Hottentotta hottentotta (Fabricius, 1787)

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 : 25-31

Hottentotta hottentotta (Fabricius, 1787)

( Figs. 9–10 , 40–47 )

Scorpio hottentotta Fabricius, 1787: 348 ; Fabricius, 1793: 435; Zimsen, 1964: 637.

Scorpio (Androctonus) hottentottus : Gervais, 1844b: 47.

Prionurus hottentotta : Karsch, 1881: 89.

Buthus (Prionurus) hottentotta : Karsch, 1885: 134.

Buthus hottentotta : Pavesi, 1881: 556; Thorell, 1893: 362 (in part); Pavesi, 1897: 156; Kraepelin, 1891: 185 (in part); Pocock, 1889: 336; Kraepelin, 1898: 3; Kraepelin, 1899: 22; Pocock, 1899: 834; Werner, 1902: 597; Birula, 1908: 143; Kraepelin, 1913: 170; Lampe, 1918: 191; Kraepelin, 1929: 87; Belfield, 1956: 44.

Buthus hottentota : Simon, 1885: 386; Kraepelin, 1901: 266; Borelli, 1911: 8; Borelli, 1913: 218; Monard, 1939: 83; Geeraerts, 1953: 1066.

Buthus (Buthus) hottentotta : Pocock, 1890a: 126.

Buthus (Hottentotta) hottentotta : Birula, 1908: 141; Werner, 1934: 269; Werner, 1936: 174; Vachon, 1940a: 170; Frade, 1947: 8.

Buthotus hottentotta : Vachon, 1949: 147 (1952: 233); Vachon, 1961: 31; Vachon & Stockmann, 1968: 110; Lamoral & Reynders, 1975: 501; Levy & Amitai, 1980: 53; Prost, 1982: 6; Cloudsley-Thompson, 1986: 185; El-Hennawy, 1992: 116.

Hottentotta hottentotta : Hadley, 1990: 327; Hjelle, 1990: 10; Dupre, 1990: 8; Warburg & Polis, 1990: 229; Lourenço & Cuellar, 1994: 22; Dupre & Balliet, 1997: 5; Maury, 1997: 5; Schmidt & Bauer, 1997: 1; Dupré, Lambert & Gérard, 1998: 52; Lourenço & Cuellar, 1999: 149; Delfosse, 2001: 26; Kovařík, 2002: 7; Bultel, 2003: 31; Toscano-Gadea, 2005: 866; Lourenço & Ythier, 2006: 71.

Hottentotta (Hottentotta) hottentotta : Kovařík, 1998: 110; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 139.

Buthus (Hottentotta) hottentotta hottentotta : Roewer, 1943: 207 (? in part).

Buthus hottentota hottentota : Monard, 1951: 237.

Hottentotta (Hottentotta) hottentotta hottentotta : Fet & Lowe, 2000: 139.

= Androctonus margarelon C. L. Koch, 1838a: 47 , fig. 367; C. L. Koch, 1850: 89 (syn. by Kraepelin, 1891: 185).

= Androctonus pandarus C. L. Koch, 1838b: 94 , fig. 402; C. L. Koch, 1850: 90 (syn. by Simon, 1885: 386).

=? Androctonus panopeus C. L. Koch, 1839: 125 , fig. 418; C. L. Koch, 1850: 90 (syn. by Kraepelin, 1899: 22).

= Androctonus thessandrus C. L. Koch, 1840: 77 , fig. 486; C. L. Koch, 1850: 90 (syn. by Kraepelin, 1891: 185).

Buthus nigro-carinatus Simon, 1874: 280 .

Buthus nigrocarinatus : Simon, 1885: 386.

Buthotus hottentotta nigrocarinatus : Vachon & Stockmann, 1968: 115.

Buthotus hottentota nigrocarinatus : Lamoral & Reynders, 1975: 502.

Hottentotta (Hottentotta) hottentotta nigrocarinatus : Kovařík, 1998: 110; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 139.

Hottentotta nigrocarinatus : Lourenço & Ythier, 2006: 71.

Buthus judaicus : Kraepelin, 1895: 81 (in part).

= Hottentotta caboverdensis Lourenço & Ythier, 2006: 72 . Syn. n.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Sierra Leone; original type lost. Neotype from Sierra Leone hereby designated; NMPC.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Sierra Leone, 1♀ (neotype hereby designated, Fig. 40 ), 1985, collector unknown, NMPC .

