Vaejovis patagonia Ayrey, 2018

Ayrey, Richard F., 2018, A New Species of Vaejovis from the Patagonia Mountains, Southern Arizona (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Euscorpius 262, pp. 1-12 : 5-9

Vaejovis patagonia Ayrey , sp. nov.

Figs. 1–10; Table 1 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D0F5

7AC4-603A-4131-A0A1-E51A327E0685

Diagnosis. Small (26 mm) scorpions. Color is dark brown, lighter on the legs, with underlying mottling on carapace and mesosoma (see Figure 1). Pedipalp movable finger with 6 ID denticles and fixed finger with 5, similar to most southern Arizona members of the “ vorhiesi ” group. Carapace of female is shorter than the fifth metasomal segment. Pectinal tooth count for females 13.15 [n=20]. Adult males unknown. Obsolete subaculear tubercle.

Type material. Holotype female, Patagonia , Santa Cruz County, Arizona, USA, 31.46630°, -110.73477°, 1501 m

asl, 06 November 2012, leg. R . F. Ayrey, specimen #728, deposited in USNM . 7. Paratype females, same locality, 06 November 2012, leg. R . F. Ayrey, specimens #729- 732, 777, & #793-794 ( RFA) .

Etymology. This species is named after the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona, USA and northern Sonora, Mexico.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in the Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, USA.

Description. Based on holotype female, unless otherwise noted.

Color. Color is dark brown, lighter on the legs. Faint underlying mottling on carapace and mesosoma. Metasoma darker on the distal portion of segment IV and all of segment V.

Carapace. Anterior margin of carapace moderately emarginated, posterior margin slightly emarginated. Carapace finely granular. Three lateral eyes on each side. Median furrow moderate and traverses entire length of carapace. Ratio of median eyes location from anterior edge/carapace length 0.31; carapace length/ width at median eyes 1.36. Carapace of female is shorter than metasomal segment V.

Mesosoma. Tergites finely granular with vestigial median carina on Tergites I-VI. Tergite VII with weak median carina on anterior third and strong dorsal lateral and lateral supramedian granular carinae. Sternites III- VI finely granular and without carinae. Sternite VII with granular ventral lateral carinae on middle third. Presternites smooth. Spiracles ovoid with median side rotated 35 degrees from posterior sternite margin. Sternites with variable number of microsetae.

Sternum ( Figs. 2, 8). Sternum is type 2.

Genital Operculum ( Figs. 2, 8). Sclerites separated on posterior one-fifth.

Pectines. Pectinal tooth counts 12/12 [1], 13/13 [n=6], 13/14 [n=1], and 14/14 [n=2], with a mean of 13.15 [n=20], standard deviation 0.587 for females. Males unknown. All pectinal teeth have exterodistal angling with large sensorial area. Middle lamellae 7/7. Fulcra are present. Each fulcra with 1-3 central setae.

Metasoma. Ratio of segment I length/width 0.89; of segment II length/width 0.93; of segment III length/width 1.06; of segment IV length/width 1.48; of segment V length/width 2.14. Segments I-IV: dorsolateral carinae strong and granular with distal denticle of I-IV enlarged and spinoid. Lateral supramedian carinae I-IV strong and granular with enlarged spinoid distal denticle. Lateral inframedian carinae moderately granular on segment I, posterior 4/5 of II, 4/5 of III, and weak on 2/5 of IV. Ventrolateral carinae I weak and granular; on II-III moderate, granular; on IV strong, granular. Ventral submedian carinae weak on segment I, weak to moderate on II, moderate, granular on III and IV. Dorsal and lateral intercarinal spaces very finely granular. Segment I-IV ventral submedian setae 3/3. Segment V: Dorsolateral carinae moderate, distally crenulate, basally granular. Lateromedian carinae weak and granular on basal 3/5, obsolete on distal 2/5. Ventrolateral and ventromedian carinae strong. Intercarinal spaces finely granular. Segment V ventrolateral setae 4/4.

Telson. Smooth with 4 pairs of large setae on the ventral surface, 3 large setae along both lateral edges of the vesicle and numerous smaller setae. Obsolete subaculear tubercle.

Chelicerae. Dorsal edge of movable cheliceral finger with two subdistal (sd) denticles. Ventral edge is smooth, with well developed serrula on distal half.

Pedipalps. Trichobothrial pattern type C ( Vachon, 1974) (see Figure 6). Trichobothria ib–it at base of fixed finger. Pedipalp ratios: chela length/width 4.76; femur length/width 2.89; patella length/width 2.82; fixed finger length/carapace length 0.81.

Chela. Carinae moderate. Fixed finger Median (MD) denticles aligned and divided into 6 subrows by 5 outer (OD) denticles and 5 ID denticles. Movable finger with 6 subrows, 5 OD denticles and usually 6 ID denticles (Soleglad & Sissom, 2001).

Femur. Carinae moderate.

Patella. Carinae strong, internal surface with very large granules on the DPSc carina.

Legs. Ventral surface of tarsomere II with single median row of spinules terminating distally with one spinule pair.

Variability. Variability of female pectine counts found in most species of the " vorhiesi " group was also noted in V. patagonia . See pectine section.

Reproduction. Several females were kept alive in captivity in order to observe them giving birth and to count the number of first instar juveniles (see Figure 13). Five females gave birth in May 2013. The juvenile counts were (18, 20, 21, 23, 24) mean = 21.20 (n=5). Birth and postpartum behavior are as described in Ayrey (2013).

Type Locality Description. The type specimens were found under rocks during the day in the Patagonia Mountains , Santa Cruz County, Arizona (31.46630°, - 110.73477°) at an elevation of 1501 m asl. The vegetation type is Madrean oak woodland (see Fig. 5). No other scorpion species were found syntopically with V. patagonia .

Comparison of Species

With the description of Vaejovis patagonia presented herein, 20 species are now currently placed in the “ vorhiesi ” group of Vaejovis (see map in Figure 13).

Vaejovis bigelowi , V. crumpi , V. grayae , V. jonesi , V. lapidicola , V. paysonensis and V. trinityae are species which exhibit seven inner denticles (ID) on the chela movable finger, not six as found on most of the southern Arizona “ vorhiesi ” group scorpions, including Vaejovis patagonia .

Of the thirteen species that have six inner denticles (ID) on movable finger, three are geographically close to V. patagonia in southern Arizona: Vaejovis troupi , V. vorhiesi , and V. grahami , all within a 40 mile radius (see “rectangle” on map in Figure 13).

In Table 2 we present key morphometric differences between V. patagonia and these three species with respect to adult females. This table shows morphometrics involving the carapace, metasomal segments, telson, and pedipalpal segments. Although several morphometric ratios exhibit noticeable differences with one or two of the species from V. patagonia , two morphometric ratios are evident which show significant differences from all three species: the vesicle length compared to its width shows 13.4 to 32.4 % Mean Value Difference ( MVD) and the pedipalp patella length compared to its width shows 31.3 to 41.7 % MVD. This indicates that the telson and pedipalp patella are more stocky in V. patagonia than that seen in the other three species.

In addition, V. troupi can be distinguished from V. patagonia and the other two species by exhibiting six inner denticles (ID) on the chela fixed finger, not five. In V. troupi the alignment of the patellar trichobothria et 1 – et 3, est, and v 3 is different from that seen in other species of the “ vorhiesi ” group. Trichobothrium et 3 is located more proximally, thus est–et 3 –v 3 forms an obtuse angle, whereas in the other species these three trichobothria are essentially aligned in a straight line. See Ayrey & Soleglad (2015: figs. 8, 9) for illustrations of these two differences found in V. troupi .