Orthochirus persa (Birula, 1900)

Kovařík, FrantIšek, Fet, Victor & Yağmur, Ersen Aydın, 2020, Further review of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Asia: taxonomic position of O. melanurus, O. persa, O. scrobiculosus, and description of six new species, Euscorpius 318, pp. 1-73 : 47-52

Orthochirus persa (Birula, 1900) , stat. n.

( Figures 236–273 , 343 , Table 4)

Butheolus melanurus persa Birula, 1900b: 374 . http: //zoobank. org/ urn : lsid: zoobank. org: act: 51089BA6- F1E6-4EF9-BDAD -A65209F240B6

SYNONYMS:

=? Butheolus melanurus dentatus Birula, 1900b: 375 (type locality and type repository: Iran, Sistan & Baluchestan Province , Zahedan County, “ Hussein-Abad ” [an error; should be Nosratabad, 29.90°N 59.98°E, see below for clarification]; ZISP No. 653, holotype lost). Syn. n.

http: //zoobank. org/ urn : lsid: zoobank. org: act: 9313F15E - 017C -4F28-AD3E -F5D41F193D4B

= Afghanorthochirus erardi Lourenço & Vachon, 1997: 332 , figs. 2c, 3, 4b (type locality and type repository: Afghanistan, ‘région sud á 95 km au NE de Zaran’ ; MNHN). Syn. n.

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REFERENCES:

Butheolus melanurus persa: Birula, 1903: 75 ; Birula, 1905b: 145.

Butheolus scrobiculosus persa: Birula, 1909: 359 .

Orthochirus scrobiculosus persa: Birula, 1917: 241 ; Fet, 1989: 116; Fet, 1994: 530; Kovařík, 1998: 116; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 199 (complete reference list until 1998).

Orthochirus persa (in part): Vachon, 1966: 213.

Orthochirus scrobiculosus dentatus: Fet, 1989: 116 ; Fet, 1994: 530; Kovařík, 1998: 116; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 198 (complete reference list until 1998).

Afghanorthochirus erardi (in part): Kovařík, 1998: 102; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 57.

Orthochirus erardi: Kovařík, 2004: 8 .

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Iran, South Khorasan Province, Bendun [now Bandan, Nehbandan County, 31.383°N 60.71°E] ; ZISP No. 675 [original label ‘Sistan, Neizar’; see below for clarification].

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, South Khorasan Province, Bendun [now Bandan, Nehbandan County, 31.383°N 60.71°E], 1♂ (lectotype, designated here) 1♀ (paralectotype), 21–24 May 1896 [“Old Style” (Julian), 2–5 June “New Style” (Gregorian)], leg. N. Zarudny , ZISP No. 675. Afghanistan, “région sud á 95 km au NE de Zaran” [“southern region, 95 km NE of Zaran ”], 4 April 1972, 1♀ (holotype of Afghanorthochirus erardi , Fig. 267 ), leg. C. Naumann , MNHN No. RS 8530 .

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, South Khorasan Province, road between Neizar and Ali-Abad, 1♂ ♀, 1–10 June [“Old Style” (Julian), 14–24 June “New Style” (Gregorian)] 1901, leg. N. Zarudny , ZISP No. 679.

DIAGNOSIS (♂ ♀). Total length of adults 32–42 mm. Coloration of carapace, tergites, sternites and metasoma reddish black to black; pedipalps and legs yellowish brown to reddish black. Trichobothrium d 2 on dorsal surface of pedipalp femur present or absent. Pectinal teeth number 20–22 in males and 17–18 in females. Movable finger of pedipalps with 8–9 rows of denticles, 7–9 ID and 3–7 OD. Dorsal carinae on pedipalp patella developed and smooth. Pedipalp femur dorsal smooth. Metasoma I –II with 10 carinae, metasoma III with 8 carinae, metasoma IV – V with 2 dorsolateral carinae and incomplete ventrolateral carinae. Metasoma IV – V laterally granulated, ventrally smooth with fine punctation developed, spaces among punctae smooth; metasoma I– III ventrally and laterally granulated with punctation reduced. Metasoma V dorsal surface mesially smooth or with several fine granules only; metasoma I dorsal with 11–22 large granules. Tergites roughly to finely granulated. Sternite VII densely granulated, with four granulated carinae present. Pedipalp, metasoma and telson glabrous. Moderate tibial spurs present on legs III and IV. Tarsomere I of legs I– III with 10–14 long setae in both sexes. Ratio length/width of metasoma V 1.03–1.16 in both sexes .

