Vaejovis sprousei Sissom, 1990

A, Contreras-Félix Gerardo & Oscar, Francke B., 2019, Taxonomic revision of the “ mexicanus ” group of the genus Vaejovis C. L. Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Zootaxa 4596 (1), pp. 1-100 : 73-75

Vaejovis sprousei Sissom, 1990

Figures 4 , 35i , 36i , 37i , 38i , 39i , 41i , 49

Vaejovis sprousei Sissom, 1990: 48 , 51–53, Fig: 3A–G.

Vaejovis sprousei: Kovarík, 1998: 148 ; Beutelspacher, 2000: 110, 143, 147, 154, map 90; Sissom, 2000: 543; González- Santillán et al., 2004: 9 –11, figs. 1–5; Jarvis et al. 2005: 207, 210; Sissom & Hendrixson, 2005: 34, 41; Graham & Fet, 2006: 10; Soleglad & Fet, 2008: 30, 77, 100, 102; McWest, 2009: 20, 73, 78, 102, 103, Figs: 261–265; Sissom & Reddell, 2009: 31.

Type material. Holotype female. MEXICO: Tamaulipas, Conrado Castillo. IV-19-1981. Col.: P. Sprouse ( AMNH). Examined.

Paratypes: 1 J#, MEXICO: Nuevo Leon, El Real. IV-1-1980; Cols.: W. Russell and M. Cassey ( TMM). 1 ♀ , MEXICO: Tamaulipas, Ciudad Victoria. VI-1977. Col.: F. D. White ( WDS). 1 ♀ , MEXICO: Tamaulipas, Ejido Conrado Castillo (on the surface), IV-18-1979. Col.: M. Shumate ( WDS) . Not examined .

Other specimens examined. Vaejovis sprousei : MEXICO: Nuevo Leon, Zaragoza, Toribio, Pozo Escaner (N 23.92873°, W 101.11462°, elev. 2112 m.) I-3-2002 . Col.: P. Sprouse. 1 ♂ ( CNAN-SC3150 ) .

*Variation in females is taken from the original description.

Diagnosis (Modified from Sissom, 1990 and Jarvis et al., 2005): Adults 35 to 37 mm long (Fig: 49-a, b). Carapace (Fig: 35-i) shorter than metasomal segment V (Carapace L/MS-V 0.88 [0.95]); longer than femur (Carapace L/Femur L 1.11 [1.19]); anterior margin of carapace concave. Mesosomal tergite VII with two pairs of well-developed carinae; mesosomal sternite V without a whitish patch on posterior margin; sternite VII with a pair of inconspicuous carinae, not reaching posterior margin of segment, with 12 setae. Metasomal segment I slightly wider than long, almost square in dorsal view (MSI L/ W 0.85 [0.73]); intercarinal spaces on segments I–V smooth. Segment V with lateral margins straight; more than two times longer than wide and almost as wide as deep (MS-V L/ W 2.26 [2.25]; W/D 1.12 [1.2]). Vesicle (Fig: 36-i) slender and thin, surface smooth to slightly irregular (L/ W 1.93) (W/D 1.07); dorsal surface with a large whitish vesicular gland, present almost on entire dorsal surface. Pedipalp femur (Fig: 37-i) and patella (Fig: 38-i) three times longer than wide on males, but on females slightly shorter (Femur L/ W 3.5 [3]; Patella L/W 3 [2.78]); patella prolateral median carina irregular, inconspicuous. Chela (Fig: 39, 40-i) manus thin (CM L/W/P 1.3 [1]); fixed finger as long as manus (LMQ/DF 1.06 [0.96] prolateral median, dorsal internal and prolateral ventral carinae conspicuous, feebly granular, other carinae smooth and slightly elevated, slightly differentiated in coloration. Pedipalp chela fingers dentate margins straight, without scalloping.

Hemispermatophore (Fig: 41-i): Lamelliform (LT 5; LL 2.2; AL 0.8 mm); short lamella, wider next to the hooks; two hooks almost merged, sharp and located at the base of the lamella, with a short apical crest, only present distally. Capsular region with median lobe well-sclerotized and dentate on margin.

Full morphometric variation is given in tables 13 and 14. Setae variation is given in tables 9–12.

Distribution. Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, México ( Figure 4 ).

Natural history. This is a poorly known species, and the labels of the specimens provide little information aside from the locality; but several specimens originate from areas with pine forest.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Known distribution of all the species of Vaejovis, included in the “mexicanus” group.

FIGURE 35. Comparison in shapes on carapace in species within “mexicanus” group: a—V. nigrofemoratus; b—V. prendinii; c—V. pusillus; d—V. rossmani; e—V. santibagnezi sp. nov.; f—V. setosus; g—V. sierrae; h—V. smithi; i—V. sprousei; j—V. talpa sp. nov.; k—V. tapalpa sp. nov.; l—V. tenamaztlei; m—V. tesselatus; n—V. trespicos; o—V. zapoteca. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 36. Comparison of the different shapes in the caudal gland on species within the “mexicanus” group (each caudal gland, if present, is highlighted in red): a—V. nigrofemoratus; b—V. prendinii; c—V. pusillus; d—V. rossmani; e—V. santibagnezi sp. nov.; f—V. setosus; g—V. sierrae; h—V. smithi; i—V. sprousei; j—V. talpa sp. nov.; k—V. tapalpa sp. nov.; l—V. tenamaztlei; m—V. tesselatus; n—V. trespicos; o—V. zapoteca.

FIGURE 37. Comparison in shapes and trichobothrial patterns in the pedipalp femur, in species within “mexicanus” group: a—V. nigrofemoratus; b—V. prendinii; c—V. pusillus; d—V. rossmani; e—V. santibagnezi sp. nov.; f—V. setosus; g—V. sierrae; h—V. smithi; i—V. sprousei; j—V. talpa sp. nov.; k—V. tapalpa sp. nov.; l—V. tenamaztlei; m—V. tesselatus; n—V. trespicos; o—V. zapoteca. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 38. Comparison in shapes and trichobothrial patterns in the pedipalp patella, in species within “mexicanus” group: a—V. nigrofemoratus; b—V. prendinii; c—V. pusillus; d—V. rossmani; e—V. santibagnezi sp. nov.; f—V. setosus; g—V. sierrae; h—V. smithi; i—V. sprousei; j—V. talpa sp. nov.; k—V. tapalpa sp. nov.; l—V. tenamaztlei; m—V. tesselatus; n—V. trespicos; o—V. zapoteca. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 39. Comparison in shapes and trichobothrial patterns in the pedipalp chela of males in species within “mexicanus” group: a—V. nigrofemoratus; b—V. prendinii; c—V. pusillus; d—V. rossmani; e—V. santibagnezi sp. nov.; f—V. setosus; g—V. sierrae; h—V. smithi; i—V. sprousei; j—V. talpa sp. nov.; k—V. tapalpa sp. nov.; l—V. tenamaztlei; m—V. tesselatus; n—V. trespicos; o—V. zapoteca. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 41. Comparison on the shapes in the hemispermatophore in species within “mexicanus” group: a—V. nigrofemoratus; b—V. prendinii; c—V. pusillus; d—V. rossmani; e—V. santibagnezi sp. nov.; f—V. setosus; g—V. sierrae; h—V. smithi; i—V. sprousei; j—V. talpa sp. nov.; k—V. tapalpa sp. nov.; l—V. tenamaztlei; m—V. tesselatus; n—V. trespicos; o—V. zapoteca. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 49. Habitus of Vaejovis sprousei (♂): a—dorsal view; b—ventral view. Scale bar = 1 cm.