Hottentotta zagrosensis Kovařík, 1997

Kovařík, František, 2007, A revision of the genus Hottentotta Birula, 1908, with descriptions of four new species (Scorpiones, Buthidae), Euscorpius 58 (58), pp. 1-107 : 86-94

Hottentotta zagrosensis Kovařík, 1997

( Figs 1–3 , 126–129 )

Hottentotta zagrosensis Kovařík, 1997a: 41 ; Kovařík, 1998: 111; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 144.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Iran, Fars prov., alt. ca. 1000 m, Zagros Mts., Abshar vill. env., 30°23'N 51°30'E ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, Fars prov., alt. ca. 1000 m., Zagros Mts., Abshar vill. env., 2–3.V.1996 1♂ (holotype, Figs. 126–127 ) 1♂ (im.) and its ecdysis (paratype No. 1), leg. J. Pitulová, 1♀ (allotype, Fig. 129 ) 2juvs. (paratypes No. 2 and No. 3), leg. V. Šejna, 1juv. (paratype No. 4), leg. D. Král, FKCP .

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, West Azerbaijan prov., Bastan , 1270 m., 38°54'40"N 44°59'39"E, 1♀, 30.IX–1.X.1998, leg. P. Kabátek, FKCP ; Húzestán prov., 10km W. Ize, 900 m, 31°45'19"N 49°48'18"E, 1♂ ( Fig. 128 ) 1♀ 1juv., 12–13.X.1998, leg. P. Kabátek, FKCP ; 5 km SE of Posht Chenár , 20.4.2000, 29°12'941"N 53°20'014"E, alt. 1692 m., 1♀, leg. M. Kaftan, FKCP .

DIAGNOSIS. Male holotype 102 mm long, female allotype 103 mm long. For habitus see Figs. 126–129 . Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp located between trichobothria et and est ( Fig. 1 ). Male with slightly longer and narrower metasomal segments, width of pedipalp chela same in both sexes. Pectinal teeth number 34–36 in males, 27–33 in females. Nearly entire body hirsute, pedipalps, dorsal surface of mesosoma, legs, lateral and ventral surfaces of metasomal segments, and vesicle densely hirsute. The hairs on patella of pedipalps are long. Color black except reddish brown chela of pedipalps; sometimes ends of first and second tarsomeres yellow, coxa and trochanter on ventral side of mesosoma marbled, and pectens yellowish brown ( Fig. 128 ). Femur of pedipalps with 5 carinae and a row of granules in middle part of internal surface. Ventral surfaces of femur and patella smooth to glossy. Patella with 8 carinae. Chela lacks carinae. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 16 rows of granules and 5 terminal granules. Seventh metasomal segment with 4 well marked ventral carinae. First and second metasomal segments with 10 carinae; third segment with 8 or 10 carinae; fourth segment with 8 carinae; fifth segment with 5 carinae, 3 ventral (1 median, 2 lateral) and 2 dorsal, smooth and sometimes indistinct. Dorsal surface smooth and glossy, fifth segment bears 2 short, inconspicuous carinae. First metasomal segment of female may be wider than long, in male is always longer than wide. Second metasomal segment always longer than wide. Second to fourth metasomal segment width ratio less than 1.1.

DISTRIBUTION: Iran ( Kovařík, 1997a: 41).

Key to species of the genus Hottentotta Birula, 1908 occurring in Asia

1. Color black except reddish brown chela of pedipalp. Legs may also be reddish-brown. Does not occur in India ……….……………….......................................... 2 - Color not entirely black except for specimens from India which may be entirely brown to black ………..... 3

2. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 16 cutting edges. Ventral surfaces of metasomal segments and vesicle densely hirsute. Occurs in Iran ……. H. zagrosensis Kovařík, 1997

- Movable fingers of pedipalps with 13–14 cutting edges. Metasoma bears only a few hairs. Does not occur in Iran ………....................... H. judaicus (Simon, 1872)

