Tityus (Brazilotiyus) hartkorni sp. n., a new species of fossil scorpion belonging to the genus Tityus C. L. Koch and to the subgenus Brazilotityus Lourenço, is described from a specimen in amber from the Dominican Republic. The new species is clearly associated with the extant fauna of the Neotropical region. This discovery attests to a considerable degree of diversity in the Dominican amber-producing forests

Lourenço, Wilson R.

English

Marshall University

Euscorpius  Occasional Publications in Scorpiology     A New Species of Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 (subgenus Brazilotityus Lourenço, 2006) from the Dominican Amber (Scorpiones: Buthidae)  Wilson R. Lourenço     June 2009 – No. 83Euscorpius  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 • OUMNH, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, UK  Publication date: 8 June 2009 Euscorpius — Occasional Publications in Scorpiology. 2009, No. 83  A new species of Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 (subgenus Brazilotityus Lourenço, 2006) from the Dominican amber (Scorpiones: Buthidae)  Wilson R. Lourenço  Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Département de Systématique et Evolution, USM 0602, Section Arthropodes (Arachnologie), CP 053, 57 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris, France. E-mail: arachne@mnhn.fr   Summary  Tityus (Brazilotiyus) hartkorni sp. n., a new species of fossil scorpion belonging to the genus Tityus C. L. Koch and to the subgenus Brazilotityus Lourenço, is described from a specimen in amber from the Dominican Republic. The new species is clearly associated with the extant fauna of the Neotropical region. This discovery attests to a considerable degree of diversity in the Dominican amber-producing forests.   Introduction  Scorpions are rare among the arthropods fossilized in amber (see e.g., Lourenço et al., 2005, for a review). The history of the discovery of the scorpions found in amber, Baltic amber in particular, has been outlined in detail by Lourenço & Weitschat (1996). The first amber scorpion species ever described was Scorpio sch- weiggeri (Holl, 1829), from Baltic amber. Both the description and the illustration of this species are so inaccurate, however, that the only conclusion that can be reached is that the scorpion belongs to the family Buthidae; its type is lost. A second species, Tityus eogenus, also from Baltic amber, was described by Menge (1869). Unlike Scorpio schweiggeri, which has been almost totally ignored, Tityus eogenus has attracted the attention of many authors for two main reasons: first, because of its assignment by Menge to an extant Neotropical genus; and second, because the type specimen was apparently lost soon after its description so no confirmation of its taxonomic position could ever be made. From the poor description and illustrations given by Menge (1869), it can be concluded that Tityus eogenus is indeed a buthid scorpion, but it could equally well be assigned to any one of several genera in this family.  In recent years, several Baltic amber fossil scorpions have been studied and described as new, extinct genera and species of Buthidae (Lourenço & Weitschat, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2005; Lourenço, 2004; Lourenço et al., 2005). In contrast, even though the study of more recent amber fossil scorpions from the Dominican Republic started in the 1970s (Schawaller, 1979, 1982; Santiago-Blay & Poinar, 1988, 1993; Santiago-Blay et al., 1990), only few species have been described during the last 30 years from the New World, either from the Dominican Republic or from Mexico. In fact, several additional specimens from these regions have not yet been described (Grimaldi, 1996). The amber fossils found in Hispaniola and Mexico seem, without exception, to be closely related to the extant buthid scorpion taxa of the Caribbean and Neotropical regions, and have been placed in extant genera Centruroides, Tityus, and Microtityus. In this publication, a new species of Tityus (sub- genus Brazilotityus) is described from the Dominican Republic amber. This new finding attests to a certain degree of diversity in the Hispaniola amber-producing forests.  Material and Methods   The specimen investigated was obtained by Mr. Joachim Hartkorn (Germany) from a German amber dealer, and is now deposited in his personal collection. It is embedded in a very clear rounded piece of yellow-reddish amber (35x27x11 mm). The amber shows a laminated structure, a common characteristic of amber. It is possible to see how individual layers have been formed as a result of several resin flows at regular intervals. Both dorsal and ventral sides of the scorpion are clearly visible and allow detailed investigation. The schematic drawings provided are partially an inter- pretation of what could be observed. Euscorpius — 2009, No. 83  2    Figures 1–6: Tityus (Brazilotityus) hartkorni, sp. n. 1–5. Trichobothrial pattern. 