Buthacus stockmanni, Kovařík & Lowe & Šťáhlavský, 2016

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme & Šťáhlavský, František, 2016, Review of Northwestern African Buthacus, with description of Buthacus stockmanni sp. n. from Morocco and Western Sahara (Scorpiones, Buthidae), Euscorpius 236, pp. 1-18 : 6-12

Buthacus stockmanni sp. n.

( Figs. 1–45, 63, Table 1) http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:81

16F5A3-3A84-40A9-87AC-9AA502ED2667

Buthacus sp. Stockmann et al., 2016: 9.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Morocco, North of Zag , 28.24872°N 09.33291°W ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Morocco, North of Msied , 28.04383°N 10.85038°W, X.2016 ( Fig. 42), 3♂ 1♀ (paratypes), leg. Omar Hassan; North of Zag, 28.24872°N 09.33291°W, X.2016 ( Fig. 41), 1♂ (holotype, Figs. 1–2, 5, 7, 9–11, 17–27, 29–33, 39) 1♂ 1♀ (paratypes, Figs. 3–4, 6, 8, 12– 14, 15–16, 28, 34–38, 40, 43–44), leg. Omar Hassan. Western Sahara, 28 km E Laayoune , 27°13'N 12°54'W, 123 m a.s.l., 10.V.2011, 2♀ 3♂ juvs. (paratypes), leg. P. Kabátek; Saquia el Hamra N Smara, 26°51'N 11°56'W, 140 m a.s.l., 8.V.2011, 2♀ 1♂ juv. (paratypes), leg. P. Kabátek. All types are in the first authors collection ( FKCP) .

ETYMOLOGY. It is a pleasure to name this species after a scorpiologist Mark Stockmann ( Germany).

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 48–59 mm; carapace densely granulated with only anterior median carinae developed; anterior margin of carapace straight; pectine teeth 23–29 in males and 16–22 in females; sternites III––VI lacking carinae; sternite VII with four smooth carinae; metasomal segments I–IV intercarinal surfaces smooth or almost smooth; metasomal segment V of both sexes ventraly granulated; metasomal segment I bears 10 carinae, segments II–IV bear 8 carinae (lateromedial carinae on segments II–III indicated by several granules on posterior part only); ventrolateral carinae of metasomal segment V bear several lobate granules in their posterior half; dorsal and lateral surfaces of segment V smooth, without granules in both sexes; all metasomal segments sparsely setose; metasomal segment V with ca. 35 long setae in both sexes; telson with long curved aculeus, longer than vesicle in both sexes; legs I–III with tarsal bristle combs composed of long, thin setae; tibial spurs present on legs III–IV, longer on leg IV and moderate on leg III; movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp with 9 rows of granules, with external and internal accessory granules ( Buthacus leptochelys complex). Males with broader pedipalp chelae than females, fingers twisted proximally in males, straight in females.

DESCRIPTION. Adult males are 48–54 mm long and the adult females are 52–59 mm long. The habitus is shown in Figs. 1–4. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 17–24. Sexual dimorphism: males have longer pectines than females ( Figs. 7– 8) and broader pedipalp chelae than females, with fingers twisted proximally ( Figs. 15–19, Table 1).

Coloration ( Figs. 1–8). Basic color is yellow to orange with darker carapace and mesosoma with characteristic

orange to brown area on the anterior part of carapace. The chelicerae are yellow without reticulation; dentition is reddish to black. Carapace ( Figs. 5–6). The surface is granulated. The

anterior margin is straight and bears eight to ten macrosetae. Anterior median carinae coarsely granular. There are 5 lateral eyes on each side (3 larger, 2 smaller). Mesosoma ( Figs. 5–8). The tergites bear three coarsely

granular carinae, of which the lateral pair on the tergites I–II could be inconspicuous. All tergites with dense coarse and fine granulation. The pectinal tooth count is 23–29 (1 × 23, 5 × 24, 5 × 25, 1 × 26, 3 × 27, 2 × 28, 1 × 29) in males and 16–22 (2 × 16, 1 × 17, 2 × 18, 4 × 19, 1 × 20, 4 × 22) in females. The marginal tips of the pectines extend to the end of sternite IV in females, and to the anterior half of sternite V in males. The pectines have 3 marginal lamellae and 7–9 middle lamellae. The lamellae and fulcra bear numerous dark setae. Sternites III–VI lack carinae, and surfaces are smooth. Sternite

