Tityus kuryi Lourenco , 1997

dos Santos, Maria Dulcineia Sales, Porto, Tiago Jordao, Lira-da-Silva, Rejane Maria & Brazil, Tania Kobler, 2014, Description of the male of Tityus kuryi Lourenco, 1997 and notes about males of Tityus stigmurus (Thorell, 1877) and Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello, 1922 (Scorpiones, Buthidae), ZooKeys 435, pp. 49-61 : 50-56

Taxon classification Animalia Scorpiones Buthidae

Tityus kuryi Lourenco, 1997 Figs 1-14; Table 1

Material examined.

Brazil, Bahia State, Palmeiras Municipality, Vale do Capão, 12°37'04"S, 41°29'20"W, 850 m, 24/XII/2006 (T.J. Porto leg.), adult male (MZUFBA 2569); Brazil, Bahia State, Palmeiras Municipality, Vale do Capão, 12°37'11"S, 41°29'23"W, 850 m, 24/XII/2006 (T.J. Porto leg.), adult male (MZUFBA 2570); Brazil, Bahia State, Palmeiras Municipality, Vale do Capão and Cachoeira da Fumaça, 12°31'44"S, 41°33'32"W, 04/VI/1999, 23/II/2007 and 17/VII/2009 (C. M. Pinto-Leite & G. Carvalho leg.), five adult females (MZUFBA 1000, 1602, 2166, 2505, 2529); Brazil, Bahia State, Ibicoara Municipality, 13°24'4"S, 41°16'5"W, I/2005 and VII/ 2011, two adult females (MZUFBA 2451, 2572).

Diagnosis.

Scorpion of medium to large size, ranging from 55 to 78mm in total length. General coloration dark reddish with blackish spots on the pedipalps, legs, lateral surfaces of mesosomal tergites and ventral submedian carinae of all metasomal segments, as well as transversal blackish spots on the posterior margin of sternites. Carinae moderately to strongly marked; granulations moderately to weakly marked. Fixed and movable fingers with 16-17 oblique rows of granules. Pectines with 24-25 teeth in males, 23-26 in female. Secondary sexual dimorphism evident.

Comparisons with related species.

Tityus kuryi Lourenço, 1997, belongs to the " Tityus stigmurus " species complex. The male of Tityus kuryi can be distinguished from the other males of the species complex, particular from Tityus aba , Tityus stigmurus and Tityus martinpaechi , by the absence of three longitudinal dark brown stripes on mesosomal tergites. Furthermore, in Tityus aba and Tityus martinpaechi , the pedipalp of the males is much thinner than of females, which also occurs in Tityus melici although there is no metasomal dimorfism in it ( Souza et al. 2006, Souza et al. 2009). Tityus kuryi show pedipalps with no dimorphism (Figs 1-4). However, the male metasoma is more robust than the female, the same pattern of differentiation that can be observed in other species of the Tityus stigmurus complex, such as Tityus serrulatus and Tityus stigmurus ( Souza et al. 2009).

Key to related species of the Tityus stigmurus complex

Description.

Based on male MZUFBA 2569.

Coloration: Reddish brown with numerous dark areas (Fig. 1). Carapace dark with some light-brown areas (Fig. 5). Ocular tubercle dark. Mesosoma dark in tergite VI, tergite VII with a darker central region and lighter red-brown lateral region (Fig. 1); metasomal segments I–IV reddish brown with dark areas posteriorly in the lateral region and on the submedian ventral carinae (Figs 1 and 3); a dark spot occupying almost the entire segment V (Fig. 12). Telson: vesicle reddish brown, lighter than the metasomal segment V, with two small spots at the base; aculeus with dark spots at the base, red-brown medially and blackened distally (Fig. 12). Coxosternal region yellow with black spots in the coxapophyse I and II (Fig. 3); sternite III light brown, sternites IV–VI darker with the posterior medial region light brown, sternite VII darker with medially light brown T-shaped spots (Fig. 3). Chelicerae dark with a light brown base; apex of the fingers brown. Pedipalps reddish brown with dark spots in the patella (Figs 9-10) and chela (Figs 7-8); fingers generally dark but distally light brown. Legs light brown with dark spots on tibia and tarsi (Fig. 1).

Morphology: Carapace: anterior margin with a weak median concavity (Fig. 5); median ocular tubercle situated anterior to the center of the carapace and median eyes separated by more than one ocular diameter. Three pairs of lateral eyes; median ocular carina moderate with medium granules (Fig. 5); anterior median furrow moderately deep. Moderately granular.