1. Left chela, dorso-external aspect, showing also the rows of granules in the movable finger. 2. Right chela, dorsal aspect. 3. Chela, ventral aspect. 4. Patella, dorsal aspect. 5. Femur, dorsal aspect. 6. Metasomal segments III–V and telson, lateral aspect. Lourenço: New Species of Tityus from Dominican amber 3 Figures 7–8: Tityus (Brazilotityus) hartkorni, sp. n. 1. Habitus, dorsal aspect. 2. Ventral aspect, showing coxapophyses, sternum, genital operculum, and pectines. Euscorpius — 2009, No. 83  4  Systematics  Family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Genus Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 Subgenus Brazilotityus Lourenço, 2006  Tityus (Brazilotityus) hartkorni, sp. n.  (Figs. 1–8)  Diagnosis: Total length about 18.6 mm (including the telson). Morphology somewhat similar to that of Tityus species in general. The new species can, however, be distinguished from other species of Tityus and in particular from Tityus geratus Santiago-Blay et Poinar, 1988, also described from Dominican amber, by the combination of several distinct characters: (i) pectines with 19–20 teeth and vestigial to obsolete fulcra (this character leads to the inclusion of the new species in the subgenus Brazilotityus; see Lourenço, 2006); (ii) spir- acles between oval and slit-like, but very short; (iii) fixed and movable fingers of chela with 14–15 oblique rows of granules; (iv) trichobothrial pattern of type A-α (alpha), orthobothriotaxic; external trichobothria of fe- mur very close to each other and placed in the middle of the segment; (v) carapace and tergites almost smooth; (vi) sternum pentagonal; (vii) subaculear tooth strong and spinoid. Holotype: Probably a juvenile. Considering the slender pedipalps and the morphology of the pectines, it is unquestionably a male. Type locality and horizon: Dominican Republic. Precise amber mine not confirmed. Lower Oligocene to Upper Eocene. Depository: The specimen is deposited in the per- sonal collection of Joachim Hartkorn (Germany). Derivatio nominis: The specific name is dedicated to Mr. Joachim Hartkorn (Germany) who allowed me to study the specimen.  Description: Coloration: the general color is yellowish with some dark reddish patches more or less well defined on the pedipalps, carapace and metasoma. The ventral aspect of the specimen bears shaded areas associated with the zone of the book lungs. Morphology. Carapace weakly granular; anterior margin with a moderately marked median concavity. Anterior median superciliary and posterior median cari- nae weak; other carinae obsolete. All furrows weak to obsolete. Median ocular tubercle distinctly anterior to the centre of the carapace. Median eyes separated by one and half times their diameter. Three pairs of lateral eyes. Sternum pentagonal, longer than wide. Mesosoma: Tergites weakly granular to smooth; tergites I to VI each with one longitudinal carina, weak to moderate. Tergite VII tetracarinated. Venter: genital operculum formed by two semi-oval plates. Pectines comprising 3–4 marginal lamellae and several small median lamellae; fulcra vestigial or absent; pectinal tooth count 19–20. Sternites smooth; spiracles small, between slit-like and oval in shape. Metasoma: Segment I with 10 carinae; segments II–IV with 8 carinae; segment V with 5 carinae; dorsal carinae on segments II to IV with some slightly spinoid granules posteriorly. Telson not globular but elongated; vesicle with 5 ventral carinae; aculeus long but weakly curved; subaculear tooth strong and spinoid Cheliceral dentition typical of the family Buthidae; external distal tooth of movable finger shorter than internal distal tooth (Vachon, 1963); ventral aspect with setae. Pedipalps: Femur pentacarinate; patella with three dorsal, one internal and three ventral carinae; internal aspect with several spinoid granules; chela with nine carinae; all faces smooth. Fixed and movable fingers with 14–15 oblique rows of small rounded granules separated by accessory granules; extremities of the fingers with a small, spinoid granule. Trichobotriotaxy: Type A-α (alpha) (Vachon, 1974, 1975) orthobothriotaxic; external trichobothria of femur very close to each other and placed in the middle of the segment. Tarsus of legs with thin ventral setae; pedal spurs strong; tibial spurs absent. Measurements (in mm) of the holotype of Tityus (Brazilotityus) hartkorni sp. n. (some measurements could not be taken because of the position of the specimen). Total length: 18.6 (including the telson). Carapace, length: 1.8, anterior width: 1.5, posterior width: 1.9. Mesosoma length: 4.4. Metasoma: Segment I, length: 1.4, depth: 0.9. Segment II, length: 1.7, depth: 0.9. Segment III, length: 2.1, depth: 1.1. Segment IV, length: 2.2, depth: 1.1. Segment V, length: 2.5, depth: 0.9. Telson length: 2.5. Vesicle, length: 1.4, depth: 0.7. Aculeus length: 1.1. Pedipalp: Femur length: 2.0, width: 0.5. Patella length: 2.5, width: 0.7. Chela length: 3.6, width: 0.6, depth 08. Movable finger length: 2.6.  