Orthochirus innesi Simon, 1910

Lourenço, Wilson R. & Leguin, Elise-Anne, 2011, Further considerations on the species of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 from Africa, with description of three new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 123 (123), pp. 1-19 : 3-5

Orthochirus innesi Simon, 1910

( Figs. 6−9 , 23 , 28 , 34, 38 ; Tab. 1)

Type material: Egypt, Djebel Mokattam (today inside Cairo), under stones and under low vegetation. One pre-adult female (RS-1774 – Simon’s number 8086). Specimen poorly preserved. Deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris .

Revised diagnosis based on type material and on two females collected in Egypt: one topotype collected at Wadi Degla, near Cairo, 12/XII/1996 (M. S. Abdel- Dayem). One female collected at El-Omayed Protectorate , 80 km west of Alexandria, 30°44’N, 29°08’E, 10/X/2000 (El-Hennawy) .

Medium sized scorpions, reaching a total length of 30 mm for males and for females. (Measurements in Table 1.)

Coloration reddish-yellow to reddish-brown. Prosoma: carapace reddish-brown; anterior margin darker; median and lateral eyes surrounded by black pigment. Mesosoma: reddish-yellow; carinae and granulations reddish-brown. Metasomal segments dark reddish-brown; almost blackish ventrally; telson reddish-brown with a reddish aculeus. Metasomal carinae marked with blackish. Venter yellowish, except for sternite VII, reddish-brown; pectines pale yellow. Chelicerae yellowish to reddish-yellow; base of fingers blackish; fingers slightly reddish. Pedipalps reddish-yellow; femur reddish-brown. Legs reddish-yellow with three distal segments yellowish.

Morphology. Carapace moderately granular; anterior margin with a slight convexity. Carinae and furrows moderate. Median ocular tubercle slightly anterior to the centre of the carapace; median eyes separated by almost two ocular diameters. Three pairs of lateral eyes. Sternum subtriangular to subpentagonal, wider than long. Mesosoma: tergites with thin, moderately marked granulations; median carina weak to moderate in all tergites. Tergite VII pentacarinate with strong carinae. Venter: genital operculum elongated, divided longitudinally into two suboval plates. Pectines: pectinal tooth count 17 to 19 in males, 15 to 16 in females; basal middle lamellae of each pecten not dilated. Sternites III to VI with a thin granulation laterally; VII very strongly granulated and with four carinae fused with granulations; spiracles small and slit-like. Metasomal segments rounded, with carinae strongly marked; granulations moderately marked; segments IV and V with granulations ventrally and strongly punctated. Intercarinal spaces almost smooth dorsally; weakly granular laterally. Telson smooth with a few punctuations; aculeus as long as the vesicle and moderately curved; subaculear tooth absent. Cheliceral dentition characteristic of the family Buthidae (Vachon, 1963) ; movable finger with basal teeth well distinct; ventral aspect of both finger and manus with thin setae. Pedipalps: femur with five carinae, moderately granular; patella with weakly marked internal and dorsal carinae; chela without carinae, smooth. Fixed and movable fingers with 8/8 rows of denticles; accessory denticles present on distal 2/3 of the finger. Trichobothriotaxy: Aβ; neobothriotaxy ‘minorante’ (Vachon, 1974, 1975). Legs: tarsus with two row of slightly spinoid setae ventrally. Tibial and pedal spurs moderately to strongly marked on all legs.

Distribution: North of Egypt and possibly also in the north ranges of Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. Part of the old material listed by Vachon (1952) is still present in the collections of the Museum in Paris. This material is, however, faded and poorly preserved. Moreover, precise data about their localities of collection is often not available. Only new field collections will allow the definition of the exact range of distribution of this species.

Lourenço & Leguin: Considerations of Genus Orthochirus in Africa

Total length* 29.6 28.0 Carapace: - length 3.8 3.4 - anterior width 2.6 2.5 - posterior width 4.9 4.8 Metasoma, segment I: - length 2.2 2.1 - width 3.3 3.2 Metasoma, segment V: - length 4.2 4.0 - width 3.7 3.5 - depth 2.6 2.5 Telson length 3.8 3.6 - width 1.3 1.4 - depth 1.3 1.2 Femur: - length 2.8 2.7 - width 0.9 0.8 Patella: - length 3.4 3.3 - width 1.0 1.3 Chela: - length 4.5 4.7 - width 0.8 0.9 - depth 0.9 1.0 Movable finger: - length 3.1 3.3 * excluding telson

25.1/23.7 24.1

3.0/2.8 3.2 2.0/2.2 2.3 3.8/4.0 3.8

1.9/1.8 1.8 2.5/2.4 2.8

3.7/3.6 3.8 2.6/2.5 3.2 1.9/1.7 2.2 3.4/3.3 3.6 1.0/1.2 1.2 1.2/1.0 1.0

2.3/2.3 2.4 0.9/0.8 0.8

3.0/2.9 3.2 1.0/0.9 1.0

4.1/4.2 4.2 0.9/0.8 0.8 0.8/0.8 0.8

2.9/2.8 3.0 21.3/23.2

2.7/3.1 2.0/2.2 3.6/3.8

1.6/1.8 2.2/2.4

3.2/3.6 2.3/2.7 1.6/2.0 3.3/3.5 1.2/1.3 1.0/1.2

2.2/2.4 0.8/0.8

2.6/3.0 1.0/1.0

3.8/4.2 0.8/0.8 0.9/0.9

2.7/3.1

5

Figures

Figures 6−7: Orthochirus innesi, female holotype, dorsal and ventral aspects.

Figures 8−9: Orthochirus innesi, female from El-Omayed Protectorate, 80 km west of Alexandria, dorsal and ventral aspects, showing coloration pattern.

Figures 22−26: Disposition of the granulation over the dentate margin of the movable finger. 22. Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia. 23. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. 24. Orthochirus tassili sp. n., female paratype. 25. Orthochirus cloudsleythompsoni sp. n., male holotype. 26. Orthochirus atarensis sp. n., female paratype.

Figures 27−32: Femur, dorsal aspect, showing trichobothrial pattern. 27. Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia. 28. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. 29. Orthochirus tassili sp. n., female paratype. 30. Orthochirus cloudsleythompsoni sp. n., male holotype. 31−32. Orthochirus atarensis sp. n., male holotype and female paratype.

Figures 33−38: Sternum and genital operculum. 33. Orthochirus aristidis, female from Nubia. 34. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. 35. Orthochirus tassili sp. n., female paratype. 36. Orthochirus cloudsleythompsoni sp. n., male holotype. 37. Orthochirus atarensis sp. n., female paratype. 38. Orthochirus innesi, female from Wadi Degla near Cairo. Ventral aspect of metasomal segments I−V and telson, showing granulations on segment V.