Orthochirus maroccanus Lourenço et Leguin, 2011

Lourenço, Wilson R. & Leguin, Elise-Anne, 2011, One more new species of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891 from Africa (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 135 (123), pp. 1-6 : 1-2

Orthochirus maroccanus Lourenço et Leguin , sp. n.

( Figs. 1–13; Tab. 1)

Type material: Morocco, trail between Assa and Aouinet Torkoz, 45 km past Assa towards Aouinet Torkoz, 12 April 2004 (W. R. Lourenço), female holotype and female paratype. Deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris .

Etymology: specific name refers to the Morocco, the country in which the new species was collected.

Diagnosis

Moderate sized scorpions, reaching a total length of 27 to 29 mm for females. General coloration brownish-yellow to dark brown. Anterior margin of carapace almost straight in females. Ventral aspect of metasomal segment V without granulations posteriorly. Fixed and movable fingers with 8-8 rows of denticles; accessory denticles present. Pectines with 15 to 16 teeth in females. Trichobothriotaxy: A-β (Beta) neobothriotaxy ‘minorante’ in female.

Relationships: Orthochirus maroccanus sp. n. can be distinguished from the other species of Orthochirus , and in particular from Orthochirus atarensis by the following characters:

(i) bigger overall size (see Table I), (ii) anterior margin of carapace almost straight in female, (iii) absence of trichobothrium d 2 of femur in female, (iv) paler coloration pattern, (v) carapace, tergites and metasomal tegument more intensely granular.

Description based on female holotype and paratype. Measurements in Table 1.

Coloration. Basically brownish-yellow. Prosoma: carapace dark brown; anterior margin slightly yellowish-brown; median and lateral eyes surrounded by black pigment. Mesosoma: brownish-yellow; carinae and granulations dark brown. Metasomal segments dark brown; telson reddish-brown; aculeus reddish with a darker tip. Metasomal carinae marked with blackish. Venter yellowish-brown; pectines pale yellow. Chelicerae yellowish, with dark variegated spots; fingers brownish. Pedipalps, femur and patella brownish to brownish-yellow; chela yellowish. Legs yellowish with diffused dark brown spots.

Morphology. Carapace moderaly granular; anterior margin almost straight in female. Carinae and furrows moderate to weak. Median ocular tubercle slightly anterior to the centre of the carapace; median eyes separated by more than one ocular diameter. Three pairs of lateral eyes. Sternum subtriangular to subpentagonal, wider than long. Mesosoma: tergites with moderately marked granulations; median carina moderate in all tergites. Tergite VII pentacarinate with moderate carinae. Venter: genital operculum elongated, divided longitudinally into two suboval plates. Pectines: pectinal tooth count 15-16 (holotype), 15-15 (paratype); basal middle lamellae of each pecten not dilated. Sternites almost smooth with small slit-like spiracles; VII with four carinae moderate. Metasoma: segments rounded, with carinae moderately marked; granulations moderately marked; segments I to III with ten carinae; segments IV and V with punctuations; ventral aspect of segment V without granulations in the distal region. Intercarinal spaces with some granulations dorsally; moderately to strongly granular laterally and ventrally. Telson smooth with a few punctuations; aculeus longer than the vesicle and moderately curved; subaculear tooth absent. Cheliceral dentition characteristic of the family Buthidae ( Vachon, 1963) ; movable finger with basal teeth reduced but distinct; ventral aspect of both finger and manus with thin setae. Pedipalps: femur with five strong carinae, granular; patella with 6–7 moderaly marked carinae; chela without carinae, smooth. Fixed and movable fingers with 8-8 rows of denticles. Tri-