Parabuthus kajibu Kovařík, Lowe, Plíšková et Šťáhlavský, 2016

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Plíšková, Jana & Šťáhlavský, František, 2016, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part VII. Parabuthus Pocock, 1890 (Buthidae) with description of P. hamar sp. n. and P. kajibu sp. n. from Ethiopia, Euscorpius 228, pp. 1-58 : 36-41

Parabuthus kajibu Kovařík, Lowe, Plíšková et Šťáhlavský , sp. n.

( Figs. 84–85, 104–143, 178–1 79, 191, 200, 204, Tabs. 1–2) http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A

FEF853A-9B05-4756-9793-2C51A1A1690F

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Ethiopia, Oromia State, West Harerge , 07°49'12.6"N 40°31'54"E, 918 m a.s.l. ( Figs. 142–143) ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Ethiopia, Oromia State, West Harerge , 07°49'12.6"N 40°31'54"E, 918 m a.s.l. (Locality No.

16 EJ =14ER), 21.-22. IV.2016 , 1♂ ( Figs. 84–85, 104– 105, 108–109, 112–116, 120–123, 126–138, 140, 178– 179, 191, 200, 204, holotype) 3♀ ( Figs. 106–107, 110– 111, 117–119, 124–125, 141, paratypes) 8juvs. (3♂ 5♀, Fig. 139, paratypes), leg. F. Kovařík. All types are in the first authors collection ( FKCP).

ETYMOLOGY. Kajibu means scorpion in Oromia language.

DIAGNOSIS. Adults from 55 mm to 80 mm long. Base color uniformly yellow to yellowish brown, tergites yellow (male) or brown to black (female), fourth metasomal segment dark. Telson yellowish brown to orange. Pectine teeth number 37–39 in males and 33–35 in females. Stridulatory area present on dorsal surface of first and second metasomal segments, absent in metasomal segments III–V. Metasoma densely hirsute. Metasomal segment V length/ width ratio is 1.62 in male. Dorsal carina of metasomal segment IV posteriorly composed of strong pointed granules in males. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12–13 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. Fingers of pedipalp not enlarged. Fingers of pedipalps of male with inner side of base smooth, no trace of tubercle. Manus of pedipalp of male broad, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 3.52 in males and 5.25–5.45 in females. Pedipalp chela and patella smooth. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with bristlecombs.

DESCRIPTION. The adults are 55–80 mm long. The habitus is shown in Figs. 104–107. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 127– 130 and 132–133. Sexual dimorphism: adult males with pedipalp chela broader ( Figs. 124 and 126), metasomal segments narrower ( Figs. 114–119), and carapace and tergites dull (in female glossy). Female with basal pectinal tooth wide ( Fig. 111) and smaller number of pectine teeth.

Coloration ( Figs. 104–107). The base color of pedipalps, chelicerae, legs, sternites and metasomal segments I–III and V is uniformly yellow to yellowish brown. The pedipalp chela in males can be almost white. Metasomal segment IV is dark brown to black, telson yellowish brown to orange. Carapace and tergites can be yellow (male holotype) or brown to black (female paratypes)