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. Burkina Faso (Volta Haute), Garango , 11°48'N 00°33'W, 17.X.1966, 1♂ ( Figs. 10 , 46–47 ), leg. Lamontellorie, SMFD No. 39339; Region Bobodiolasso , 2♀ ( Figs 42 , 45 ), 1995, FKCP . Cameroon, 4.X.1911, 1♀, leg. Schubotz, SMFD No. 5248; Duala , 16.XII.1913, 1♀, leg. A. Haas, SMFD No. 5247; Edea , 1♀, SMFD No. 8863/205; 52 mi S Garoua, Boki River , 330 m., 29.IX.1966, 1♀, leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC ; Ngaoundéré , 1100 m., 1.X.1966, 1♀ 1juv., leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC . Cape Verde Islands, Ribeira da Praia, 1993, 3♀ ( Fig. 44 ), leg. Santos, SMFD No. 38561. Congo, Frz. Kongo, Kabo , 15.III.1911, 1juv., leg. Schubotz, SMFD No. 5249; Fort Archambault , 1911, 1juv., leg. Schubotz, SMFD No. 5250; Fort Crampel , 1911, 2juvs., leg. Schubotz, SMFD No. 5232. Ghana, Damongo , 2♀, 14.I.1972, leg. S. Y. Endrődy (Locality No. 515), HNHM ; Wa , 1juv., 26.X.1971, leg. S. Y. Endrődy (Locality No. 509), HNHM ; Tumu , 3♂ 3♀ 6juvs, 27.X.1971, leg. S. Y. Endrődy (Locality No. 511), HNHM ; 1♀, 1990, 1♀ ( Figs. 9 , 43 ), 2005, FKCP . Guinea, Franz. Guinea , 1♀, SMFD No. 6666/73. Guinea-Bissau, Portug. Guinea , 1♀ 1juv., SMFD No. 8862/204. Ivory Coast, M´Bahiakro, 3♀ 1juv., VI.1995, leg. M. Forti, FKCP . Mali, 13 mi. N Manankoro , 375 m., 22.VIII.1966, 1♀ (im.), leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC ; nort of lake Sélingue , 1♂, I.1980, FKCP . Niger, Say, Parc Natl. W, 17 km ENE La Tapoa , 12°30'N 2°33'E, 170 m., 23.XII.1996, 1♀, leg. J. Lattke, CASC . Nigeria, 19 mi. N Bokani , 250 m., 10.IX.1966, 1♀ (im.), leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC ; 45 mi. SW Kano, 680 m., 12.IX.1966, 1juv., leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC ; 10 mi. NW Jos , 1225 m., 14.IX.1966, 1♀ 2juvs., leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC ; 28 mi. NE Zaria , 720 m., 14.IX.1966, 1♀ (im.) 1juv., leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC ; 6 mi. S Jos , 1250 m., 16.IX.1966, 1♀ ( Fig. 41 )4juvs., leg. E. S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, CASC . Senegal, Niokolo Koba n. p., 2♀, VII.1995, FKCP . Tanzania?, probably error localities, 1♀, 1920–1950, 1♀, 2006, FKCP . Togo, 2♀, leg. Bayer, SMFD No. 37466 .

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 55–80 mm. For habitus see Figs. 40–47 . Trichobothrium db on the fixed finger of pedipalp situated between trichobothria et and est or on level with trichobothrium est. Sexual dimorphism not readily apparent, width of pedipalp chela same in both sexes. Males have fingers of pedipalps more twisted then females. Pectinal teeth number 25–29 in males, 22–26 in females (in the subspecies H. h. nigrocarinatus there may be 33 pectinal teeth in males and up to 32 in females). Much of female chelicera reticulate, only base smooth. The male chelicera is often only weakly reticulate and sometimes lacks reticulation altogether. Fingers of chelicerae black. Pedipalps hirsute, but not densely. Metasoma bears only a few hairs. Color usually uniformly reddish brown, but some populations colored yellowish brown to black. Mesosomal segments and carapace usually with orange spots and longitudinal black stripes. Metasomal carinae may be black as well. The coloration of juveniles is variable, in some uniformly brown and in others with the chela dark and the remaining segments of pedipalps yellow; they may also have the fifth metasomal segment darker than the preceding segments. Femur of pedipalp with 3 complete and 2 incomplete carinae. Patella with 8 carinae, of which some are smooth, without granules and obsolete. Chela lacks carinae. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 13–14 rows of granules and 5 or 6 terminal granules. Seventh metasomal segment with 4 well marked ventral carinae. First and second metasomal segments with 10 carinae; third and fourth segment with 8 or 10 carinae; fifth segment with 5 carinae, two lateral and two ventral rows of granules. All carinae granulated, dorsal carinae bear larger terminal granules. First metasomal segment of adults wider than long, second metasomal segment usually longer than wide. Length to width ratio of fourth metasomal segment less than 1.6.

COMMENTS. H. hottentotta is the type species of Hottentotta , and as the bearer of characters that define the genus should have a type specimen. Fixing a neotype is important particularly because there have been attempts to split off some populations as separate species ( H. nigrocarinatus (Simon, 1874) and H. caboverdensis Lourenço & Ythier, 2006 ). For this reason I designate a female from the type locality ( Sierra Leone) as the neotype. It is a 67 mm long specimen that corresponds well with the above diagnosis.