Acknowledgments  I am very grateful to Mr. Joachim Hartkorn (Ger- many), for the permission to use the color photographs. I thank Prof. John L. Cloudsley-Thompson, London and two anonymous readers for very useful comments to the manuscript.  References  GRIMALDI, D. A. 1996. Amber:  Window to the Past.  H. N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers & American Museum of Natural History, 212 pp.  HOLL, F. 1829. Handbuch der Petrefactenkunde. Dres- den: Hilscher, 489 S. Lourenço: New Species of Tityus from Dominican amber 5LOURENÇO, W. R. 2004. Description of a further species of fossil scorpion from Baltic Amber. Beiträge zur Araneologie, 3A: 1886–1889.  LOURENÇO, W. R. 2006. Nouvelle proposition de découpage sous-générique du genre Tityus C.L. Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 39: 55–67.  LOURENÇO, W. R., HENDERICKX, H. & WEIT- SCHAT, W. 2005. A new genus and species of fossil scorpion from Baltic amber (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontolo- gischen Institut der Universität Hamburg,  89: 159–166.  LOURENÇO, W. R. & W. WEITSCHAT. 1996. More than 120 years after its description, the enigmatic status of the genus of the baltic amber scorpion “Tityus eogenus” Menge, 1869 can finally be clarified. Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut der Universität Ham- burg, 79: 183–193.  LOURENÇO, W. R. & W. WEITSCHAT. 2000. New fossil scorpions from the Baltic amber – implications for Cenozoic biodiversity. - Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontolo- gischen Institut der Universität Hamburg, 84: 247–260.  LOURENÇO, W. R. & W. WEITSCHAT. 2001. Description of another fossil scorpion from Baltic amber, with considerations on the evolutionary levels of Cenozoic Buthoidea. Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut der Uni- versität Hamburg, 85: 277–283.  LOURENÇO, W. R. & W. WEITSCHAT. 2005. A new genus and species of fossil scorpion from a different kind of Baltic amber (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Mitt- eilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut der Universität Hamburg, 89: 183–188.  MENGE, A. 1869. Über einen Scorpion und zwei Spinnen im Bernstein. Schriften der Natur- forschenden Gesellschaft zu Danzig, N.S., 2(2): 1–9.  SANTIAGO-BLAY, J. A. & G. O. POINAR, JR. 1988. A fossil scorpion Tityus geratus new species (Scor- piones: Buthidae) from Dominican amber. Historical Biology, 1: 345–354.  SANTIAGO-BLAY, J. A. & G. O. POINAR, JR. 1993. First scorpion (Buthidae: Centruroides) from Mexican amber (lower Miocene to upper Oligocene). The Journal of Arachnology, 21: 147–151.  SANTIAGO-BLAY, J. A., W. SCHAWALLER & G. O. POINAR, JR. 1990. A new specimen of Microtityus ambarensis (Scorpiones, Buthidae), fossil from Hispaniola: Evidence of taxonomic status and possible biogeographic implications. The Journal of Arachnology, 18: 115–117.  SCHAWALLER, W. 1979. Erstnachweis eines Skorpions in Dominikanischem Bernstein (Stuttgarter Bern- steinsammlung: Arachnida, Scorpionida). Stutt- garter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie), 45: 1–15.  SCHAWALLER, W. 1982. Zwei weitere Skorpione in Dominikanischem Bernstein (Stuttgarter Bern- steinsammlung: Arachnida, Scorpionida). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie), 82: 1–14.  VACHON, M. 1963. De l’utilité, en systématique, d’une nomenclature des dents des chélicères chez les Scorpions.  Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, 2e sér., 35(2): 161–166.  VACHON, M. 1974. Etude des caractères utilisés pour classer les familles et les genres de Scorpions (Arachnides). 1. La trichobothriotaxie en arach- nologie. Sigles trichobothriaux et types de trichobothriotaxie chez les Scorpions. Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, 3e sér., n° 140, Zool. 104: 857–958.  VACHON, M. 1975. Sur l’utilisation de la tricho- bothriotaxie du bras des pédipalpes des Scorpions (Arachnides) dans le classement des genres de la famille des Buthidae Simon. Comptes Rendus des Séances de l'Académie des Science, Paris, sér. D, 281: 1597–1599.  

A new species of \u3cem\u3eTityus\u3c/em\u3e C. L. Koch, 1836 (subgenus \u3cem\u3eBrazilotityus\u3c/em\u3e Lourenço, 2006) from the Dominican amber (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1185&amp;context=euscorpius

A new species of \u3cem\u3eTityus\u3c/em\u3e C. L. Koch, 1836 (subgenus \u3cem\u3eBrazilotityus\u3c/em\u3e Lourenço, 2006) from the Dominican amber (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

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