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 104–107, 108–111). The entire carapace is covered by large granules. Carinae are absent. The anterior margin of the carapace is almost straight, medially weakly convex, and bears 16– 20 symmetrically distributed short, stout spiniform macrosetae. The tergites are granulated, more so in males. Tergite VII is pentacarinate, with lateral pairs of carinae strong, serratocrenulate. The pectinal tooth count is 37–39 (1x37, 6x38, 1x39) in males and 33–35 (4x33, 5x34,7x35) in females. The pectine marginal tips extend to the end of the fourth sternite in the male and to a quarter of the fourth sternite in the female. The pectines have three marginal lamellae and 11–13 middle lamellae. The lamellae and fulcra bear numerous dark setae. All sternites are smooth, except that there is a stridulatory area on the third sternite that is more visible in the male. Sternite VII bears four carinae that are more visible in the male.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 114–119). The first to fourth metasomal segments bear a total of 10 granulated carinae. The fifth segment has five carinae, and its ventral and lateral surfaces are granulated in females. The ventral surface of metasomal segment V has three strong paired granules symmetricaly located laterally in the middle part. Dorsolateral keels of the third and fourth segments terminate in sharp teeth in males and blunt denticles in females, of which the posteriormost denticle is not enlarged. The stridulatory area is located on the dorsal surface of the first and second segments in both sexes. On the third to fifth segment the stridulatory area is absent. The entire metasoma and the telson are densely pilose with long hairs. The ventral surface of the telson is strongly granulated. The metasoma of males is more narrow; metasomal segment V length/ width ratio is 3.52 in males and 5.25–5.45 in females. The telson is rather bulbous, with the aculeus shorter than the vesicle in females, and the same length as the vesicle in males.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 84–85, 124–133). The pedipalps are hirsute with shorter setae on the chela and longer setae on the patella, femur, and trochanter. The femur bears four carinae. The patella and chela are smooth without carinae. The movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12–13 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. Pedipalp fingers are not enlarged, movable finger length/ manus length ratio is 1.6 in male. Fingers of pedipalps of male with inner side of base smooth, no trace of tubercle. Manus of pedipalp of male broad, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio is 3.52 in males and 5.25–5.45 in females.

Legs ( Figs. 120–123). Legs III and IV bear tibial spurs. Retrolateral and prolateral pedal spurs are present on all legs. All legs without distinct carinae and smooth. The tarsomeres bear two rows of macrosetae on the ventral surface and other macrosetae on the other surfaces. The bristlecombs are present on all legs, although slightly reduced on the fourth leg.

Measurements. See Table 2.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 134–138). Flagelliform, elongate and slender, trunk ca. 10 times length of capsule region.Flagellum fused to median lobe, with short ribbon-like, hyaline pars recta (pr) and much longer, opaque white pars reflecta (prf). Major distal portion of pars reflecta well dilated, cylindriform, gradually tapering apically. Capsule region with 3 lobes at base of flagellum. Median lobe (ml) broad, laminate, translucent, dorsal surface concave, apical margin concave with blunt, rounded apex on internal side. Median lobe carina (mlc) robust, sclerotized, reddish in color. Basal lobe (bl) reddish, robust, hamate with sharp, fine tip, joined to strong basal lobe carina (blc) extending to sclerotized distal margin ( Figs. 135–136). Internal lobe (il) narrow and tapered at apex.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish P. kajibu sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. P. kajibu sp. n. is similar to P. heterurus . Both of these species do not have enlarged pedipalp fingers ( Figs. 176–179), and have a combination of metasomal segment IV black and V yellow ( Figs. 199 and 200). These two characters differentiate P. kajibu sp. n. and P. heterurus from all other Horn of Africa Parabuthus . These two species can be separated unequivocally by: 1) dorsal surface of metasomal segment III with stridulation area absent in P. kajibu sp. n., present in P. heterurus ( Figs. 190–191); 2) telson yellowish brown to orange in P. kajibu sp. n., black in P. heterurus ( Figs. 200 and 199); 3) dorsal carina of metasomal segment IV posteriorly composed of strong pointed granules in male P. kajibu sp. n., small blunt granules in male P. heterurus ( Figs. 200 and 199); 4) tergites yellow to yellowish brown in male P. kajibu sp. n., dark brown to black in male P. heterurus ( Figs. 104 and 94); 5) adults 55–80 mm long in P. kajibu sp. n., 71–98 mm long in P. heterurus .

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The first author visited the type locality 16EJ ( Figs. 142– 143) on 21–22 April 2016 and collected all 12 type specimens in a small area of no more than 200 m 2, on the hillside of a margin of the valley near a river ( Fig. 143) at night (UV detection). At the type locality, the first author recorded a maximum daytime temperature 38.8 ºC, and nighttime temperatures of 27.4 ºC shortly after sunset, dropping to 21.0 ºC (minimum night temperature) before sunrise, and humidity varied between 56% and 84%. In addition to P. kajibu sp. n. the first author also recorded at this locality Babycurus sp. , Hottentotta trilineatus , and Pandinurus platycheles (Werner, 1916) comb. n.