Orthochirus, Karsch, 1891

Fet, Victor, Gantenbein, Benjamin, Gromov, Alexander V., Lowe, Graeme & Lourenço, Wilson R., 2003, The first molecular phylogeny of Buthidae (Scorpiones), Euscorpius 4 (4), pp. 1-10 : 4

Orthochirus and Anomalobuthus

While the monotypic genus Anomalobuthus is a psammophile endemic of Central Asian deserts ( Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan; Fet, 1994), species of the genus Orthochirus inhabit deserts from North Africa to Central Asia and India. The fact that these two genera are phylogenetically close is a new and important discovery. Earlier observations in nature (A. V. Gromov, pers. obs.) demonstrated some common behavioral traits of these species (the resting position of metasoma and its characteristic “jerky” movements). The genus Orthochirus has been under significant scrutiny by taxonomists for a long time, as it (as several other similar genera) possesses a number of unique features (morphosculpture of metasoma with “pitted” appearance due to small punctations; reduced telson; shape of carapace; Vachon, 1952; Levy & Amitai, 1980). Birula (1917a, 1917b) even created a separate subfamily Orthochirinae based on this genus. A highly derived position of Orthochirus in our phylogeny casts a serious doubt on the possible validity of Orthochirinae in terms of phylogenetic classification, as its acceptance will require creation of at least several subfamilies to accommodate monophyly for other clades of Buthidae . It remains to be seen if a number of other buthid genera recently split off, or associated with, Orthochirus , are in fact closely related to this genus.