Chaerilus thai, Lourenço & Sun & Zhu, 2010

Lourenço, Wilson R., Sun, Dong & Zhu, Mingsheng, 2010, A New Species Of Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Scorpiones, Chaerilidae) From Thailand, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 58 (1), pp. 79-85 : 81

Chaerilus thai , new species

( Figs. 3 , 4 , 5A, C, E ; Table 1)

Material examined. – Holotype: female ( MHBU), Thailand, Narathiwat Province, Waeng District, Bala-Hala Wildlife Sanctuary (250 m alt., evergreen rain forest), coll. D. Huber, 8 Jun.1998.

Paratypes. – No paratypes.

Diagnosis. – New species of small size compared to the other species of the genus, with a total length of 15.8 mm. Carapace with the anterior margin straight, almost acarinate and weakly granulated to smooth; furrows shallow. Metasomal carinae moderately marked; ventral carinae vestigial on segments I and II, weakly marked on segment III. Dentate margins of fixed and movable fingers of pedipalp chela with 6 rows of granules, not well delimited. Pectinal tooth count 4- 4 in female. Genital operculum plates have a sub-oval shape. Trichobothriotaxy of Type B, orthobothriotaxic.

Relationships. – By its general morphology and the pattern of pigmentation, Chaerilus thai , new species, can be associated with Chaerilus celebensis Pocock. The new species can, however, be distinguished by the following features: (i) a smaller total size and distinct morphometric values (see Table 1), (ii) a carapace very weakly granulated to smooth, (iii) an overall darker pigmentation than that of C. celebensis ; are particularly marked the dorsal surface of metasomal segments I to IV, pedipalps, chelicerae and ventral aspect, including pectines.

Figures

Fig. 3. Chaerilus thai, new species. Female holotype (MHBU). Habitus. Scale bar = 1.0mm.

Fig. 4. Chaerilus thai, new species. Female holotype (MHBU). A–C: Chela, dorso-external (A), ventral (B) and internal (C) view; D, E: Chelicera, ventral (D) and dorsal (E) view; F–H: Patella, dorsal (F), ventral (G) and external (H) view; I, J: Femur, dorsal (I) and external (J) view. Scale bars = 1.0mm.

Fig. 5. A, C, E, Chaerilus thai, new species. Female holotype (MHBU); B, D, Chaerilus celebensis Pocock, 1894. Female (MHBU); A, B, Ventral view showing the pigmentation of coxapophyses, sternum, genital operculum and pectines; C–D, Metasomal segment V and telson, lateral view; E, Metasomal segment I–V and telson, dorsal view. Scale bars = 1.0mm.