HISTORY OF STUDY. The syntype series of O. persa stat. n. was collected by the famous Russian ornithologist and traveler Nikolay A. Zarudny (1859–1919) who brought numerous scorpions for A. Birula’s ZISP collection, including many new species from the previously unexplored areas of Iran (then Persia). Zarudny (1900) published a detailed report (in Russian) of his two travels to the northeastern Persia in 1896 and 1898. Both expeditions followed the same route, heading for the great Hamun Lake (ca. 30°50'N 61°40'E) at the border with modern Pakistan, still an important wetland wildlife site. We can fairly well reconstruct the localities where O. persa stat. n. specimens were collected and clarify the relevant toponyms and dates.

Birula’s original description ( Birula, 1900b: 374) listed five lots (syntypes) collected by Zarudny from Sistan and Kerman Provinces , as follows (all dates Old Style ): Seistan : Neizar , 21–24 May 1898 [error; see below], six specimens ; Hussein-Abad [error; see below], 2 June 1898, one specimen ; Houzdar ruins, 7 June 1898, one specimen ; Kirman, Bazman town , 5 August 1898, one specimen ; Birjan, Rekuth Village, Bagaran-Kuh Mts. , 2–6 May 1896, one specimen . All these lots are listed in Birula’s handwritten catalog ( Fig. 140 ) with the following assigned numbers: ZISP-675 ( Neizar , 3♂ 3♀), ZISP-676 (Hussein- Abad, 1♀ ad), ZISP-677 (Houzdar, 1♂ ad), and ZISP-678 (Bazman, 1♂ juv). The next line in the catalog (Birjan) is crossed and has no assigned number .

Most of the syntypes could not be now found in ZISP collection and appear to be lost. We found only two specimens (ZISP-675, Neizar, 1♂ 1♀), hereby designated as a lectotype (male) and a paralectotype (female). The handwritten catalog ( Fig. 140 ) has a mark “ex. typica!” next to this lot but there was no designation of a holotype in Birula (1900b) .

According to the text of Birula (1900b: 374), these two specimens were collected “along the Neizar” on 21–24 May 1898 (Old Style). However, both the original label ( Fig. 240 ) handwritten catalog ( Fig. 140 ) say 1896, which seems to be correct. The confusion is clearly caused by the fact that Zarudny followed the same route in 1896 and 1898, around the same dates. Neizar is a river along which Zarudny traveled in May 1896 heading for the Hamun Lake. We can place the collection locality quite confidently at Bendun [now Bandan, Nehbandan County, South Khorasan Province, 31.383°N 60.71°E]. Zarudny arrived to Bendun on 24 May (Old Style) traveling for three days from Neh (now Nehbandan), before he approached the Neizar valley following the dry bed of the Bendun river ( Zarudny, 1900).

Zarudny traveled to this area for the third time in 1901 and brought more specimens of the newly described B. m. persa , which were listed by Birula (1903: 75). We found and examined two specimens from one of these lots (not syntypes) ZISP-679 (1♂ 1♀), which originates from the same area (from Neizar to Ali-Abad), with the dates 1–10 June 1901. This date was given as 1890 by Birula (1903: 75) and is corrected to 1901 in the handwritten catalog ( Fig. 140 ).

COMMENTS.

1. The identity of Butheolus melanurus dentatus Birula, 1900 ( Iran) , is unclear; we place it tentatively under O. persa stat. n. Its only known type specimen (holotype male ZISP- 653) appears to be lost. According to Birula (1900b: 375), it was collected by Zarudny in ‘Sistan, Hussein-Abad’ on 2 June 1899 (‘Old Style’; 15 June ‘New Style’) but this date is clearly an error: Zarudny traveled in 1896 and 1898, and ‘Hussein- Abad’ was visited in 1898. The same locality but with the correct 2 June 1898 date is given for one of the syntypes of O. persa stat. n. (ZISP-676, now lost; Fig. 140 ).

