Tityus schrammi Teruel et Santos, 2018

Teruel, Rolando & Santos, Gabriel de los, 2018, Two new Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones Buthidae) from Hispaniola, Greater Antilles, Euscorpius 257, pp. 1-16 : 8-16

Tityus schrammi Teruel et Santos , sp. n.

( Figures 7–9, 11; Table I) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FA9

5D897-EE94-44E5-8E2D-4A5D993B34B1

TYPE DATA. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Elías Piña Province, Cordillera Central [= Central Range], Nalga de Maco National Park, Río Limpio , 19°12'13.8"N - 71°28'59.6"W, 1,643 m a. s. l., 06 April 2012, coll. C. Marte, A. Sánchez, C. Pérez, 1♀ holotype ( MNHNSD 08.448 ) .

ETYMOLOGY. The selected epithet is a patronym honoring Frederic Schramm (Magdeburg, Germany), a scorpion enthusiast and good friend, who was very helpful and kind during a trip to Dominican Republic by one of us ( RT), in September 2016 .

DIAGNOSIS (based on a single adult female). A member of the "quisqueyanus" species-group. Adult size moderately large (45 mm) for the group. Coloration basically orange brown, very densely reticulated and spotted with blackish brown all over the body and appendages; tergites with three irregular longitudinal dark stripes; pedipalp fingers black, metasomal segments IV–V and telson reddish black. Pedipalp chelae with manus robust and moderately carinate, wider than patella (ratio 1.17); fixed/movable fingers with 11/12 principal rows of denticles, respectively, basal lobe/ notch combination moderate. Pectines with 12/12 teeth; basal middle lamella greatly enlarged and oval to round. Sternite V with the smooth patch large, triangular and bulky; spiracles short slit-like. Metasoma short, robust and conspicuously swollen distally, with 10/8/8/8/5 complete to essentially complete, strongly serrate to serratocrenulate carinae; dorsal lateral carinae on segments II–IV with terminal denticle vestigially enlarged; all intercarinal spaces very coarsely and densely granulose. Telson short oval, vesicle coarsely granulose, with subaculear tubercle small, conical and without granules.

DESCRIPTION (adult female holotype). Coloration ( Fig. 7) base orange brown, very densely reticulated and spotted with blackish brown all over the body and appendages except on the ventral surface of prosoma. Chelicerae yellowish; manus densely reticulated with blackish brown; fingers only with subbasal part deeply infuscate. Pedipalp femur and patella very densely reticulated with blackish brown on all surfaces except ventral, which is sparsely reticulated; chela with manus densely but irregularly spotted with blackish brown along carinae, mostly on external and ventral surfaces, fingers blackish with yellowish tips. Carapace symmetrically and densely reticulated and spotted with blackish brown, interocular triangle deeply infuscate but with large pale dots; eyes and ocular tubercles black. Tergites symmetrically and densely reticulated and spotted with blackish brown, irregularly arranged into three longitudinal stripes. Pectines immaculate yellowish to pale brownish, with basal portion and basal plate progressively darker due to heavier sclerotization. Sternites symmetrically and densely reticulated and spotted with blackish brown, not arranged into stripes; V with the smooth patch translucent but spotted with blackish brown. Legs densely spotted with blackish brown on all surfaces except internal, which it is essentially immaculate; basitarsi conspicuously annulated, with basal half blackish and distal half pale; telotarsi similarly patterned, but much fainter. Metasoma with base color progressively darker and redder distally, with segments IV–V reddish black; all surfaces reticulated with blackish brown on I–IV, with pattern becoming denser distally and ventrally in every segment, especially on IV which looks essentially blackish to unaided eye. Telson vesicle reddish black, subaculear tubercle reddish; aculeus reddish, fading to blackish distally.

Chelicerae ( Fig. 8a).With dentition typical for the genus; teeth relatively large but sharp. Tegument glossy but with minute granulation scattered, dorsodistal portion of manus with coarse, glossy granules irregularly arranged transversally, defining a depressed area. Setation very dense ventrally, but essentially lacking dorsally, except for 5–6 rigid, whitish macrosetae around depressed area of manus.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 8b–c). Moderately short and robust for the group, with whitish, rigid setae scattered. Orthobothriotaxic A-α, but with chelal trichobothria est - et -db -et displaced towards apical third of finger and essentially with no "petite" trichobothria (basically all trichobothria with noticeably small, subequal areolae). Femur slightly sinuose; all carinae strongly denticulate to subserrate; intercarinal tegument coriaceous, with abundant small granules scattered; space delimited by internal (i) trichobothria with a large conical tubercle between i 1 and i 2. Patella straight and essentially bare; all carinae moderately granulose to subcostate; intercarinal tegument coriaceous, with abundant small granules scattered, internally with two conical tubercles and 5–6 small denticles scattered. Chela robust; manus relatively large, oval (1.46 times longer than wide), wider than patella (ratio 1.17), and with the basal half widest, all carinae moderately granulose to subcostate, intercarinal tegument coriaceous, with few small granules scattered and some small conical granules internally; fingers moderately long and slender (movable finger 1.43 times longer than underhand), evenly curved, sparsely setose, fixed finger with 11/11 principal rows of denticles (basalmost row twice longer than usual, revealing two fused rows), movable finger with 12/12 plus an apical subrow of four denticles and a large internal accessory denticle (large terminal denticle not included), basal lobe/notch combination moderate.