Mesosoma: Tergites moderately granular with larger granules in the posterior region; presence of median carinae in all tergites. Tergites I–II with reduced carinae; in the tergites III–IV the carinae occupy the distal half and begin bifurcated and finish merged; tergite VII pentacarinate; transversal carinae present in all tergites. Pectines: pectinal teeth 24-25, basal middle lamellae of pectines not dilated (Fig. 6). Sternites weakly granular; a clear triangular zone in the posterior region of the sternite III and a reduced smooth and shiny slightly expanded triangular zone in the posterior region of the sternite V (Fig. 3). Sternite VI with two short median carinae occupying the distal half. Sternite VII with five carinae, two parallel submedian, occupying the entire sternite with a small carinae between them, and two lateral carinae restricted to the central region.

Metasoma: Metasomal segments: I with ten complete paired carinae (ventral submedian, ventral lateral, lateral inframedian, lateral supramedian and dorsal lateral with adjacent granules, the dorsal lateral has one spinoid posterior granule) (Fig. 12); II with eight complete paired carinae (inframedian lateral carinae incomplete on anterior third and present sparse granules; others are complete with adjacent granules; dorsal lateral with one spinoid granule) (Fig. 12); III with eight complete paired carinae (inframedian lateral carinae absent; others complete with adjacent granules, the dorsal lateral with three spinoid posterior granules) (Fig. 12); IV with eight complete paired carinae (inframedian lateral carinae absent; others are complete with adjacent granules; dorsal lateral with four spinoid posterior granules) (Fig. 12); V with five complete carinae with uniform and adjacent granules (inframedian lateral carinae and dorsal lateral carinae absent; two complete paired carinae: ventral submedian and ventral lateral; one ventral median carina); intercarinal surface moderately granular (Fig. 12). Telson: vesicle with five carinae (four of which vestigial and only the ventral well defined); aculeus long and strongly curved; subaculear tooth strong and romboid with two small dorsal teeth (Fig. 12).

Chelicerae: Dentition as defined by Vachon (1963) for the family Buthidae .

Pedipalp: (Figs 9-11) femur with 5 carinae, the dorsointernal, dorsoexternal and externomedian carinae present median granules; ventrointernal with smaller granules and internomedian with larger granules; patella with 7 carinae, the dorsoexternal, internomedian, ventrointernal and dorsomedian carinae present median and adjacent granules; internomedian with a proximal spinoid granule (Fig. 9); dorsoexternal, externomedian and ventroexternal with small and continuous granules; chela with 9 carinae of which the dorsoexternal, dorsal secondary, dorsointemal, ventrointernal, internomedian, ventroexternal, digital, subdigital and ventromedian, all with small and continuous granules; all pedipalp surfaces moderate to weakly granular. Movable fingers with 17-17 oblique lines of granules. Trichobothriotaxy: ortobothriotaxy A–α ( Vachon 1974, 1975).

Hemispermatophore: Flagelliform, long and narrow, measuring approximately 13.5 mm, general color light brown; the trunk is trough-shaped; the flagellum is half the width of the trunk and approximately the same length (Fig. 13). Presence of three distal lobes: basal lobe, internal lobe and external lobe. The basal lobe is hook-shaped, protruding internally or externally; the internal lobe extends up to the base of the basal lobe flagellum, the external lobe extends from the medial basal lobe to the posterior third of the internal lobe (Fig. 14). The basal and external lobes are blackened.

Sexual dimorphism: Despite being similar to the females with regard to the coloration pattern and morphological details of the species (Figs 1-4), the male of Tityus kuryi presents metasomal segments 1.5 time more robust than those of the females (Figs 1-4; Table 1).

Distribution.

Known only from the Chapada Diamantina region, Bahia State, Brazil.

Variation.

The male of Tityus kuryi is usually larger than the female (male: 72.93-72.95 mm; female: 58.54-78.03mm) and pectinal tooth counts varied as follows: 24-25 teeth in males and 23-26 in females. The number of principal rows of granules varied from 16-17 in both sexes. The spinoid granules on the posterior end of the dorsal lateral carinae of metasomal segments III and IV are greater in number, is larger and sharper on the left than on the right, and the counts varied as follows: 1-3 in metasomal segment III and 2-4 in metasomal segment IV.

Ecology.

Tityus kuryi occurs in a restricted environment of montane savannas biome named "Campos Rupestres" of the Espinhaço Range (Cadeia do Espinhaço), in rocky areas of high altitudes in the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia State. The annual average temperature there is 22-24 °C, with 36-38 °C as absolute maximum and 4.8 °C as absolute minimum. It is found at altitudes above 840 m. They can also be found near to residential areas, but always near to natural fragments hidden in debris under or between stones.