Heterometrus gravimanus (Pocock, 1894)

(Figs. 15, 458–481, 572)

Scorpio gravimanus Pocock, 1894: 75–76 .

Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) gravimanus: Tikader & Bastawade, 1983: 550–555, figs. 1469–1482; Fet, 2000: 446;

Heterometrus gravimanus: Kovařík, 2004: 15, 17, fig. 15; Kovařík, 2009: 38, 79, figs. 40–42.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Ceylon, now Sri Lanka; BMNH.

SRI LANKAN MATERIAL EXAMINED. Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Galle, 1♂, FKCP, IV.1994, leg. P. Senft ; North Central Province, Polonnaruwa District, Giritale, 08°01'26.0"N 080°54'37.2"E, 233 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CE, Fig. 579), 22. –23. IV.2015, 2♂ (Figs. 458–459, 462, 464, 470–472, 475–479, 480, 572) 1♀ (Figs. 460– 461, 463, 465, 473), FKCP, 1♀ 7juvs., UPSL, leg. Kovařík et al.; Northern Province, Jaffna District, 09° 42'51.6"N 080°04'44.8"E, 19 m a.s.l. (Locality 15CJ, Figs. 586–587), 26. –27. IV.2015, 2♂ (Figs. 466–468, 474), 1♀ (Fig. 469), FKCP, leg. Kovařík et al.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 75–110 mm long. Color of adults uniformly reddish brown. Pectinal teeth number 13–16 in males and 11–13 in females. Male with slightly longer pedipalp femur and patella. Chela lobiform, narrower in male than female; chela length/ width ratio 1.79–2.05 in males, 1.65–1.75 in females. Entire manus covered by rounded granules, with five carinae mainly in anterolateral part. Pedipalp patella smooth, without pronounced internal tubercle. Carapace smooth, glossy. Spination formula of tarsomeres II of legs: 4/4-5: 4/5: 4/5-6: 4/5-6. Telson elongate, vesicle shorter than aculeus.

HEMISPERMATOPHORE (Figs. 476–479). Lamelliform. Distal lamina long, slender, basal capsular portion one fifth of total lamina length, wider, dorsal trough nearly flat with slightly elevated transverse strip, bordered internally by strong carina; portion of lamina just distal to hook constricted, curved, deflected internally; distal terminus of lamina dilated, truncated and spatulate. Hook prominent, with narrowed tip and wide triangular base, lacking dorsal trough. Median lobe elongate, extending from base of hook to truncal flexure, with fine longitudinal carina and trough along internal side. Inner lobe and median transverse trough large, prominent. Basal and proximal lobes smaller but well developed, blunt, rounded. All lobes of capsule region smooth, without barbs or spicules. Trunk broader than both capsule and distal lamina, parallel-sided, with moderately sclerotized diagonal axial rib.

The hemispermatophore is quite similar to those of several other species of Heterometrus previously illustrated as line drawings: H. longimanus (Herbst, 1800), H. cyaneus (C.L. Koch, 1836) and H. spinifer (Ehrenberg, 1828) (Couzijn, 1981; Stockwell, 1989). The relative proportions of the distal lamina and trunk are comparable and the same capsular structures or lobes are present. Some differences can be seen: (i) in H. cyaneus and H. spinifer, the distal lamina is straight, not internally deflected; (ii) the hook is smaller in H. longimanus and H. cyaneus, and has a shorter tip in H. spinifer; (iii) the distal lamina is not terminally dilated in H. longimanus and H. cyaneus . However, the extent of intraspecific morphological variation in Heterometrus hemispermatophores is unknown, so it is unclear if these differences have diagnostic value.

VARIABILITY. The figures 470–475 show variability in the shape of the chela in adult males. The greatest difference is between the 77 mm long male (Fig. 475) and the 105 mm long male (Fig. 470) from the same locality 15CE.

DISTRIBUTION. India and Sri Lanka.