Sassanidotus Farzanpay, 1987

Kovařík, František & Fet, Victor, 2006, Taxonomic position of the genus Sassanidotus Farzanpay, 1987 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 39 (38), pp. 1-9 : 1-2

Sassanidotus Farzanpay, 1987

( Figs. 1–9 , Table 1 )

Sassanidotus Farzanpay, 1987: 161 , 221.

Sassanidothus (incorrect subsequent spelling): Farzanpay, 1988: 41; Kovařík, 1993: 203; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 222.

Type species: Buthus zarudnyi Birula, 1900 .

Diagnosis: Dorsal trichobothria of femur arranged in beta configuration. Trichobothrium d 3 on patella is located dorsally from DMc carina. Tibial spurs present on legs III and IV. Cheliceral fixed finger with two ventral denticles. Carapace with distinct carinae ( Fig. 6 ), in lateral view with entire dorsal surface horizontal or almost horizontal. Central median and posterior median carinae of carapace fused into one linear carina. Movable finger of pedipalp with three granules located proximally to the terminal granule. Trichobothrium db on chela of pedipalp closer to esb or as far as est ( Figs. 1 and 2 ). Tergites I–VI tricarinate. Carinae of tergites projecting beyond posterior margin as distinct spiniform processes.

Comments: The description of the genus Sassanidotus was published in a book by Farzanpay (1987: 161) in Farsi, and the Latin name was transliterated in the Farsi text as well. The Index in this book, however, included Latin names (p. 221, Sassanidotus ; the original spelling with “t”, not “th”), which technically makes this name available under Farzanpay’s authorship (Fet & Lowe, 2000).

The single species of Sassanidotus Farzanpay, 1987 listed by Fet & Lowe (2000) was formerly placed in the genera Buthus Leach, 1815 and Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950 . In our opinion, Sassanidotus is a valid genus closely related to Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949 , with which it shares most of the characters noted in the diagnosis above including the shape of carinae on the carapace. The main diagnostic difference is that Sassanidotus has only three granules located proximally to the terminal granule on the movable finger of pedipalp (fig. 26 in Vachon, 1958: 143), whereas species of Compsobuthus and also Mesobuthus always have four such granules (fig. 27 in Vachon, 1958: 143). This diagnostic character, first observed by Vachon (1958), was repeated by Farzanpay (1987: 161) in his brief Farsi description and key. Vachon (1958: 143–145, figs. 26– 27) first suggested that the species originally known as Buthus zarudnyi Birula, 1900 does not belong to the genus Mesobuthus where it was previously placed (Vachon, 1950: 153; 1952: 325).

Vachon, however, never published a new generic name for Buthus zarudnyi . Farzanpay (1988: 39, 40) listed the name (spelled with “th” as Sassanidothus , which constitutes an incorrect subsequent spelling) along with two other new scorpion genera, where he planned to be one of the authors: “ Olivierus (n. gen. to be described by Farzanpay & Vachon),” “ Razianus (n. gen. to be described by Vachon & Farzanpay),” and “ Sassanidothus (n. gen. to be described by Farzanpay & Vachon)”. In the introduction, he wrote (Farzanpay, 1988: 34): “The new creations are based on the cooperation and suggestion of Professor Max Vachon of the Muséum national d´Histoire naturelle in Paris as agreed by personal communication. ...(letter August 30, 1984)”.

Unfortunately, no further descriptions of these genera by Vachon ever appeared until Vachon’s death in 1992; there is also no evidence that Vachon was aware that descriptions of three new genera and one new species were published by Farzanpay (1987). About 20 specimens from Iran labeled “ Sassanidothus ” by Vachon exist in MNHN (pers. comm. from Wilson Lourenço to V.F., 1996).

The genus Sassanidotus was never revised, and therefore was considered valid by Fet & Lowe (2000: 222), as well as other genera published in Farzanpay (1987), namely, Olivierus , Razianus , and Simonoides . The authorship of Olivierus , Razianus , and Sassanidotus , however, was assigned only to Farzanpay (1987) by Fet & Lowe (2000: 189, 216, 222) since they did not think that Vachon was responsible for the descriptions (quite incomplete and inadequate) as published by Farzanpay (1987). On complicated authorship of Simonoides (now confirmed as a junior synonym of Orthochirus ), see Kovařík & Fet (2006).

Figures

Figure 6: Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900), female holotype, dorsal aspect.

Figures 1–2: Chela of pedipalp showing external trichobothria. 1. Sassanidotus zarudnyi (Birula, 1900), male neotype. 2. Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900), female holotype.

Figure 3: Sassanidotus zarudnyi (Birula, 1900), male neotype, dorsal aspect.

Figure 4: Sassanidotus zarudnyi (Birula, 1900), male neotype, ventral aspect.

Figure 5: Sassanidotus zarudnyi (Birula, 1900), male neotype, label.

Figure 7: Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900), female holotype, ventral aspect.

Figure 8: Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900), female lectotype of Buthus zarudnyi sarghadensis Birula, 1903, dorsal aspect.

Figure 9: Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900), female lectotype of Buthus zarudnyi sarghadensis Birula, 1903, label.