Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899

Karataş, Ayşegül & Çolak, Mehmet, 2005, Scorpions of Gaziantep Province, Turkey (Arachnida: Scorpiones), Euscorpius 30 (30), pp. 1-7 : 4

Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899

Specimens examined: Şahinbey , Güllüce Village , lower slopes of Ellezi Mountain, 13.IX.2003: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /524/1-2); Şahinbey, Güllüce Village, 21.IX.2003: 1 ♂ ( ZDNU 2003 /573/1), 1 ♀ ( ZDNU 2003 /573/2) .

Comments: This species of Iuridae is a relatively small scorpion with a length of ca. 45 mm. Its color is brownish or light brownish. It was first described from Çoruh Valley (Artvin) by Birula (1899). Later, it was found also in Siirt, Antalya (Kinzelbach, 1980, 1982); Birecik (Vachon & Kinzelbach, 1987), and Diyarbekir ( Kovařík, 1996). This is the rarest scorpion species in Gaziantep, with only four specimens found. It is known only from Anatolia (Antalya, Artvin, Bilecik, Erzurum, Kars, and Malatya Provinces) and Megisti (Meis) and Samos (Sisam) Islands ( Vachon, 1971; Kinzelbach, 1980; Sissom, 1987; Kovařík, 1996; Fet & Braunwalder, 2000). Of our specimens, two were collected from under stones, at the entrance of a small cave with its opening facing east with a length of ca. 2 m. The locality is surrounded by oak ( Quercus coccifera ) forest. The other two specimens were collected under stones on the slopes of Ellezi Mountain at nearly 800 m asl, close to nut, almond, and fig gardens, and vineyards.

Family Scorpionidae