3. Chela of pedipalp always darker than femur of pedipalp ……........................... H. schach (Birula, 1905) - Chela of pedipalp of same color as femur of pedipalp, not darker ....................................................................... 4

4. Male has markedly broader manus than female ………………................................................................ 6 - Width of manus of pedipalp same in both sexes …………………............................................................ 5

5. Ventral surfaces of metasomal segments and vesicle densely hirsute …………….… H. saulcyi (Simon, 1880) - Metasoma only sparsely hirsute ………...................... 7

6. Ventral surfaces of metasomal segments and vesicle densely hirsute ………................................................. 13 - Metasoma only sparsely hirsute …............................ 10

7. Telson black …………...... H. alticola (Pocock, 1895) - Telson yellow to yellowish brown ……….................. 8

8. First metasomal segment of both sexes always wider than long, in female also second metasomal segment wider than long. Second to fourth metasomal segment width ratio in females 1.26–1.29……………………….. ……………………………….... H. jalalabadensis sp.n. - First and second metasomal segments of both sexes longer than wide. Second to fourth metasomal segment width ratio less than 1.2 ………………......................... 9

9. Dorsal surface of fourth metasomal segment bears 2 short, inconspicuous carinae (see fig. 19 in Vachon, 1958: 137) …................... H. penjabensis (Birula, 1897) - Dorsal surface of fourth metasomal segment smooth, without granules and carinae (see fig. 20 in Vachon, 1958: 137) …….............. H. buchariensis (Birula, 1897)

10. Total length 30–60 mm. Pectinal teeth number 23– 29 in males, 19–26 in females ……………………..... 11 - Total length 50–90 mm. Pectinal teeth number 30–39 in males, 27–34 in females ……………………………. …………………………... H. tamulus (Fabricius, 1798)

11. Second metasomal segment of female wider than long ................................... H. rugiscutis (Pocock, 1897) - Second metasomal segment in adults of both sexes always longer than wide ………………….................. 12

12. Movable fingers of pedipalp with 12 cutting edges. Hairs on patella of pedipalp long. Occurs in Pakistan ………………………..….............. H. finneganae sp. n. - Movable fingers of pedipalp with 14 cutting edges. Hairs on patella of pedipalp short. Occurs in India ………………………........................ H. stockwelli sp. n.

13. Total length 35–50 mm. Pectinal teeth number 20– 24 ..................................... H. pachyurus (Pocock, 1897) - Total length 50–80 mm. Pectinal teeth number 26–36 ………........................................ H. jabalpurensis sp. n.

Key to species of the genus Hottentotta Birula, 1908 occurring in Africa and Arabia

1. All metasomal segments uniformly colored ……...... 4 – First two or three metasomal segments yellow, fifth segment and telson black …………………………....... 2

2. All segments of pedipalps uniformly colored …........................................ H. scaber (Ehrenberg, 1828) – Femur of pedipalp yellow to yellowish brown, chela dark ………………………………………...……......... 3

3. Patella of pedipalp as dark as chela ……………..…. …………….......................... H. jayakari (Pocock, 1895) – Patella of pedipalp as yellow to yellowish brown as femur …..................................... H. salei (Vachon, 1980)

4. Telson extremely inflated ( Fig. 28 ), both sexes with very narrow chelae. Occurs only in Angola, South Africa, and Namibia …....................................….......... 5 - Telson much less inflated ……………........................ 6

5. Total length 32–43 mm. First metasomal segment width/length ratio 0.95–1.05 in males, 1.03–1.14 in females ………………...... H. arenaceus (Purcell, 1902) - Total length 40–65 mm. First metasomal segment width/length ratio 1.22–1.42 in males, 1.28–1.47 in females ……………….... H. conspersus (Thorell, 1876)

6. Ventral surfaces of metasomal segments and vesicle of female densely hirsute.……………………….…..... 7 - Metasoma of both sexes bears only a few hairs …...... 8

