Orthochirus katerinae, Kovařík & Just, 2022

Kovařík, FrantIšek & Just, Pavel, 2022, Orthochirus katerinae sp. n. (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Saudi Arabia, Euscorpius (Oxford, England) 362 (1), pp. 1-9 : 1-3

Orthochirus katerinae sp. n.

(Figures 1–27, Table 1 ) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsId:zoobank.org:act:D0609699-D 022-4A3C-B277-59EF092E8152

Orthochirus innesi , ssp.?: Vachon, 1979: 53–55, figs. 36, 38. Orthochirus scrobiculosus (? in part): Alqahtani et al., 2019: 23, fig. 3i.

Orthochirus sp. (? in part): Alqahtani & Badry, 2021: 7, fig. 4.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Saudi Arabia, Hajrah District , 5 km NW of At-Tinah, 20.1107947°N 40.8434278°E, 1400 m a. s. l. ; FKCP.

FIgure 1. Orthochirus katerinae sp. n., paratype male in vivo habitus.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Saudi Arabia, Hajrah District , 5 km NW of At-Tinah, 20.1107947°N 40.8434278°E, 1400 m a. s. l., 24–25 October 2022, 12♂ (holotype and paratypes) 2♂ juveniles (paratypes) leg. F. Kovařík & P. Just.

ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Kateřina Rosová, a zoologist who assisted us during many field trips, helped to collect the material and supported us in our research.

DIAGNOSIS (♂). Total length 26–30 mm in males. Trichobothrium d 2 on dorsal surface of pedipalp femur absent. Pectinal teeth number 16–20 in males. Movable finger of pedipalps with 7–8 rows of denticles, 8–9 ID and 7 OD. Dorsal carinae on pedipalp patella developed and smooth. Pedipalp femur granulated. Metasoma V dorsal surface mesially finely granulated. Metasoma I–II with 10 carinae, metasoma III with 8 carinae, metasoma IV–V with 2 dorsolateral carinae; complete ventrolateral carinae present also on metasoma V. Ventral carinae of metasoma I–III consist of small granules irregularly in wide row. Metasoma IV–V ventrally and laterally with fine punctation developed, spaces among punctae rather smooth in central part and partly granulated mainly on margins; metasoma I–III ventrally and laterally granulated and bumpy with punctation reduced. Tergites roughly to finely granulated. Sternite VII densely granulated, with four irregularly granulated carinae present. Pedipalp, metasoma and telson glabrous. Moderate to strong tibial spurs present on legs III and IV. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with 3–5 long setae. Ratio length/width of metasoma V 1.13–1.16 in males. Pedipalp femur length/width ratio 3.30–3.32 in males.

DESCRIPTION. Total length of adult males 26–30 mm. Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and segments of the pedipalps are given in Table 1 . For habitus, see Figures 1–3.

ColoratIon (Figs. 1–3). Carapace, tergites, and metasoma black. Femur of pedipalps black and patella of pedipalps black to reddish black, chela of pedipalps yellow. Femur of legs black and patella of legs black to reddish black, other segments of legs yellowish brown. Sternites black with yellow median area in posterior margin of sternites IV–VI, mainly on sternite V. Telson black to reddish brown.

Mesosoma and carapace (Figs. 21–22). Mesosoma with a median reduced carina and is roughly to finely granulated. Carapace without carinae, roughly granulated eXcept smooth interocular area. Seventh sternite densely granulated and with four irregularly granulated carinae, the other sternites densely granulated but smooth in middle and posteriorly. Pectinal teeth number 16–20 (4 X 16, 5 X 17, 10 X 18, 4 X 19, 1 X 20) in males.

Metasoma and telson (Figs. 15–20). Metasoma I–II with 10 granulated carinae. Metasoma III lacks lateral and metasoma IV lacks lateral and ventromedian carinae. Ventrolateral carinae are developed on metasoma I–III, V and indicated on metasoma IV, dorsolateral carinae are present on all metasomal segments. Ventral carinae of metasoma I–III consist of small granules irregularly in wide row. Metasoma I–IV and partly metasoma V are granulated laterally, metasoma III–V laterally punctate; granulation present on dorsal surfaces of metasoma I and V and absent on metasoma II–IV eXcept several solitary granules mainly on metasoma II. Fine punctation on metasoma IV–V ventrally developed, spaces among punctae rather smooth in central part and partly granulated mainly on margins. Entire metasoma and telson glabrous. Telson without punctation and granulation.

PedIpalps (Figs. 4–14). Trichobothrium d 2 on dorsal surface of pedipalp femur absent; trichobothrium e 1 is situated at level with d 4. Femur of pedipalps with five granulated carinae and is granulated. Patella has seven smooth carinae, and the chela has smooth carinae which may be discernible throughout the length of the fiXed finger. The entire pedipalps are glabrous, with several short setae only. Movable fingers with 7–8 rows of denticles, 8–9 ID and 7 OD.

Legs (Figs. 23–26). Moderate to strong tibial spurs present on legs III and IV. Femur with four partly granulated carinae; patella with five rather smooth carinae; tibia smooth. Patella with only a few setae. Tibia with several short setae. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with 3–5 long setae, legs IV without these setae. Tarsomeres I–II of all legs internal with two rather irregular rows of setae.

Measurements. See Table 1 .

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish O. katerinae sp. n. from all other species of the genus. Vachon (1979, fig. 36) cited several widely spread populations from Saudi Arabia as “ Orthochirus innesi Simon 1910 , ssp.?” but did not further pursue their taXonomy. In reality, the type locality of O. innesi is in Egypt (Djebel Mokattam). Vachon probably assumed similarity with O. innesi negebensis Shulov & Amitai, 1960 described from Israel (Wadi Nafha, Central Negev), which is currently considered as valid species, Orthochirus negebensis (see, e.g., Lourenço, 2007: 477). Validity of O. katerinae sp. n. is confirmed also by our DNA analysis (paper in preparation), which identified these taXa as related but separate species. Morphologically, O. katerinae sp. n., based on the males, is characterized mainly by the total length of 26–30 mm; pectinal teeth number 16–20; movable finger of pedipalps with 7–8 rows of denticles, 8–9 ID and 7 OD; tarsomere I of legs I–III with 3–5 long setae; ratio length/width of metasoma V 1.13–1.16; pedipalp femur length/width ratio 3.30–3.32 and granulation present on dorsal surfaces of metasoma I and V and absent on metasoma II–IV eXcept several solitary granules mainly on metasoma II.