Lychas srilankensis Lourenço, 1997

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Ranawana, Kithsiri B., Hoferek, David & Š, V. A., 2016, Scorpions of Sri Lanka (Scorpiones Buthidae, Chaerilidae, Scorpionidae) with description of four new species of the genera Charmus Karsch, 1879 and Reddyanus Vachon, 1972, stat n, Euscorpius 220, pp. 1-133 : 48-53

Lychas srilankensis Lourenço, 1997

( Figs. 13 , 152–192 , 198 , 251 , 407–408 , 550 )

Lychas srilankensis Lourenço, 1997: 831–836 , figs. 1–9; Lourenço & Huber, 1999: 26; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 168; Kovařík & Ojanguren, 2013: 209, 364, figs. 1462–1470.

= Lychas ceylonensis Lourenço & Huber, 1999: 23–26 , figs. 1–7 (syn. by Kovařík & Ojanguren, 2013: 209).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Sri Lanka, Northern Province, Mannar District, Occapu Kallu, Wilpattu ; MHNG.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Sri Lanka, Northern Province, Jaffna District , 09°42'51.6"N 080°04'44.8"E, 19 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CJ, Fig. 586 ), 26. –27.IV.2015, 1♂ after 5th ecdysis ( Figs. 152–153 , 158, 160, 162–168 , 174–180, 182 , 198 , 407 ) 1♀ ( Figs. 154–155 , 159, 161 , 169–173, 181 , 408 ) 1im. ♂, FKCP, 1♂, UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al .; North Central Province, Puttalam District, Eluwankulam , 08°12'35.1"N 079°51'32"E, 52 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CN, Fig. 591 ), 28.IV.2015, 1♂ after 3rd ecdysis ( Figs. 183–186 , 189 , 550 ) 1♂ after 4th ecdysis 1♀ ( Figs. 191–192 ), FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al .; North Central Province, Puttalam District, Eluwankulam , 08°17'15"N 079°50'38.7"E, 38 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CO, Fig. 592 ), 28.IV.2015, 2♂ ( Figs. 156–157 , 251 ) 1♀, FKCP, 1♀ 1juv, UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al .

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 38–65 mm. Sternum type 1, subpentagonal, exhibiting horizontal compression. Metasoma approximately the same length in both sexes, or male with slightly longer metasoma. Sixth row of granules on both movable and fixed fingers of pedipalps with out external and internal granules. First through third metasomal segments with 10 carinae, fourth with eight carinae. Lateral inframedian carinae of second and third metasomal segments may be incomplete. Fingers and manus of pedipalps identically colored, light and spotted. Manus of pedipalps smooth without granules in females and usually finely granulated in males. Pectinal teeth number 21–25.

HEMISPERMATOPHORE ( Figs. 183–186 ). Trunk broad, short, only slightly longer than capsule region. Capsule region broad. Flagellum short, laminiform, with broad hyaline fin along internal margin of cylindrical core. Median lobe broad, with thin dorsal carina near internal margin. Basal lobe strongly developed, a broad, blunt hook-like process arising dorsally at base of median lobe carina.

COMMENTS. The taxonomic position of this species is not clear. L. srilankensis is very similar to L. tricarinatus (Simon, 1884) and there is a real possibility that further study of L. tricarinatus (type locality India, Pondichéry) could reveal that these two species are synonyms. Lourenço did not compare these two species and only compared L. srilankensis with L. shoplandi (Oates, 1888) and L. feae ( Thorell, 1889) (= L. shoplandi ) from Myanmar in the original description ( Lourenço, 1997: 831–836, figs. 1–9). The description is superficial with several errors (e.g. compare Fig. 179 with fig. 6 in Lourenço 1997: 833, which depicts a spurious additional trichobothrium between d 4 and d 5; and the shape and densely hirsute setation of tarsomere II of leg IV in Fig. 165 with fig. 8 in Lourenço 1997: 833, which depicts same setation for tarsomeres I and II). Kovařík et Ojanguren (2013: 196) cited a difference in the length of the metasoma in males, but our study of new Sri Lankan specimens shows that there is little or no significant difference. Both species L. srilankensis and L. tricarinatus have the metasoma approximately the same length in both sexes, or the male has a slightly longer metasoma.

In the original description, L. ceylonensis was characterized as having the terminal accessory granules on the movable finger of the pedipalp modified into another (seventh) row of granules (see fig. 7 in Lourenço & Huber, 1999: 24). The authors (p. 26) distinguished L. ceylonensis from L. srilankensis as follows: "... the presence of 7 oblique rows of granules on the movable finger of pedipalp, instead of 6 as in L. srilankensis . The row of granules on the extremity of the finger is normal, and not represented merely by 3 or 4 accessory granules as it is in L. srilankensis ". This is incorrect. The male holotype of L. ceylonensis only has a right movable finger (the left is missing), and this finger only bears six rows of granules and three external accessory granules on its distal extremity (see Fig. 1465 in Kovařík & Ojanguren, 2013: 364), which is the normal condition for the genus Lychas (see genus diagnosis), including L. srilankensis .

DISTRIBUTION. Sri Lanka.