Zarudny’s locality was identified as modern Hoseynabad (Sistan & Baluchistan Province, Zabol County, 30.800°N 61.383°E) by Roselaar & Aliabadia (2007). However, Zarudny (1900: 42) himself admitted that he confused the city’s name due to enormous travel fatigue. In reality, this was Nosratabad (now in Sistan & Baluchestan Province, Zahedan County, 29.90°N 59.98°E), a historically important city. In the late 19 th century, it was the residence of British and Russian consuls (as noted by Zarudny) and served as the capital of the Sistan Province .

2. We compared the types of Butheolus melanurus persa Birula, 1900 with the holotype of Afghanorthochirus erardi Lourenço & Vachon, 1997 . These taxa, in fact, belong to the same genus, Orthochirus , with their type localities relatively close ( Fig. 343 ). These types match each other precisely in all characters used for species resolution inside genus Orthochirus . The undeniable conclusion is that the holotype of A. erardi Lourenço & Vachon, 1997 is a junior synonym of O. persa (Birula, 1900) , stat. n., syn. n. At the same time, the paratypes of A. erardi from Pakistan, in our opinion, belong to Orthochirus fuscipes ( Pocock, 1900) (see above).

DISTRIBUTION. Afghanistan, Iran ( Fig. 343 ).

Figures

Figure 343. Geographic distribution of the Orthochirus spp. found from Turkey to India. An approximate area where the lectotype of O. melanurus was collected is marked by red ellipse.

Figures 236–240: Orthochirus persa stat. n.. Figures 236–237. Lectotype male, dorsal (236) and ventral (237) views. Figures 238–239. Paralectotype female, dorsal (238) and ventral (239) views. Figure 240. Top: ZISP label (in Birula’s hand but not the original one, judging from post-1918 orthography); bottom: H. L. Stahnke’s identification (as ‘serobicularis’!). Stahnke loaned some ZISP material in the 1960s, to use in his key for Buthidae genera (Stahnke, 1972). Scale bars: 10 mm (236–239).

Figures 241–258: Orthochirus persastat. n., segments ofpedipalps.Figures 241–250. Lectotype male.Pedipalp chela, dorsal (241), external (242), and ventral (243) views. Pedipalp patella, dorsal (244), external (245), and ventral (246) views. Pedipalp femur and trochanter, dorsal (247) and ventral (248) views. Pedipalp chela, movable (249) and fixed (250) fingers dentate margin. Figures 251–258. Paralectotype female. Pedipalp chela, dorsal (251), external (252), and ventral (253) views. Pedipalp patella, dorsal (254), external (255), and ventral (256) views. Pedipalp femur, dorsal (257) view. Pedipalp chela, movable finger (258) dentate margin.The trichobothrial pattern is indicated in Figures 241–245, 247 (white circles).

Figures 259–267: Figures 259–260, 263–2164. Lectotype male of Orthochirus persa stat. n., carapace and tergites I–IV (259), sternopectinal region and sternites (260), and distal segments of right legs III–IV, retrolateral aspect (263–264 respectively). Figures 261–262, 265–266. Paralectotype female of Orthochirus persa stat. n., carapace and tergites I–II (261), sternopectinal region and sternites (262), and distal segments of right legs III–IV, retrolateral aspect (265–266 respectively). Figure 267. Holotype female of Afghanorthochirus erardi, sternite VII and metasoma I ventral under UV light.

Figures 268–273: Orthochirus persa stat. n., metasoma and telson under white light. Figures 268–270. Paralectotype female, lateral (268), ventral (269), and dorsal (270) views. Figures 271–273. Lectotype male, lateral (271), ventral (272), and dorsal (273) views. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figures 139–140. Original registered cards (ZISP) of Orthochirus melanurus (139) and O. persa stat. n. (140) types.