Euscorpius germanus mesotrichus Hadži, 1929

Kovařík, František, Štundlová, Jana, Fet, Victor & Šťáhlavský, František, 2019, Seven new Alpine species of the genus Alpiscorpius Gantenbein et al., 1999, stat. n. (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Euscorpius 287, pp. 1-29 : 26

Identity of Euscorpius germanus mesotrichus Hadži, 1929

Euscorpius germanus mesotrichus Hadži, 1929: 38 , fig. 7, tab. VII. http://zoobank.org/ urn : lsid: zoobank. org: act: 6A24C6AD-2CA7-40D4-8E46-B63A2D506F6D

The identity of this old taXon described from Slovenia (syntypes: 3♂ 7♀, depository unknown), is unclear. It was listed as a subjective junior homonym of Euscorpius italicus mesotrichus Hadži, 1929 (Fet & Sissom, 2000: 366); however, with the elevation of the subgenus Alpiscorpius this name technically becomes available as “ Alpiscorpius mesotrichus ”. Its vague type locality was indicated as “bivša [=former] Kranjska”. Kranjska (or Carniola) is a historical region, which refers to three regions of the modern Slovenia (Gorenjska, or Upper Carniola; Notranjska, or Inner Carniola; and Dolenjska, or Lower Carniola). Table VII in Hadži (1929) lists syntype males with Dp=7 or 8 and females mostly with Dp=6; number of ventral trichbothria Pv varies between 5 and 6, and numer of eXternal trichobothria is usually 21 (i.e. et=eb a =4); his fig. 7 clearly shows et=eb a =4 without reduction. In our opinion, the syntype series of this taXon could refer to several new species described here from Slovenia (see our Table 5), and most likely not from “ germanus ” but from “ mingrelicus compleX”. However, unless the syntype series is rediscovered and studied, the name “ Alpiscorpius mesotrichus ( Hadži, 1929) ” cannot be used since it is not currently associated with any valid species.