Figures

Figures 12–15: Maps showing the known geographical distribution of the Sri Lankan species.

Figures 152–155: Lychas srilankensis from locality 15CJ. Figures 152–153. Male in dorsal (152) and ventral (153) views. Figures 154–155. Female in dorsal (154) and ventral (155) views.

Figures 156–157: Lychas srilankensis, male from locality 15CO in dorsal (156) and ventral (157) views.

Figures 158–165: Lychas srilankensis from locality 15CJ. Figures 158, 160, 162–165. Male, chelicerae, carapace and tergites I–III (158), sternopectinal region and sternite III (160), and distal segments of legs I–IV (162–165), retroventral view. Figures 159, 161. Female, chelicerae, carapace and tergites I–III (159) and sternopectinal region and sternite III (161).

Figures 166–171: Lychas srilankensis from locality 15CJ. Figures 166–168. Male, metasoma and telson, lateral (166), ventral (167), and dorsal (168) views. Figures 169–171. Female, metasoma and telson, lateral (169), ventral (170), and dorsal (171) views.

Figures 172–182: Lychas srilankensis from locality 15CJ. Figures 174–180, 182. Male. Pedipalp chela, dorsal (174), external (175), and ventral (176) views. Pedipalp patella, dorsal (177) and external (178) views. Pedipalp femur and trochanter dorsal (179) view. The trichobothrial pattern is indicated in Figures 175–179. Pedipalp movable finger (180). Complete pedipalp (182). Figures 172–173, 181. Female. Pedipalp chela, dorsal (172) and external (173) views. Complete pedipalp (181).

Figures 183–186: Right hemispermatophore of Lychas srilankensis from locality 15CN (presented as mirror image for comparison to other species). External (183), dorsal (184), internal (185) and ventral (186) views. Extracted after 3rd ecdysis. Hemispermatophores examined from a second male after 4th ecdysis were similar. Scale bar: 500 µm. Abbreviations: bl, basal lobe; f, flagellum; ml, median lobe; mlc, median lobe carina; pr, pars recta of flagellum; prf, pars reflecta of flagellum; t, trunk.

Figures 187–190: Lychas srilankensis. Figures 187. Male after 5th ecdysis at locality 15CJ. Figures 188. Female after 5th ecdysis at locality 15CO. Figures 189. Male after 3rd ecdysis at locality 15CN. Figures 190. Female after 5th ecdysis at locality 15CJ.

Figures 191–192: Lychas srilankensis, female from locality 15CN with newborns before first ecdysis (191), and with juveniles after first ecdysis (192).

Figures 193–200: Distal segments of leg IV, retroventral view of Sri Lankan Buthidae and Chaerilidae genera. Buthoscorpio sarasinorum, male from locality 15CF (193), Charmus laneus, male from locality 15CO (194), Hottentotta tamulus, male from locality 15CK (195), Isometrus maculatus, female from locality 15CI (196), Isometrus thwaitesi, female from locality 15CO (197), Lychas srilankensis, male from locality 15CJ (198), Reddyanus basilicus, male from locality 15CS (199), and Chaerilus ceylonensis, male from locality 15CD (200).

Figures 241–259: Pedipalp chela dorsal (241), movable finger (242–250), and fixed finger (251–259) of Sri Lankan Isometrus, Lychas, and Reddyanus species. Figures 241–242, 252. Isometrus maculatus, female from locality 15CO (241) and male from locality 15CP (242, 252). Figures 243–244, 253. I. thwaitesi, male from locality 15CH (243) and female from locality 15CO (244, 253). Figures 245, 254. Reddyanus basilicus, male from locality 15CS. Figures 246, 255. R. besucheti, male from locality 15CD. Figures 247, 256. R. ceylonensis sp. n., male holotype. Figures 248, 257. R. jayarathnei sp. n., male paratype. Figures 249, 258. R. loebli, male from locality 15CG. Figures 250, 259. R. ranawanai sp. n., male holotype. Figure 251. Lychas srilankensis, male from locality 15CO.

Figures 403–429: Telson, lateral view of Sri Lankan Buthidae and Chaerilidae species. Figures 403–404. Isometrus maculatus, male from locality 15CP (403) and female from locality 15CI (404). Figures 405–406. I. thwaitesi, male from locality 15CH (405) and female from locality 15CO (406). Figures 407–408. Lychas srilankensis, male (407) and female (408) from locality 15CJ. Figures 409–410. Reddyanus basilicus, male (409) and female (410) from locality 15CR. Figures 411–412. R. besucheti, male holotype (411) and female from locality 15CG (412). Figures 413–414. R. ceylonensis sp. n., male holotype (413) and female paratype (414) from locality 15CI. Figures 415–416. R. jayarathnei sp. n., male (415) and female (416) paratypes. Figures 417–418. R. loebli, male (417) and female (418) from locality 15CG. Figures 419–420. R. ranawanai sp. n., male holotype (419) and female paratype (420). Figures 421–422: Buthoscorpio sarasinorum, male from locality 15CF (421) and female from locality 15CG (422). Figures 423–424. Charmus laneus, male (423) and female (424) from locality 15CO. Figures 425–426. Charmus saradieli sp. n. male paratype (425) (MHNG) and female holotype (426). Figurs 427. Hottentotta tamulus, male from locality 15CK (427). Figures 428–429. Chaerilus ceylonensis, male (428) and female (429) from locality 15CD.