7. Legs yellow ……………..... H. gentili ( Pallary, 1924) - Legs black or reddish brown ……………………… ……………………….... H. franzwerneri (Birula, 1914)

8. Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp located between trichobothria et and dt or on level with trichobothrium et ( Fig. 4 ). Occurs in Socotra ……………………......... H. socotrensis ( Pocock, 1889) - Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp located between trichobothria et and est or esb ( Fig. 1 ). Does not occur in Socotra …......................................... 9

9. Entire body black, does not occur in Africa …………............................... H. judaicus (Simon, 1872) - Usually uniformly reddish brown, some populations yellowish brown to black. Occurs in Africa …............ 10

10. Chelicerae of both sexes yellow, without reticulation …….............................................................................. 11 - Chelicerae always reticulated in females, reticulation may be absent in males ………………………………. ……………………….. H. hottentotta (Fabricius, 1787)

11. Metasoma wide. First metasomal segment of adults always wider than long, second metasomal segment usually wider than long ............................................... 12 – Metasoma narrow. First metasomal segment usually longer than wide or as wide as long (except for some males of H. trilineata ) ……….............….……........... 13

12. Male with manus of pedipalp markedly broader than in female …………………….. H. niloticus (Birula, 1928)

- Width of manus of pedipalp same in both sexes …………………….………... H. minax (L. Koch, 1875)

13. Metasoma very narrow. Fourth metasomal segment length/width ratio higher than 1.6 …………………… ………………………...... H. polystictus (Pocock, 1896) – Fourth metasomal segment length/width ratio less than 1.6 ……………………….. H. trilineatus (Peters, 1861)

DISCUSSION. Most species of Hottentotta are uniform yellowish brown, sometimes with a dark mesosoma or at least a dark spot on the anterior part of the carapace. Four species, H. franzwerneri (Birula, 1914) ( Fig. 32 ), H. gentili ( Pallary, 1924) comb. n. ( Fig. 37 ), H. judaicus (Simon, 1872) ( Fig. 64 ) and H. zagrosensis Kovařík, 1997 ( Fig. 129 ), are black; in H. franzwerneri with yellow legs ( Fig. 32 ) and in the other species with legs often lighter than the body, often reddish brown ( Figs. 64 and 128 ). In other four species, H. salei (Vachon, 1980) comb. n. ( Fig. 93 ), H. saulcyi (Simon, 1880) ( Fig. 95 ), H. scaber (Ehrenberg, 1828) ( Fig. 100 ) and H. schach (Birula, 1905) ( Fig. 105 ), the color pattern contrasts alternating black and yellow segments of pedipalps or/and metasoma, and intraspecific variation in this regard is negligible. Close to this group is H. jayakari (Pocock, 1895) , in which however the base color cannot be unequivocally described as yellow but rather ranges from yellow to brown ( Fig. 62 ).

Color-wise the most interesting group of species comprises H. hottentotta (Fabricius, 1787) ( Figs. 42 and 43 ), H. rugiscutis (Pocock, 1897) ( Figs. 92 and 91 ), H. tamulus (Fabricius, 1798) ( Figs. 114 and 120 ) and H. trilineatus ( Peters, 1862) ( Figs. 124 and 122 ). They lack contrasting colors, but in all of them some specimens are pale yellow ( Fig. 124 ), some nearly black ( Fig. 43 ), and many range from shades of yellowish green to reddish brown ( Fig. 42 ). Despite inhabiting two continents and being allopatric, these four species have much in common and appear to belong to the same species complex. Their sexual dimorphism is similar, males have fingers proximally twisted and the manus of pedipalp wider than females ( Figs. 114 and 116 ), and they are highly variable in the position of trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp in relation to trichobothrium est. Their habitus is similar and they are often confused with the genus Mesobuthus , to which they seem to be much closer than other species of Hottentotta . All of them can also be characterized as adaptable and thus having wide geographic distributions (in comparison with other species of Hottentotta ), and usually being quite common (in comparison with other scorpion genera). These attributes make the group taxonomically difficult and endowed by the most synonyms, as descriptions are often based on small samples that do not permit recognition of intraspecific variability.

