Reddyanus loebli ( Vachon, 1982 ), 2016

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 : 78-84

Reddyanus loebli ( Vachon, 1982) comb. n.

( Figs. 14, 207, 217–218, 233–234, 249, 258, 358–377, 417–418, 554, 561, 563, Table 5)

Isometrus (Reddyanus) acanthurus loebli Vachon, 1982: 98–99 , figs 48, 58–63, 92–93; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 151.

Isometrus (Reddyanus) loebli: Lourenço & Huber, 2002: 267 ; Kovařík, 2003: 10 ; Kovařík & Ojanguren, 2013: 190, 348, figs. 1279–1280 (reference list until 2013).

= Isometrus (Reddyanus) garyi Lourenço & Huber, 2002: 270–273 , figs. 13–18; Kovařík & Ojanguren, 2013: 187–188, 347, 350, figs. 1266, 1304–1307 (reference list until 2013). S yn. n.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Sri Lanka, Kandy ; MNHN RS 1164 .

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Sri Lanka, Mannar District , beside an irrigation canal, Madhu Road, 50 ft., 23. III . 1970, leg. Davis et Rowe, 1♀ juv., holotype of Isometrus (Reddyanus) garyi (figs. 1266, 1304–1307 in Kovařík & Ojanguren , 2013: 187–188, 347, 350), MHNG .

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. Sri Lanka , Central Province , Matale District , Habarana , Wananiwahana Resort , 07°59'25.8"N 080°43'24.6"E, 280 m a.s.l. ( Locality 15CG, Figs. 582–583), 23. –24.IV.2015, 1♂ ( Figs. 207, 2 17, 233, 249, 258, 358–359, 362, 364, 366–368, 417, 561, 563) 1♀ ( Figs. 218, 234, 360–361, 363, 365, 369– 371, 418) 1juv, FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al.; Northern Province , Mannar District , Madhu Road, 08°48'26.3"N 080°10'26"E, 90 m a.s.l. (Locality 15 CH, Fig. 584), 24. –25.IV.2015, 2♂ ( Figs. 372–375, 376, 554) 1♀ ( Fig. 377), FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al.; 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. (Locality 15CI, Fig. 585), 25. –26.IV.2015, 1♂ 1♀ 1juv., FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al.; North Central Province , Anuradhapura District , Mihintale, 08°20'51.8"N 080°30'27.7"E, 156 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CL, Fig. 589), 27. –28.IV.2015, 1♂ 1♀1juv.♀, FKCP, 2♀, UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al.; Central Province , Matale District , Pallegama, 07°32'49.5"N 080°47'50"E, 434 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CM, Fig. 590), 28.IV.2015, 1♀, FKCP, 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, 1juv., FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al.; Uva Province , Monaragala District , Monaragala, 06°52'30.7"N 081°21'17"E, 288 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CQ, Fig. 595), 2.–3.V.2015, 1♂ 1♀, FKCP, 1♂ 4♀, UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al.; Eastern Province , Ampara District , Lahugala Kitulana National Park , 06°52'46"N 081°43'21.8"E, 40 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CR, Fig. 596), 3.–4.V.2015, 1♂ 1♀ 1juv., FKCP, 1♂ 4♀ 2juvs, UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al.; Eastern Province , Ampara District , Ampara env., 07°20'01.3"N 081°41'57.1"E, 56 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CS, Fig. 597), 4.V.2015, 1♂ 1♀, FKCP, 2♀ 1juv., UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al.; Central Province, Kandy District, Tree Centre, Wildlife Trust Sri Lanka “Rantambe”, 07°12'22.1"N 080°57'20.7"E, 171 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CT, Fig. 598), 5.V.2015, 2♀, FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al .

D IAGNOSIS. Total length 26–45 mm. Male with longer metasomal segments and telson. Pedipalp segments approximately the same length and width in both sexes. Pedipalps and legs yellow with several small brown spots. Base color yellow with black spots. Pedipalp femur and patella spotted, patella mostly black, femur mostly yellow. Posterior terminal tubercle of dorsal carina on second metasomal segment of male markedly enlarged; on third metasomal segment of male partly enlarged; terminal tubercle of dorsal carina on other metasomal segments of male scarcely larger than preceding granules. Subaculear tooth more or less pointed, termination not rounded, dorsally with two pairs of granules and one or two terminal granules. Pectinal teeth number 14–17 in both sexes.

HEMISPERMATOPHORE ( Figs. 372–375). Trunk moderately narrow, at least twice as long as capsule region. Capsule region narrow. Flagellum long, slender, laminiform,

with broad hyaline fin along internal margin of cylindrical core, distally coiled. Median lobe broad, distally truncate, with thin dorsal lamina near internal margin terminating in distal cusp. Basal lobe enlarged, a narrow, angular, pointed hook-like process arising dorsally, separated from base of median lobe. Translucent structures with a light violet tint.

COMPARISONS. The hemispermatophore of R. loebli comb. n. differs from those of R. basilicus comb. n. and R. ceylonensis sp. n. by having a median lobe terminating distally in a pointed cusp (vs. a rounded margin), and a smaller basal lobe with apex blunt (vs. sharp) in lateral view. R. loebli also differs from all other Sri Lankan Reddyanus species in external characters (c.f. Figs. 217, 561, showing the enlarged terminal tubercle of dorsal carina on the second metasomal segment of the male; and Figs. 417–418, showing the pointed subaculear tooth in both sexes) and in behavior (all other Sri Lankan Reddyanus species forage at ground level among leaf litter, whereas R. loebli usually sits under the scales of bark of standing tree trunks, c.f. Fig. 583). Also, first instar juveniles R. loebli are different colored than those of other Sri Lankan Reddyanus species (c.f. Fig. 377 versus Figs. 288 and 332).

COMMENTS. Isometrus (Reddyanus) garyi Lourenço et Huber, 2002 was based on two juveniles (the holotype is 28 mm long, the second juvenile is smaller), which the authors compared only to I. (R.) besucheti . They ignored R. loebli , the only species of Sri Lankan Reddyanus with a pointed (spinoid) subaculear tooth ( Figs. 417–418) in juveniles. Although R. loebli is characterized by a markedly enlarged terminal tubercle of the dorsal carina on the second metasomal segment of the male ( Fig. 217), this character is missing in females ( Fig. 218) and juveniles. Thus, we consider Isometrus (Reddyanus) garyi to be a junior synonym of Reddyanus loebli .

DISTRIBUTION. Sri Lanka.