Carapace ( Fig. 8a). Trapezoidal and wider than long; anterior margin very widely V-shaped, with inconspicuous setation. Carination poorly developed: superciliaries strong and composed of partially fused granules, central medians and posterior medians irregularly fused and coarsely granulose, other carinae indistinct. Furrows: anterior median, median ocular, central median, posterior median and posterior marginal fused, wide and shallow to moderately deep, posterior laterals long, wide and moderately deep, other furrows indistinct. Tegument very densely and irregularly gran- ulose. Median eyes large and separated by more than one ocular diameter, lateral eyes much smaller.

Sternum ( Fig. 9a). Standard for the genus: type 1, medium-sized, wider than long, and strongly pentagonal in shape, with two pairs of long macrosetae. Tegument coriaceous.

Genital operculum ( Fig. 9a). Medium-sized, halves cordiform in shape, with single pair of long macrosetae and widely separated by a very large, shapeless, dark and heavily sclerotized mass (possibly a desiccated aborted embryo). Genital papillae absent.

Pectines ( Fig. 9a). Size and shape standard for the group: small (far from reaching leg IV trochanter), subtriangular and moderately setose. Tooth count 12/12, teeth relatively short, straight and swollen. Basal middle lamella roundly oval and greatly enlarged. Basal plate poorly sclerotized, wider than long; anterior margin with a moderate V-shaped anteromedian notch, posterior margin shallowly convex; tegument coriaceous.

Legs. Relatively short but slender, with all carinae finely serrate to serratocrenulate, intercarinal tegument finely and densely granulose. Prolateral and retrolateral pedal spurs short and thick. Ventral surface of telotarsi round and with short, thin, dark setae irregularly arranged into two longitudinal, narrow, dense rows converging basally. Claws short and strongly curved.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 8a, 9a–b). Tergites very densely and coarsely granulose; I–VI with only one well-defined median longitudinal carina which is long, moderately strong, crenulate to subserrate, formed by partially anastomosed, medium-sized, coarse granules that do not project beyond posterior margin; VII with the standard five carinae which are long and crenulate to serrate. Sternites coriaceous, with abundant whitish macrosetae scattered, spiracles short slit-like; posterior margin of III, IV and VI vestigially bilobed, of V widely convex, of VII concave; smooth patch of V large, much wider than long, very widely subtriangular, bulky and translucent.

Metasoma ( Fig. 9c). Short, robust and conspicuously swollen distally. Segment I with ten complete carinae, II–IV with eight, V with five: dorsal laterals strongly serrate to serratocrenulate and with vestigially enlarged terminal denticle on II–IV, absent on V; lateral supramedians strongly serrate to serratocrenulate on I– IV, variably granulose on V; lateral inframedians strongly serratocrenulate on I, absent on II–V; ventral laterals strongly serratocrenulate on I, strongly crenulate on II–IV, strongly granulose on V; ventral submedians strongly serrate to serratocrenulate on I–IV, indicated on basal half of V by rows of coarse granules aligned; ventral median absent on I–IV, strongly granulose on V. Intercarinal tegument coriaceous, with abundant small and medium-sized granule scattered on all segments, coarser and denser towards distal segments; dorsal furrow complete, wide and deep on all segments; setation sparse, with inconspicuous ventrolateral macrosetae on I–V.

Telson ( Fig. 9d). Vesicle short, inflate oval (1.28 times longer than wide, 1.21 times wider than deep) and almost bare; tegument weakly but coarsely granulose scattered on all surfaces except dorsally; ventral median carina very weak but coarsely granulose, subaculear tubercle small, blunt conical and lacking any granules. Aculeus standard-sized, sharp, shorter than vesicle and shallowly curved.

Teruel & Santos: Two New Tityus from Hispaniola 13

MALE. Unknown.

