg. Z. Mráček.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after Zdeněk Mráček, who collected the type.

DIAGNOSIS: Adult male 50 mm long. Female unknown. Color blotched. For habitus see Figs. 1 and 2 . Carapace, mesosoma and metasoma densely granulate. Pectines with 14 teeth. Stigmata are elongate. Rhomboidal subaculear tooth with four granules in two rows. Movable finger of pedipalp with 15 or 16 rows of granules, which include external and internal granules. First metasomal segment with 10 carinae, second to fourth metasomal segments with eight carinae, fifth metasomal segment with only three ventral carinae. All carinae parallel and composed of equally sized granules. Chela of pedipalp narrow. Male metasoma long.

DESCRIPTION: Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and segments of the pedipalps, and numbers of pectinal teeth are given in Table 2. Coloration is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 . Most of the body is blotched, including the ventral surface of metasomal segments. Only the fifth metasomal segment and telson are black. The manus of pedipalp is yellow and spotted, fingers of pedipalps are brown. Although the female is not known, sexual dimorphism can be assumed because the male has elongated metasomal segments and, conversely, lacks widening of the pedipalp manus ( Fig. 1 ).

MESOSOMA AND CARAPACE: The carapace bears only posterior median carinae but is densely granulate. The chelicerae are reticulate in anterior half, their fingers are dark. The mesosomal tergites I–VI with a single carina, which is indistinct due to dense granulation. The sternites are densely granulated and the seventh sternite bears four carinae. The third and fifth sternites bear glossy expanded zones in posterior parts. On the fourth sternite the glossy zone is reduced and on the sixth sternite it is absent. Stigmata are elongate. The pectinal tooth count is 14.

METASOMA AND TELSON: The first metasomal segment has 10 carinae, the second through fourth segments have eight carinae, and the fifth segment has only three ventral carinae. All the carinae run in parallel and are composed of equally sized granules ( Fig. 3 ). The fifth segment is laterally convex and therefore wider than other segments. The telson has a strong rhomboidal subaculear tooth and bears four granules in two rows.

PEDIPALPS: The movable fingers have 15 and 16 rows of granules, which include external and internal granules. The entire pedipalps are densely granulated, namely on the dorsal surface. The chela is narrow, granulated and carinated. The patella bears a strong internal tubercle.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish Tityus mraceki sp. n. from all other species of the genus. Within the subgenus Archaeotityus its assumed sexual dimorphism is unique, as the male long metasoma and the narrow chela of pedipalp distinguish T. mraceki sp. n. from all other species. Other species of the subgenus Archaeotityus differ in sexual dimorphism, which may be divided into three groups: Male pedipalps broader and more bulky than those of females, male metasoma not markedly longer than that of female (e.g. Tityus clathratus C. L. Koch, 1843 ); male pedipalps broad and more bulky than those of females, male metasoma longer than that of female (e.g. Tityus birabeni Abalos, 1954 ); shape of pedipalp manus and length of metasomal segments similar in both sexes (e.g. Tityus kaderkai Kovařík, 2005 ). The adult male is not known in two species of this subgenus. T. erikae Lourenço, 1999 is known only from a single juvenile specimen, which shares with T. mraceki sp. n. glossy expanded zone on the posterior part of the fifth sternite (fig. 6 in Lourenço, 1999: 3); however, T. mraceki sp. n. has the sternites densely granulated, whereas T. erikae has them nearly smooth.

T. betschi Lourenço, 1992 is based on a female characterized as having a moderate and feebly rhomboidal subaculear tooth, which according to Lourenço (2000: 458) distinguishes it from T. columbianus . However, the relatively common T. columbianus also has a moderate and feebly rhomboidal subaculear tooth, thus the possibility cannot be excluded that T. betschi is a synonym of T. columbianus . Confusion between T. columbianus and T. mraceki sp. n. is not possible, the sexual dimorphism and proportions make these two species easy to separate. In addition, the telson of T. mraceki sp. n. has a strong rhomboidal subaculear tooth.

Figures

Figure 4: Type locality of Tityus mraceki sp. n., mangrove swamp on the Pacific shore, Colombia, Juanchaco near Buenaventura.

Figures 1–3: Tityus mraceki sp. n., male holotype. 1. Dorsal view. 2. Ventral view. 3. Lateral view of metasoma.