Two new \u3cem\u3eHottentotta\u3c/em\u3e species from Iran, with a review of \u3cem\u3eHottentotta saulcyi\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Two new buthid species from Iran, Hottentotta navidpouri sp. n. (Hormozgan Province) and H. sistanensis sp. n. (Sistan and Baluchestan Province) are described, compared with H. saulcyi (Simon, 1880), and fully illustrated with color photos. The two new species differ from H. saulcyi mainly in shape of chela, which is strongly elongated in both new species

Indentation of thin elastic films glued to rigid substrate: Asymptotic solutions and effects of adhesion

Indentation of a thin elastic film attached through an interlayer to a rigid support is studied. Because the common interpretations of depth-sensing indentation tests are not applicable to such structured coatings, usually various approximating functions are employed to take into account influence of the interlayer. Contrary to the common approaches, a strict mathematical approach is applied here to study the problems under consideration assuming that the thickness of the two-layer structure is much less than characteristic dimension of the region of contact between the indenter and the coating. A simple derivation of asymptotic relations for displacements and stresses is presented. It is shown that often the leading term approximation to the non-adhesive contact problems is equivalent to contact problem for a Winkler-Fuss elastic foundation with an effective elastic constant. Because the contact between the indenter and the film at nanoscale may be greatly affected by adhesion, the adhesive problem for these bilayer coatings is studied in the framework of the JKR (Johnson, Kendall, and Roberts) theory of adhesion. Assuming the indenter shape near the tip has some deviation from its nominal shape and using the leading term approximation of the layered coatings, the explicit expressions are derived for the values of the pull-off force and for the corresponding critical contact radius of adhesive contact region

A revision of the genus Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950, with a description of 14 new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

The Asian genus Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950, s. str. (Buthidae) (also known as an informal M. eupeus complex), which includes the most common scorpion species found from Turkey to China, is revised based on new collections, mainly from Central Asia, Turkey, and Iran, using both morphological and mitochondrial DNA data. Available type specimens of all species were studied; neotypes and lectotypes were designated when necessary. The type species Mesobuthus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839), s. str., is restricted to the Caucasus Mts. Currently, the genus includes 29 valid species. Fifteen previously described taxa are recognized as species: Mesobuthus afghanus (Pocock, 1889) (Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan) (= ?Buthus agnetis Werner, 1936, syn. n.), M. barszczevskii (Birula, 1904), stat. n. (Uzbekistan), M. bogdoensis (Birula, 1896) (=Buthus eupeus volgensis Birula, 1925, syn. n.) (Kazakhstan, Russia), M. eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839) (Armenia, Azerbajjan, Georgia, Iran, Russia North Caucasus, Turkey), M. haarlovi Vachon, 1958 (Afghanistan, Pakistan), M. iranus (Birula, 1917) (Iran), M. kirmanensis (Birula, 1900), stat. n. (Iran) (= Buthus pachysoma Birula, 1900, syn. n.), M. macmahoni (Pocock, 1900) (Pakistan), M. mesopotamicus (Penther, 1912), stat. n. (Iraq, Syria, Turkey), M. persicus (Pocock, 1899) (Azerbaijan, Iran), M. philippovitschi (Birula, 1905), stat. n. (Iran), M. phillipsii (Pocock, 1889) (Iran), M. thersites (C.L. Koch, 1839) (=Buthus eupeus mongolicus Birula, 1911, syn. n.) (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia), M. vesiculatus (Pocock, 1900) (Iran), and M. zarudnyi Novruzov et al., 2022 (Azerbaijan). Fourteen new species are described: Mesobuthus birulai sp. n. (Iran), M. crucittii sp. n. (Iran), M. farleyi sp. n. (Iran), M. fomichevi sp. n. (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), M. galinae sp. n. (Turkmenistan), M. kaftani sp. n. (Iran), M. marusiki sp. n. (Uzbekistan), M. mirshamsii sp. n. (Iran), M. navidpouri sp. n. (Iran), M. rahsenae sp. n. (Turkey), M. turcicus sp. n. (Turkey), M. vignolii sp. n. (Iran), M. yagmuri sp. n. (Turkey), and M. zonsteini sp. n. (Uzbekistan). No subspecies are currently recognized. A key to all studied species is given. A DNA phylogeny based on COI marker is presented including 25 species