VII has two pairs of smooth carinae. All sternites bear many long macrosetae on their surfaces and margins.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 34–38). Flagelliform, relatively stout, trunk 3.7 times length of capsule region. Flagellum well separated from capsule lobes, pars recta long, 0.77 times length of trunk, tapered, proximal half broader, compressed, with narrow fin running along internal margin; pars reflecta long, narrow, hyaline, 0.94 times length of trunk. Capsule region with 4 lobes arranged in 3 +1 configuration typical of the " Buthus " group ( Fet et al., 2005; Kovařík et al., 2016): external lobe largest, forming tapered lamina with blunt apex; median lobe smallest, acuminate, with weak carina on internal margin; internal lobe intermediate in size, laminate; basal lobe a small, rounded knob with weak distal flange.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 9–14). Metasoma I bears 10 carinae, the ventromedial pair being obsolete. Metasoma II–III bear 8 carinae. Median lateral carinae are indicated by three to six granules on posterior part only. Ventromedial and ventrolateral carinae on metasoma II–III are granulated, with larger granules posteriorly. Metasoma IV bears 8 carinae from which both ventromedial and dorsal carinae are obsolete and only ventrolateral carinae are present with several granules. Metasoma V in both sexes has only ventrolateral carinae, which in posterior halves bear several lobate granules. Granules on the ventral surface of segment V form a median carina in both sexes. Intercarinal surfaces of segments I–IV are almost smooth in both sexes. Dorsal and lateral surfaces of segment V are smooth, without granules and carinae in both sexes. The anal arch consists of three or four lobes in both sexes. All segments are sparsely setose; segment V has ca. 35 long setae in both sexes. The telson with long curved aculeus, longer than vesicle in both sexes. The surface of the telson is smooth, sparsely hirsute, without a subaculear tubercle.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 15–27, 45). The femur is finely granulated and bears three to five carinae; the ventroexternal carina is incomplete or absent, the other carinae are granular. The patella is smooth, with seven smooth and usually obsolete carinae in both sexes. The chela is smooth, with only incomplete smooth carinae indicated in females. The movable and fixed fingers are proximally twisted in males ( Fig. 45) and straight in females ( Fig. 16). All pedipalp segments including the trochanter are sparsely hirsute, with long, dark macro- setae in both sexes. The dentate margin of the movable and fixed fingers ( Figs. 26–27) has nine rows of granules, each with one external and one internal granule, and 5 terminal granules (4 terminal and one basal terminal).

Legs ( Figs. 30–33). The tarsomeres bear two rows of macrosetae on the ventral surface and numerous macrosetae on the other surfaces, which on legs I–III form bristle combs. The macrosetae are thin in both sexes. The femur and patella may bear indications of four to six carinae, which however are usually obsolete. The femur bears only solitary macrosetae. The tibial spur on leg IV is strong and longer than on the leg III where tibial spur is rather moderate.

Measurements. See Table 1.

Karyotype ( Figs. 43–44). We analyzed one male paratype from the type locality using standard cytogenetic methods (e.g. Kovařík et al., 2009). The diploid complement of this specimen is composed of 20 chromosomes ( Fig. 43). The chromosomes are holocentric and the meiosis is achiasmatic. Both characters are typical for the scorpions from the family Buthidae (e.g. Mattos et al., 2013). The chromosomes of the first pair are significantly longer (13.41 % of the diploid set) than the remaining chromosomes that gradually decrease from 5.84 % to 2.69 % of the diploid set ( Fig. 44).

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish B. stockmanni sp. n. from all other species of the genus. B. stockmanni sp. n. is a member of the Buthacus leptochelys complex (see generic diagnosis on the top) which is represented in Northwestern Africa by two other species B. occidentalis Vachon, 1953 and B. ziegleri Lourenço, 2000 . Both of these species are separable from the new species geographically (see Fig. 63) and morphologically. Males of B. stockmanni sp. n. have the fingers of the pedipalp chela strongly twisted proximally ( Fig. 45), whereas males of both B. occidentalis and B. ziegleri have the fingers straight or almost straight ( Figs. 46 and 49). In the past B. stockmanni sp. n. was confused with B. occidentalis (see comments in B. occidentalis section and fig. 23 in Lourenço, 2001: 267). These two species can also be differentiated by their tibial spurs which are long in B. stockmanni sp. n. ( Fig. 33) versus moderate in B. occidentalis ( Fig. 54) on leg IV; and moderate in B. stockmanni sp. n. ( Fig. 32) versus extremely reduced or absent in B. occidentalis ( Fig. 55) on leg III.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality ( Fig. 41, Morocco, North of Zag ) is a sandy

flat area surrounded by rock-strewn sand dunes with small shrubs and even some solitary trees. Buthacus stockmanni sp. n. occurs on the sandy flat. During the day it is possible to find a few small juveniles rarely under rocks, but the adults were collected by UV lamps at night mostly sitting at the bases of shrubs. Males were more active at night than females, and were more often found running in open terrain. In addition, at this locality Androctonus amoreuxi (Audouin, 1825) , Buthus mariefranceae Lourenço, 2003 , Compsobuthus berlandi Vachon, 1950 and Lissothus occidentalis Vachon, 1950 were recorded. Another locality ( Fig. 42, Morocco, North of Msied) is a sandy flat area with just a few rocks. Rocky Queds (Wadis) were not far away. The whole area has a sparse cover of shrubs. In addition, at this locality Androctonus amoreuxi was commonly recorded. Near the hill on the horizon in Fig. 42, neither Buthacus stockmanni sp. n. nor Androctonus amoreuxi were found, but Hottentotta sousai Turiel, 2014 and Orthochirus sp. were recorded.