Euscorpius concinnus (C.L. Koch, 1837)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.18590/euscorpius.2006.vol2006.iss36.1 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F887C2-6C18-FF9E-6742-F9F9E34EFD45 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Euscorpius concinnus (C.L. Koch, 1837) |
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Euscorpius concinnus (C.L. Koch, 1837) View in CoL
( Figs. 12–16 View Figure 12 View Figure 13 View Figure 14 View Figure 15 View Figure 16 , Table 6)
Treated as a subspecies E. carpathicus concinnus by Caporiacco (1950), this taxon was listed as a synonym of E. tergestinus by Fet & Soleglad (2002); however, Vignoli et al. (2005) revalidated it and elevated to species status.
E. concinnus View in CoL is widely distributed in Italy, both in northern (Lombardy, Liguria, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna), center (Tuscany, Marche, Umbria) and southern regions (Latium and Campania) ( Vignoli et al., 2005). All French populations, not analyzed in detail in Vignoli et al. (2005) but whose distribution is reported in detail by Dorier (1935) and Lacroix (1991), should also belong to this species according to their morphological characters. The author studied this species in Italy (Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont and Tuscany) and France ( Fig. 16 View Figure 16 ).
Vignoli et al. (2005) report a wide range of altitudes for E. concinnus View in CoL , from sea-level to 1500 m a.s.l. In this study, the species was mainly found between 0 and 400 m a.s.l. (81 specimens), with a maximal altitude at ca. 638 m a.s.l. in southern France (Entrevaux) .
Vignoli et al. (2005) treat E. concinnus as eurytopic, occupying a wide range of habitats but with a particular preference for natural ones. Author’s data confirms this preference, with 63.0% of specimens found in forests (mainly of Quercus , Pinus , Fagus and Robinia ; Fig. 15 View Figure 15 ), and a smaller amount on small rocky cliffs (15.2%) and borders between forests and Mediterranean maquis (3.4%); only 18.4% of specimens occupied anthropogenic habitats, preferring ruins to inhabited houses. It is interesting to note that, of all seven analyzed species, only two, E. concinnus and E. flavicaudis , occupy all habitats ( Table 1).
In the Italian coastal regions (e.g. in Liguria), E. concinnus occurs in pine forests, where scorpions hide under stones; this habitat is quite dry in summer but is strongly influenced by seasonal rains. There, over 20 specimens (often in groups of two to three under the same stone) were found along 400 m distance, nearly one scorpion for every three of four stones. It seems also that specimens of the same sex can share the same shelter, since up to three males were encountered together. In the inland regions, such as Tuscany, Lombardy, and Emilia Romagna, E. concinnus lives in thick beech ( Fagus ) and chestnut ( Castanea ) forests, which are humid and dark. This species is quite rare in treeless areas. Only three specimens out of 92 were found in such habitat: one specimen (Botasi, Liguria) on a mountain pasture with very low bushes (600–700 m a.s.l.), while other two specimens were observed at a lower altitude, in a Quercus forest. Other two specimens were found in Liguria in an area without tree cover but not too far from a pine forest where other six specimens were found. Another unusually located specimen was found on a hot and dry rocky cliff near a road ( Vagli , Tuscany); according to the data based on other specimens in this study, this habitat is not typical for E. concinnus . It was a very young specimen, which perhaps dropped from the forest above the clifftop .
According to Vignoli et al. (2005), E. concinnus and E. tergestinus are two sympatric but not syntopic spe-
Colombo: New Data on Distribution and Ecology of Euscorpius
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Euscorpius — 2006, No. 36
cies. Their material included E. tergestinus specimens from Monte Corchia area, in Tuscany, already listed by Caporiacco (1950) as having a “light-colored” morphotype (“ E. carpathicus apuanus ”) and even recorded, e.g., from Monte Corchia, Levigliani, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and Monte Tambura (all in Tuscany) in the collections of Zoological Museum “La Specola” of Florence ( Bartolozzi et al., 1987). However, author’s study in the same area (Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Lucca) revealed also “dark” specimens, clearly belonging to E. concinnus morphotype. Also, in Emilia Romagna, some E. concinnus specimens were found in the wood near a castle (Gropparello, Piacenza) not so far from another castle (Torrechiara, Parma) where a E. tergestinus specimen was found. We could therefore assume that, although not completely syntopic (which it is still to be demonstrated), this two sympatric species could be found in adjacent localities.
Vignoli et al. (2005) state (after Polis & McCormick, 1987) that size difference between sympatric scorpion species seems to be important in determining interaction, and that larger species occupy most favorable microhabitats. According to Vignoli et al. (2005), E. tergestinus , the larger species, was found in anthropogenic habitats, most favorable regarding humidity, temperature, and protection from predators, while the smaller E. concinnus was mainly found in natural habitats. The same ecological pattern was observed and confirmed by the author for E. alpha and E. italicus (e.g. Cislano, Brescia, Lombardy), and also for E. concinnus (in forests) and E. sicanus (in inhabited houses) in Tuscany (Castel San Gimignano, Siena; J. O. Rein, pers. comm.).
An adult female from southern France (Entrevaux, Haute-Provence) was found dead on the floor of a dry room in an abandoned village, maybe due to the snowfall of the previous days.
In Emilia Romagna, an adult female of E. concinnus was found eating a large earthworm Lumbricus terrestris (L., 1758) (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae ), during a rain; worms are found in soil almost everywhere but are more common under stones in humid places such as this one ( Castanea forest). In Liguria, another adult female was found eating a social wasp ( Vespula vulgaris (L., 1758)) ( Hymenoptera : Vespidae ) that turned out to be a queen judging from abdominal pattern ( Fig. 13 View Figure 13 ). Queen wasps spend winter and spring in quiet places ( Chinery, 1987), such as under stones, where that specimen was eaten. E. concinnus was found in association with ant colonies, under stones, more than one time in pine forests on the coast between Levanto and Monterosso (Liguria), and also once on a mountain pasture near Gambatesa mine (Botasi, Liguria). In an old, abandoned house (Breccanecca, Liguria), remains of at least four E. concinnus specimens were found in the web of a very common spi- der, Tegenaria sp. (maybe T. domestica (Clerck, 1757)) ( Araneae : Agelenidae ). It is possible that when scorpions walk on the walls and accidentally fall to the ground, they sometimes get into spider webs, which are usually built in the corners.
Adult males and females were found together in January , March , April and June , but adult males were also found in December ; it seems that the mating period of this species, as in E. sicanus , covers winter and spring. A female collected in Gropparello (Emilia Romagna, Italy) gave birth in captivity in the end of July; another one from Castel San Gimignano (Tuscany, Italy) gave birth in captivity earlier (4 June 2003). A female collected in Codiponte (Tuscany, Italy) gave birth on 24 June 2003. Another birth took place on 17 July 2003, by a female collected in La Morra (Piedmont, Italy; Fig. 14 View Figure 14 ) .
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