COMPARISONS (female only). Across the whole "quisqueyanus" species-group, this unique combination of size, robust habitus, and size and shape of the basal middle lamella of pectines and subaculear tubercle, is matched only by Tityus neibae Armas, 1999 , an endemism from the Hispaniolan Neiba Range (= Sierra de Neiba). But it can be reliably distinguished from T. schrammi sp. n. as follows: 1) pedipalp femur, patella and manus with intercarinal tegument densely and finely granulose; 2) pedipalp manus markedly narrower, elongate-oval in shape; 3) sternites granulose but largely glossy; 4) metasoma with all carinae weaker, but with intercarinal granulation remarkably denser; 5) telson vesicle less inflate, but with dorsal surface conspicuously convex; 6) telson with aculeus shorter and more strongly curved.

DISTRIBUTION. Known only from the type locality.

REMARKS. It is very interesting to note here that the morphologically closest-relative of T. schrammi sp. n. is not, as expected, any of its nearest neighbors that live in the Central Range of Hispaniola, but the single representative of this group from the more southern Neiba Range, i. e., T. neibae . Nevertheless, this is not an isolate case: very recently Teruel (2017b) described the first example of such biogeographic relationship in the whipscorpion genus Ravilops Víquez & Armas, 2005 , also endemic from this Greater Antillean island.

The comparative material examined of the most closely related species is listed as follows:

• Tityus neibae (24 specimens: 3 ♂♂, 14 ♀♀, 7 juveniles). DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Elías Piña Province, Neiba Range, Hondo Valle, El

• Hoyazo, Sabana del Silencio , 2,007 m a.s.l., 19– 22 June 2015, G. de los Santos, C. Marte, A. Sánchez, 4♀♀, 2 juveniles ( MNHNSD 08 .455), 3♀♀ ( RTO) . Independencia Province, Neiba Range, Postrer Río, Los Bolos , 1,100 m a.s.l., 10 April 1999, L. F. de Armas, 1♂ holotype, 2♀♀ paratypes ( IES) , 1♂, 1♀ paratypes ( RTO) . Bahoruco Province, Neiba Range, Apolinar Perdomo, La Ceiba, 807 m a.s.l., 9 March 2014, R. Teruel, F. Kovařík, P. Kindl, 1♂, 3♀♀, 5 juveniles ( RTO) , 1♀ ( FKCP) .

General remarks

The present contribution adds one more member to each of the two species-groups of Tityus recognized to occur in Hispaniola. The "crassimanus" species-group now includes four living and one fossil species, and the "quisqueyanus" species-group now includes nine living

species. In total, 14 species of this genus are confirmed for this island of the Greater Antilles. Of them, Tityus haetianus sp. n. is of particular interest by being the third endemic scorpion from Haiti, with a geographical occurrence possibly limited to the Massif de la Hotte Mountains in extreme western Tiburon Peninsula. This seems to be the only scorpion endemism hotspot that still remains in the depleted Haitian geography, because the two other endemic species are also known to occur only there: the buthid Centruroides tenuis (Thorell, 1876) and the diplocentrine scorpionid Heteronebo pumilus Armas, 1981 , see Santos et al. (2016) and Teruel (2016).

A final comment on the Hispaniolan members of the genus: a necessary reply

Two fossil species from Hispaniola, Tityus azari

Lourenço, 2013† and T. hartkorni Lourenço, 2009 †, were both recently synonymized under Tityus geratus Santiago-Blay et Poinar, 1988 † ( Teruel, 2017a). In a recent paper, Lourenço (2017) severely criticized these synonymies. Alas, over the recent years the taxonomic work of Wilson R. Lourenço has been consistently demonstrated to be unreliable and his decisions should not be accepted without careful scrutiny. The publications of this author have been deeply flawed by factual in- accuracies and unethical procedures: authoritarian statements instead of scientific arguments, inclusion of falsified images; invention of nonexistent characters to justify descriptions of "new" taxa; and intentional omission from his taxonomic comparisons of the literature and taxa written by the others; see e.g. Kovařík & Ojanguren-Affilastro (2013), Kovařík et al. (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), Teruel (2017a), Teruel et al. (2017).

Lourenço (2017: 105) complains aggressively about the synonymies and their putative reversal, without presenting either the slightest supporting evidence or a single argument that can be scientifically tested. This is in complete opposition to the original paper of Teruel (2017a), where all conclusions are supported by clear and unambiguous evidence. Thus, the synonymies of the two fossil Tityus species as suggested by Lourenço (2017) cannot be considered as reverted and are herein upheld as originally introduced by Teruel (2017a).