Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004

Kovařík, František, 2005, Taxonomic position of species of the genus Buthacus Birula, 1908 described by Ehrenberg and Lourenço, and description of a new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 28 (28), pp. 1-13 : 6

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.18590/euscorpius.2005.vol2005.iss28.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:87554E85-E282-4823-A4FC-600E813891AC

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/DC53CD39-FF81-FFF9-FF78-FBF4FA85F91A

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004
status

 

Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004 View in CoL , nomen dubium

Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004b: 226 View in CoL .

COMMENTS. Lourenço based this species on a single male from Morocco, near to the border with Algeria northwest of Béni-Abbés and Igli. He concluded that it belongs in the Buthacus leptochelys complex (see Lourenço, 2004b: 226) and prepared a key to the northwestern African species belonging to this complex, in which he incorrectly defined Buthacus leptochelys (see the above introduction and diagnosis of Buthacus leptochelys , and Lourenço, 2004b: 229). Even a more serious problem, however, is fig. 3 in Lourenço (2004b: 227), which shows the position and number of external and internal granules on the dentate margins of the pedipalp chela movable finger in the holotype of Buthacus mahraouii . It is apparent from this figure that the specimen lacks external granules, whose presence determines assignment to the Buthacus leptochelys complex (see Fig. 2 View Figures 1–2 ). Conversely, the absence of these granules determines assignment to the Buthacus arenicola complex ( Fig. 1 View Figures 1–2 and Lourenço, 2004b: 227, fig. 3). Because of unavailability of the MNHN type, I can only speculate about the taxonomic position of Buthacus mahraouii . There appear to be only two possibilities:

1) Fig. 3 View Figure 3 of Lourenço (2004b: 227) faithfully depicts the absence of external granules in the holotype of Buthacus mahraouii , in which case Lourenco’s assignment of the species to the Buthacus leptochelys complex is erroneous and B. mahraouii may be a synonym of e.g. Buthacus spatzi (Birula, 1911) in the Buthacus arenicola complex, with which it was not compared.

2) Fig. 3 View Figure 3 of Lourenço (2004b: 227) is not a faithful rendition of the situation in the holotype, in which case B. mahraouii belongs in the Buthacus leptochelys complex but possesses characters other than those given in the original description.

Only a careful redescription of the holotype of Buthacus mahraouii can resolve the situation, and until then the name must be regarded as a nomen dubium.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Scorpiones

Family

Buthidae

Genus

Buthacus

Loc

Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004

Kovařík, František 2005
2005
Loc

Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004b: 226

LOURENCO 2004: 226
2004
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