Examination of a large number of specimens has allowed me to discern variation in the width to length ratio of some metasomal segments, i.e. a character which is generally regarded as stable and which in case of the first and second segments I use in the simplified key to differentiate species with broader metasomas ( H. niloticus (Birula, 1928) and H. minax (L. Koch, 1875)) from those with narrower metasomas ( H. polystictus (Pocock, 1896) and H. trilineatus (Peters, 1861)) . All these species show a degree of variation, namely in the width of the fourth metasomal segment, which crosses population boundaries and does not appear to be related to individual size, and this must be taken into account in species determinations. I have not found any discernible variation in the width to length ratio of the first metasomal segment, however.

Figures

Figure 28: Hottentotta conspersus, dorsal view, female from Angola, Naulila env., FKCP.

Figure 32: Hottentotta franzwerneri, dorsal view, male lectotype.

Figure 37: Hottentotta gentili, dorsal view, male from Morocco, prov. Tiznit, 25 km SE of Tiznit, 29°37'30"N 09°30'18"W, FKCP.

Figure 42: Hottentotta hottentotta, dorsal view, female from Burkina Faso (Volta Haute), Region Bobodiolasso, FKCP.

Figure 43: Hottentotta hottentotta, dorsal view, female from Ghana, FKCP.

Figure 62: Hottentotta jayakari, dorsal view, female from Oman, Wadi Bani Auf, on Salma Rd, shale scree in wadi, 23°13'N 57°22'E, FKCP.

Figure 64: Hottentotta judaicus, dorsal view, male from Jordan, King Talal Dam, FKCP.

Figure 91: Hottentotta rugiscutis, dorsal view, female from India, Goa, near Ponda, FKCP.

Figure 92: Hottentotta rugiscutis, dorsal view, male from India, Maharashtra, Mahabaleshvar, FKCP.

Figure 93: Hottentotta salei, dorsal view, female from Yemen, Al Mahra gov., Wadi N of Damqut vill., 16°34'20"N 52°50'03"E, FKCP.

Figure 95: Hottentotta saulcyi, dorsal view, male from Iran, prov. Bachtarán, Hasrouabad, 34°10'09"N 46°21'56"E, FKCP.

Figure 100: Hottentotta scaber, dorsal view, male from Yemen, Abyan gov., Lawdar env., 13°52'36"N 45°48'01"E, FKCP.

Figure 105: Hottentotta schach, dorsal view, female from Iran, prov. Fars, 10 km E of Sivand vill., FKCP.

Figure 114: Hottentotta tamulus, dorsal view, male lectotype of Buthus tamulus concanensis.

Figure 116: Hottentotta tamulus, dorsal view, female lectotype of Buthus tamulus gujaratensis.

Figure 120: Hottentotta tamulus, dorsal view, female from India, Behr, Mongyo Dist., FKCP.

Figure 122: Hottentotta trilineatus, dorsal view, male from Kenya, Magadi, Lake Magadi env., FKCP.

Figure 124: Hottentotta trilineatus, dorsal view, male from Kenya, between Madogo and Garissa, west of Tana river, FKCP.

Figure 126: Hottentotta zagrosensis, dorsal view, male holotype.

Figure 127: Hottentotta zagrosensis, ventral view, male holotype.

Figure 128: Hottentotta zagrosensis, dorsal view, male from Iran, prov. Húzestán, 10 km W Ize, 31°45'19"N 49°48'18"E, FKCP.

Figure 129: Hottentotta zagrosensis, dorsal view, female allotype.

Figures 1–4: 1–3. H. zagrosensis, holotype. 1. chela external, 2. femur dorsal, 3. movable finger. 4. H. socotrensis, chela external.