Figures 547–554: The mitotic metaphases of buthid males from Sri Lanka. Buthoscorpio sarasinorum from locality 15CF (2n=14) (547), Charmus laneus from locality 15CO (2n=9) (548), Isometrus thwaitesi from locality 15CF (2n=8) (549), Lychas srilankensis from locality 15CN (2n=16) (550), Reddyanus basilicus from locality 15CS (2n=16) (551), Reddyanus basilicus from locality 15CR (2n=15) (552), Reddyanus ceylonensis from locality 15CI (2n=16) (553), Reddyanus loebli from locality 15CH (2n=17) (554). Arrowheads indicate extra large odd chromosomes. Scale bar = 5 µm for 547–554.

Figures 585–587: Figure 585. Locality 15CI, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, Mannar District, Marichchukkaddi env, border of Wilpattu National Park, 08°33'32.3"N 079°56'51"E, 7 m a.s.l. During night collecting on 25.–26.IV.2015 (UV detection) we recorded Isometrus maculatus and Isometrus thwaitesii sympatrically (running on branches and trunks of trees, also sitting on leaves one to four metres high), Reddyanus ceylonensis sp. n. (on the land among leaves; the type locality), Reddyanus loebli (hidden under scales of bark of standing tree trunks). Near to the locality we recorded temperature between 37.6 ºC (maximum daytime temperature and 26.2 ºC (minimum nighttime temperature) shortly before sunrise. Humidity varied between 67% and 81%. Figures 586–587. Locality 15CJ, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, Jaffna District, 09°42'51.6"N 080°04'44.8"E, 19 m a.s.l. During night collecting on 26.–27.IV.2015 (UV detection) we recorded Lychas srilankensis (on the land usually under branches, leaves or in their vicinity), Heterometrus swammerdami (inside the termite constructions or inside heaps of garden "waste") and Heterometrus gravimanus inside burrows in open terrain (Fig. 587). The females had 30 to 60 cm long oblique burrows once or twice curved. A female shortly after maturity ecdysis was in the burrow together with a male; another female was in the burrow together with three juveniles which had their own narrow burrows separated under surface from the motherś burrow; a juvenile after the third ecdysis had a proper burrow 30 cm long oblique and once curved. There also lives Isometrus maculatus. On the locality we recorded night temperature 31.6 ºC– 27.2 ºC (minimum temperature) and night humidity varied between 60% and 87%.

Figures 590–591: Figure 590. Locality 15CM, Sri Lanka, Central Province, Matale District, Pallegama, 07°32'49.5"N 080°47'50"E, 434 m a.s.l. During a day 28.IV.2015 we recorded Reddyanus loebli (under bark). Figure 591. Locality 15CN, Sri Lanka, North Central Province, Puttalam District, Eluwankulam, 08°12'35.1"N 079°51'32"E, 52 m a.s.l. During night collecting on 28.IV.2015 (UV detection) between 9.00 and 10.00 p.m. we recorded Charmus laneus (running on the ground among leaves), Lychas srilankensis (on the ground under branches or leaves or in their vicinity), Reddyanus ceylonensis sp. n. (on the ground and inside old moulder stump), Reddyanus loebli (hidden under scales of bark of standing tree trunks) and Heterometrus swammerdami (inside burrows). On the locality we recorded between 9.00 and 10.00 p.m. temperature 28.5 ºC– 25.9 ºC and humidity between 61% and 78%.

Figures 592–594: Figure 592. Locality 15CO, Sri Lanka, North Central Province, Puttalam District, Eluwankulam, 08°17'15"N 079°50'38.7"E, 38 m a.s.l. During night collecting from 10.30 p.m. on 28.IV.2015 to 4.00 a.m. on 29.IV.2015 (UV detection) we recorded Charmus laneus (running on the ground among leaves), Isometrus thwaitesii (running on branches of bushes, also sitting on leaves), Lychas srilankensis (on the ground under branches, leaves or in their vicinity), Reddyanus ceylonensis sp. n. (on the ground), Chaerilus ceylonensis (inside oblique usually not curved burrows 15 to 30 cm long) and Heterometrus swammerdami (inside long burrows). On the locality we recorded between 10.00 p.m. and 4.00 a.m. temperature 25.9 ºC and humidity between 58% and 70%. On the locality we recorded 6 scorpion species and genera of all three Sri Lankan families. Figures 593–594. Locality 15CP, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Matara District, Kekanadura village, 05°58'28.2"N 080°36'20.5"E, 40 m a.s.l. During night collecting on 30.IV.2015 (UV detection) we recorded Isometrus maculatus (inside a house, the species occupy the roof of the house, Fig. 593) and Heterometrus serratus (inside almost straight burrows in a ground wall). On the locality we recorded night temperature 28.4 ºC– 25.2 ºC (minimum temperature) and night humidity varied between 63% and 89%.