The taxonomic position of the subspecies H. h. nigrocarinatus (type locality and type repository: Senegal, Saint Louis; MNHN) is questionable. Vachon & Stockmann (1968: 137) classifed this taxon as a subspecies of H. hottentotta and distinguished it from other populations by H. h. nigrocarinatus having 33 pectinal teeth in the male and 30–32 in the female and H. h. hottentotta having 25–29 pectinal teeth in the male and 22–26 in the female. They saw other indications of subspecific status in granulation of the fourth metasomal segment and in subtle (from the standpoint of variation negligible) morphometric differences. Lourenço & Ythier (2006: 71) elevated this subspecies to species without giving any reasons for the status change. However, they state that the females have 28–30 pectinal teeth, which differs from Vachon and Stockmann (1968: 116). It is also worth noting that the type of H. nigrocarinatus measures 53 mm and Simon (1874: 281– 282) compares it only with Buthus tunetanus and Buthus peloponnensis . Due to unavailability of MNHN types (see Kovařík, 2004: 27), I have no choice but to regard this taxon recorded from Senegal as a subspecies of H. hottentotta , with the stipulation that only a thorough study of the types can decide whether it is a synonym or a valid species.

Lourenço & Ythier (2006: 72) described H. caboverdensis (type locality and type repository: Cape Verde Islands, Island of São Tiago, region of Praia; MNHN), which they distinguish from H. h. hottentotta and H. h. nigrocarinatus by (1) smaller size (55 to 62 mm), (2) much darker coloration than in H. hottentotta , (3) more strongly marked granulations on the carapace and tergites than in H. hottentotta and H. nigrocarinatus , and (4) smaller number of pectinal teeth than are found in female specimens (22 to 24). As to characters (1), (2) and (4), I do not see any difference from H. hottentotta (see diagnosis), and character (3) lacks any objective value. I also studied three SMFD females from the type locality of H. caboverdensis and am certain that they are H. hottentotta . Their total length (1) is 61 to 78 mm, the coloration (2) is dark ( Fig. 44 ) but not quite as black as in e.g. the population from Ghana ( Fig. 43 ), granulation (3) is within the variation limits known for H. hottentotta , and the pectinal teeth (4) number 23–24 (in other examined females of H. hottentotta the number of pectinal teeth is 22–26). I therefore consider H. caboverdensis a synonym of H. hottentotta .

DISTRIBUTION: Benin (Fet & Lowe, 2000: 139), Burkina Faso (Volta Haute), Cameroon, Chad (Roewer, 1943: 207; Vachon & Stockmann, 1968: 112), Cape Verde Islands (Schmidt & Bauer, 1997: 1), Congo ( Kraepelin, 1929: 87), Cote d’Ivoir (Vachon & Stockmann, 1968: 111), Gambia ( Pocock, 1889: 336), Guinea (Borelli, 1913: 218), Guinea-Bissau ( Monard, 1939: 83), Mali (Vachon & Stockmann, 1968: 112), Niger ( Pocock, 1889: 336), Nigeria (Pocock, 1899: 834), Central African Republic (Vachon & Stockmann, 1968: 112), Senegal ( Kraepelin, 1901: 266), Sierra Leone (Fabricius, 1787: 348), Togo (Werner, 1902: 597).

Records from Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia (see Fet & Lowe, 2000: 139) and Democratic Republic of Congo ( Zaire; Geeraerts, 1953: 1066) must be considered dubious. Also records from Tanzania may in some instances be erroneous and probably concern H. trilineatus ( Peters, 1862) .

Figures

Figure 40: Hottentotta hottentotta, dorsal view, female neotype.

Figure 41: Hottentotta hottentotta, ventral view, female from Nigeria, 6 mi. S Jos, 1250 m., CASC.

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 44: Hottentotta hottentotta, dorsal view, female from Cape Verde Islands, Ribeira da Praia, SMFD No. 385.

Figure 45: Hottentotta hottentotta, dorsal view, female from Burkina Faso, Region Bobodiolasso, with offspring after the first ecdysis.

Figure 46: Hottentotta hottentotta, dorsal view, male from Burkina Faso (Volta Haute), Garango, 11°48'N 00°33'W, SMFD No. 39339.

Figure 47: Hottentotta hottentotta, ventral view, male from Burkina Faso (Volta Haute), Garango, 11°48'N 00°33'W, SMFD No. 39339.

Figures 9–12: Carapace and chelicerae. 9. H. hottentotta, female from Ghana, FKCP. 10. H. hottentotta, male from Burkina Faso (Volta Haute), Garango, 11°48'N 00°33'W, SMFD No. 39339. 11. H. jalalabadensis, sp. nov., female paratype. 12. H. jayakari, female from Oman, Wadi Bani Auf, on Salma Rd, shale scree in wadi, 23°13'N 57°22'E, FKCP.