Tityus (Archaeotityus) mraceki sp. n. from Colombia is described. It differs from other species of the subgenus Archaeotityus by unique sexual dimorphism expressed in the male having a longer metasoma and a narrower chela of the pedipalp. The synonymization of T. meridanus González-Sponga, 1981 with T. nematochirus Mello-Leitão, 1941 is based on morphological and color variation present in a single litter consisting of 33 individuals

Kovařík, František

English

Marshall University

Euscorpius  Occasional Publications in Scorpiology     Description of Tityus mraceki sp. n. from Colombia and Synonymization of T. meridanus González-Sponga with T. nematochirus Mello-Leitão (Scorpiones: Buthidae)  František Kovařík    April 2007 – No. 54Euscorpius  Occasional Publications in Scorpiology   EDITOR: Victor Fet, Marshall University, ‘fet@marshall.edu’  ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Michael E. Soleglad, ‘soleglad@la.znet.com’  Euscorpius is the first research publication completely devoted to scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Euscorpius takes advantage of the rapidly evolving medium of quick online publication, at the same time maintaining high research standards for the burgeoning field of scorpion science (scorpiology). Euscorpius is an expedient and viable medium for the publication of serious papers in scorpiology, including (but not limited to): systematics, evolution, ecology, biogeography, and general biology of scorpions. Review papers, descriptions of new taxa, faunistic surveys, lists of museum collections, and book reviews are welcome.  Derivatio Nominis  The name Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 refers to the most common genus of scorpions in the Mediterranean region and southern Europe (family Euscorpiidae).    Euscorpius is located on Website ‘http://www.science.marshall.edu/fet/euscorpius/’ at Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755-2510, USA.  The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 4th Edition, 1999) does not accept online texts as published work (Article 9.8); however, it accepts CD-ROM publications  (Article 8). Euscorpius is produced in two identical versions: online (ISSN 1536-9307) and CD-ROM (ISSN 1536-9293). Only copies distributed on a CD-ROM from Euscorpius are considered published work in compliance with the ICZN, i.e. for the purposes of new names and new nomenclatural acts. All Euscorpius publications are distributed on a CD-ROM medium to the following museums/libraries:  • ZR, Zoological Record, York, UK • LC, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA • USNM, United States National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), Washington, DC, USA • AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA • CAS, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, USA • FMNH, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, USA • MCZ, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA • MNHN, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France • NMW, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, Austria • BMNH, British Museum of Natural History, London, England, UK • MZUC, Museo Zoologico “La Specola” dell’Universita de Firenze, Florence, Italy • ZISP, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia • WAM, Western Australian Museum, Perth, Australia • NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway  Publication date: 5 April 2007 Euscorpius — Occasional Publications in Scorpiology. 2007, No. 54  Description of Tityus mraceki sp. n. from Colombia and synonymization of T. meridanus González-Sponga with T. nematochirus Mello-Leitão (Scorpiones: Buthidae)  František Kovařík  P.O. Box 27, CZ-145 01 Praha 45, Czech Republic   Summary  Tityus (Archaeotityus) mraceki sp. n. from Colombia is described. It differs from other species of the subgenus Archaeotityus by unique sexual dimorphism expressed in the male having a longer metasoma and a narrower chela of the pedipalp. The synonymization of  T. meridanus González-Sponga, 1981 with T. nematochirus Mello-Leitão, 1941 is based on morphological and color variation present in a single litter consisting of 33 individuals.     Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836  Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836: 33; Kraepelin, 1891: 229; Pocock, 1893: 376; Kraepelin, 1899: 69;  Pocock, 1900: 469; Mello-Leitão, 1931: 119; González-Sponga, 1987: 217; Sissom, 1990: 102; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 228; Lourenço, 2006: 55. Scorpio (Atreus) Gervais, 1843: 130 (TYPE SPECIES: Scorpio (Atreus) forcipula Gervais, 1843). Tityus (Tityus): Werner, 1934: 274; Lourenço, 2006: 60. = Phassus Thorell, 1877: 8  non Phassus Walker, 1856 (Lepidoptera) (TYPE SPECIES: Phassus columbianus Thorell, 1876). = Androcottus Karsch, 1879: 11, 18 (TYPE SPECIES: Androcottus discrepans Karsch, 1879) (syn. by Kraepelin, 1899: 69). = Pucha Francke, 1985: 4, nomensubstitutum [pro Phassus Thorell, 1877, nomen praeoccupatum]; nomen nudum (Acosta & Fet, 2005)  = Caribetityus Lourenço, 1999: 136 (TYPE SPECIES: Tityus elii Armas et Marcano Fondeur, 1992) (syn. by Armas & Abud Antun, 2004: 60). Tityus (Brazilotityus) Lourenço, 2006: 58 (TYPE SPECIES: Tityus rionegrensis Lourenço, 2006: 58). Tityus (Archaeotityus) Lourenço, 2006: 60 (TYPE SPECIES: Tityus clathratus C. L. Koch, 1844). Tityus (Atreus): Lourenço, 2006: 61. Tityus (Caribetityus): Lourenço, 2006: 61.  TYPE SPECIES. Scorpio bahiensis Perty, 1834   DIAGNOSIS: Trichobothrium d3 of patella situated con-siderably external to dorsomedian carina. Dorsal tricho-bothria of femur arranged in alpha-configuration. Trichobothrium d2 of pedipalp femur present on internal surface. Trichobothrium d5 distinctly basal to e1. Third and fourth legs without tibial spurs. Mesosomal tergites I–VI with a single carina. Cutting edge of the movable fingers of pedipalps with 10–17 cutting imbricated rows of granules, without accessory granules. Fifth metasomal segment with single ventral median carina.  Telson with subaculear tooth. Total length 18–110 mm.  Tityus (Archaeotityus) mraceki sp. n. (Figs. 1–4, Table 1)  TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Colombia, Juanchaco near Buenaventura, mangrove swamp on the Pacific shore (Fig. 4); author´s collection (FKCP).  TYPE MATERIAL. Colombia, Juanchaco near Buena-ventura, 15–20 September 1995, holotype ♂, leg. Z. Mráček.  ETYMOLOGY. Named after Zdeněk Mráček, who col-lected the type.  DIAGNOSIS: Adult male 50 mm long. Female unknown. Color blotched. For habitus see Figs. 1 and 2. Carapace, mesosoma and metasoma densely granulate. Pectines with 14 teeth. Stigmata are elongate. Rhomboidal subaculear tooth with four granules in two rows. Movable finger of pedipalp with 15 or 16 rows of granules, which include external and internal granules. First metasomal segment with 10 carinae, second to fourth metasomal segments with eight carinae, fifth metasomal segment  with only three ventral carinae.  All  Euscorpius — 2007, No. 54  2  Figures 1–3:  Tityus mraceki sp. n., male holotype. 1. Dorsal view. 2. Ventral view. 3. Lateral view of metasoma.  Kovařík: A New Species of Genus Tityus  3 Tityus mraceki sp. n.  Male Holotype Total  length * Carapace  length  width 50.7 4.5 4.6 Metasoma and         Telson  length *   Segment I  length                       width   Segment II  length                       width   Segment III length                        width          Segment IV length                        width   Segment V  length                       width Telson length  32.7 4.0 2.0 5.2 1.9 5.9 1.9 6.4 1.9 6.3 2.3 - Pedipalp          Femur length                      width          Patella length                       width          Chela length                     width Mov. Finger length  5.2 1.2 5.7 1.7 8.9 1.5 5.8 Pectinal teeth   14:14  Table 1: Measurements (in mm) of the male holotype of Tityus mraceki sp. n. * Includes intersegment membranes.  carinae parallel and composed of equally sized granules. Chela of pedipalp narrow. Male metasoma long.   DESCRIPTION: Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and segments of the pedipalps, and numbers of pectinal teeth are given in Table 2. Coloration is shown in  Figs. 1 and 2. Most of the body is blotched, including the ventral surface of metasomal segments. Only the fifth metasomal segment and telson are black. The manus of pedipalp is yellow and spotted, fingers of pedipalps are brown. Although the female is not known, sexual dimorphism can be assumed because the male has elongated metasomal segments and, conversely, lacks widening of the pedipalp manus (Fig. 1). MESOSOMA AND CARAPACE: The carapace bears only posterior median carinae but is densely granulate. The chelicerae are reticulate in anterior half, their fingers are dark. The mesosomal tergites I–VI with a single carina, which is indistinct due to dense granulation. The sternites are densely granulated and the seventh sternite bears four carinae. The third and fifth sternites bear glossy expanded zones in posterior parts. On the fourth sternite the glossy zone is reduced and on the sixth sternite it is absent. Stigmata are elongate. The pectinal tooth count is 14. METASOMA AND TELSON: The first metasomal segment has 10 carinae, the second through fourth segments have eight carinae, and the fifth segment has only three ventral carinae. All the carinae run in parallel and are composed of equally sized granules (Fig. 3). The fifth  segment is laterally convex and therefore wider than other segments. The telson has a strong rhomboidal subaculear tooth and bears four granules in two rows. PEDIPALPS: The movable fingers have 15 and 16 rows of granules, which include external and internal granules. The entire pedipalps are densely granulated, namely on the dorsal surface. The chela is narrow, granulated and carinated. The patella bears a strong internal tubercle.  AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish Tityus mraceki sp. n. from all other species of the genus. Within the subgenus Archaeotityus its assumed sexual dimorphism is unique, as the male long metasoma and the narrow chela of pedipalp distinguish T. mraceki sp. n. from all other species. Other species of the subgenus Archaeotityus differ in sexual dimorphism, which may be divided into three groups: Male pedipalps broader and more bulky than those of females, male metasoma not markedly longer than that of female (e.g. Tityus clathratus C. L. Koch, 1843); male pedipalps broad and more bulky than those of females, male metasoma longer than that of female (e.g. Tityus birabeni Abalos, 1954); shape of pedipalp manus and length of metasomal segments similar in both sexes (e.g. Tityus kaderkai Kovařík, 2005). The adult male is not known in two species of this subgenus. T. erikae Lourenço, 1999 is known only from a single juvenile specimen, which shares with T. mraceki sp. n.  glossy expanded zone on the posterior part of the fifth sternite (fig. 6 in Lourenço, 1999: 3); however, T. mraceki sp. n. has the sternites densely granulated, whereas T. erikae has them nearly smooth. T. betschi Lourenço, 1992 is based on a female characterized as having a moderate and feebly rhomboidal subaculear tooth, which according to Lourenço (2000: 458) distinguishes it from T. columbianus. However, the relatively common T. columbianus also has a moderate and feebly rhomboidal subaculear tooth, thus the possibility cannot be excluded that T. betschi is a synonym of T. columbianus. Confusion between T. columbianus and T. mraceki sp. n. is not possible, the sexual dimorphism and proportions make these two species easy to separate. In addition, the telson of T. mraceki sp. n. has a strong rhomboidal subaculear tooth.  Tityus (Atreus) nematochirus Mello-Leitao, 1941  Tityus nemstachirus (sic) Mello-Leitao, 1941: 54. Tityus nematochirus: Mello-Leitao, 1945: 425; González-Sponga,  1984:  79;  González-Sponga,   1994:  Euscorpius — 2007, No. 54  4  Figure 4: Type locality of Tityus mraceki sp. n., mangrove swamp on the Pacific shore, Colombia, Juanchaco near Buenaventura.  350; González-Sponga, 1996: 146; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 252. Tityus (Atreus) nematochirus: Lourenço, 2006: 61. = Tityus meridanus González-Sponga, 1981: 26 (TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. "General José Antonio Páez" dam, 7 km NW of village of Santo Domingo, Sierra de Santo Domingo, Distrito Rangel, Estado Mérida, Venezuela; Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela); González-Sponga, 1984: 90; González-Sponga, 1994: 350; González-Sponga, 1996: 149; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 250. Syn. n. Tityus (Atreus) meridanus: Lourenco, 2006: 61  TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Colombia, Villavicencio; Instituto de La Salle, Bogota, Colombia.  DIAGNOSIS: Adults 50–90 mm long. Adults uniformly reddish or reddish brown to black, young blotched. First to fourth metasomal segments with paired parallel ventral median carinae. For habitus see Figs. 5–7. Male pedipalps longer and more slender than those of females, length of metasomal segments similar in both sexes. Subaculear tooth pointed. Pectines with 17–20 teeth. Stigmata elongate. Movable finger of pedipalp with 14–17 rows of granules, which include external and internal granules. First metasomal segment with 10 carinae, second to fourth metasomal segments with eight carinae, fifth metasomal segment with fifth carinae.   COMMENTS. González-Sponga (1981: 26) distinguished T. meridanus from T. nematochirus primarily on coloration and size. The distributions of these species in Venezuela overlap (see González-Sponga, 1996: 146 and 149) and dead specimens are virtually impossible to separate. I was able to raise 33 individuals born to a female from Venezuela (Agua Dulce near San Cristóbal, 440 m), which allowed me to observe color variation in a single litter (Figs. 5–7). The size differences given by González-Sponga (1996: 144), with T. nematochirus measuring 73 mm (female) and 77 mm (male) whereas T. meridanus measuring 53 mm (female) and 67 mm (male), and the morphological differences linked to those in size (length vs. width of metasomal segments, length of pedipalp chela) correspond to the number of ecdyses needed to reach adulthood, with some males becoming adult after the fourth and others after the fifth ecdysis (Figs. 5 and 6). For this reason I am convinced that T. meridanus González–Sponga, 1981 is a synonym of T. nematochirus Mello-Leitão, 1941. Kovařík: A New Species of Genus Tityus  5  Figure 5:  Black male of Tityus nematochirus Mello–Leitão, 1941 that matured after the fifth ecdysis.  Acknowledgments  I am most grateful to Zdeněk Mráček (Zábřeh, Czech Republic) for passing the specimen on to me and for the photo of the type locality (Fig. 4). Jiří Zídek (Praha, Czech Republic) helped with the language and reviewed the manuscript, and The National Library of the Czech Republic (International Loans Department) and Victor Fet helped with obtaining literature. I thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments.  References  ACOSTA, L. E. & V. FET. 2005. Nomenclatural notes in Scorpiones (Arachnida). Zootaxa, 934: 1–12.  ARMAS, L. F. DE  & A. J. ABUD ANTUN. 2004. Adiciones al género Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 en República Dominicana, con la descripción de dos especies nuevas (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 10: 53–64 and errata in Revista Ibérica de Aracnología,10: 247.  FET, V. 1997. Notes on the taxonomy of some Old World scorpions (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Chactidae, Ischnuridae, Scorpionidae). Journal of Arach-nology, 25(3): 245–250.  FET, V. & G. LOWE. 2000. Family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837, pp. 54–286 In: Fet, V., Sissom, W. D., G. Lowe & M. E. Braunwalder. 2000. Catalog of the Scorpions of the World (1758-1998). The New York Entomological Society, New York, 689 pp.  FRANCKE, O. F 1985. Conspectus genericus scor-pionorum 1758–1982 (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Occasional Papers of the Museum, Texas Tech University, 98: 1–32.  GERVAIS, P. 1843. Remarques sur la famille des Scorpions et description de plusiers espéces nouvelles de la collection du Muséum. Société Philomatique de Paris Extraits des Procés-Verbaux des Séances, 5(7): 129–131.  GONZÁLEZ-SPONGA, M. A. 1981. Seis Neuvas especies del genero Tityus en Venezuela (Scorpionida: Buthidae). Monografias Científicas “Augusto Pi Suñer“ (Caracas, Instituto Pedagógico), 12: 1–85. Euscorpius — 2007, No. 54  6  Figure 6: Red male of Tityus nematochirus Mello–Leitão, 1941 that matured after the fourth ecdysis, accompanied by a black female that matured after the fifth ecdysis.  Figure 7: Differently colored immatures of Tityus nematochirus Mello–Leitão, 1941 shortly before the fifth ecdysis, all from the same litter. Kovařík: A New Species of Genus Tityus  7  GONZÁLEZ-SPONGA, M. A. 1984. Escorpiones de Venezuela. Cuadernos Lagoven, Ed. Cromotip, 128 pp.  GONZÁLEZ-SPONGA, M. A. 1987. Tres Nuevas especies del genero Tityus de Venezuela (Scorpionida: Buthidae). Boetín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Cienccias Naturales, 41(144): 217–256.  GONZÁLEZ-SPONGA, M. A. 1996. Guía para identificar Escorpiones de Venezuela. Caracas: Cuadernos Lagoven, 204 pp.  KARSCH, F.  1879. Skorpionologische Beiträge I. and II. Mitteilungen des Münchener Entomologischen Vereins, 3: 6–22, 97–136.  KOCH, C. L. 1836. Die Arachniden. 3(3): 33-37, figs. 190–191. Nürnberg.  KRAEPELIN, K. 1891. Revision der Skorpione. I. Die Familie des Androctonidae. Jahrbuch der Ham-burgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten, 8(1890): 144–286 (1–144).  KRAEPELIN, K. 1899. Scorpiones und Pedipalpi. In F. 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Description of \u3cem\u3eTityus mraceki\u3c/em\u3e sp. n. from Colombia and Synonymization of \u3cem\u3eT. meridanus\u3c/em\u3e González-Sponga with \u3cem\u3eT. nematochirus\u3c/em\u3e Mello-Leitão (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

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Description of \u3cem\u3eTityus mraceki\u3c/em\u3e sp. n. from Colombia and Synonymization of \u3cem\u3eT. meridanus\u3c/em\u3e González-Sponga with \u3cem\u3eT. nematochirus\u3c/em\u3e Mello-Leitão (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

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