Mesobuthus bogdoensis ( Birula, 1896 )

Kovařík, František, Fet, Victor, Gantenbein, Benjamin, Graham, Matthew R., Aydin, Ersen, Yağmur, Šťáhlavský, František, Nikita, Poverennyi & Novruzov, Nizami E., 2022, A revision of the genus Mesobuthus Vachon 1950 with a description of 14 new species (Scorpiones Buthidae), Euscorpius 348, pp. 1-189 : 24-28

Mesobuthus bogdoensis ( Birula, 1896)

( Figures 127–153 , 1155, Table 2) http: //zoobank. org/urn: lsid: zoobank. org: act: 251A9D8B-

B9C6-4E63-8C92-4F852E278B8C

Buthus eupeus forma δ bogdoënsis Birula, 1896: 241 .

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan Province, Bokeyorda District, Maloe Bogdo hill (48.4572°N, 47.0750°E) ; ZISP.

SYNONYMS:

= Buthus eupeus volgensis Birula, 1925: 96 , syn. n.

http: //zoobank. org/ urn : lsid: zoobank. org: act: FD7CA11F- 420D-43F1-8B76-7423F1F4D628

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Russia, Astrakhan Province, “Yenotayevsky District, Akhtuba River (a branch of the Volga River delta), Selitryanoye Village”, now Kharabaly District, Selitrennoe (47.1667°N, 47.45°E), 2 ♂ ♀ ( ZISP 418 ), syntypes, not found in ZISP in 2019.

REFERENCES (selected):

Buthus eupeus bogdoensis: Birula, 1900b: 3 ; Birula, 1904b: 30; Birula, 1905a: 122–123.

Buthus eupeus bogdoënsis: Birula, 1917a: 41 .

Buthus eupeus volgensis: Birula, 1917a: 41 , nomen nudum (description not published).

Buthus eupeus thersites n[atio]. volgensis Birula, 1928: 338 .

Mesobuthus eupeus bogdoensis: Vachon, 1958: 155 ; Fet, 1989: 99 (complete references list for the former USSR); Fet, 1994: 527; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 172 (complete references list until 1998); Fet, 2010: 4; Anikin & Poverenny, 2017: 20.

Mesobuthus eupeus volgoensis (incorrect spelling): Vachon, 1958: 155.

Mesobuthus eupeus thersites: Fet, 1989: 92 (in part; Kazakhstan, in part), 94 (in part; Russia); Poverenny, 2018: 110.

Buthus occitanus (misidentification): Anikin, 1997: 28; Anikin & Kireev, 1998: 106; Anikin, 2006: 48.

Mesobuthus eupeus volgensis: Fet, 2010: 4 ; Anikin & Poverenny, 2017: 20; Poverenny & Anikin, 2020b: 12.

Mesobuthus eupeus: Poverenny, 2015: 153 ; Anikin & Sazhnev, 2016: 316; Anikin & Poverenny, 2017: 20; Poverenny & Anikin, 2017: 333; 2019: 9.

Mesobuthus bogdoensis: KovařÍk, 2019: 17 .

Mesobuthus volgensis: Poverenny & Anikin, 2020a: 98 .

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan Province, Bokeyorda District, Maloe Bogdo hill, (48.45°N 47.07°E), 1♂ (lectotype, designated here) 1♀ (paralectotype), leg. A. Becker, 1872 (probably summer 1871; see Comments) , ZISP 171 .

DNA DATA. Mesobuthus bogdoensis was represented in our survey by five DNA sequences from Russia ( Table 16). DNA from the type localities of Buthus eupeus bogdoensis (Maloe Bogdo) and B. e. volgensis (Selitrennoe) was not available.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length of adult male 38 mm, female 45.5 mm. Trichobothrium db on fixed finger of pedipalp situated between trichobothria est and esb, near to est. Male with fingers proximally a little bit more twisted than female. Pedipalp chela length/width ratio 3.12 in male and 3.37 in female. Pectinal teeth number 25–27 in male, 22 in female. Chelicerae yellow, without reticulation. Pedipalps and metasoma very sparsely hirsute. Carapace and tergites yellowish brown, black pigmented; metasoma, telson, pedipalps and legs yellowish brown, only part of metasomal segment V black. Femur of pedipalp with 4–5 granulate carinae. Patella with 8 granulated or smooth carinae. Chela lacks carinae. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 11–12 cutting rows of denticles and 5 terminal denticles. Central lateral and posterior lateral carinae of carapace not joined to form a continuous linear series of granules to posterior margin. Sternite VII with 4 well marked smooth carinae. Metasomal segment I with 10 carinae; second to fourth with 8 carinae, other two carinae are indicated by incomplete row of denticles on metasomal segments II and III; segment IV with 8 carinae; segment V with 5 carinae. Metasoma IV with lateromedian carina smooth, all other carinae granulated. Length to depth ratio of metasoma III 1.21 in male, 1.16 in female, metasoma IV 1.66 in male, 1.45 in female. Telotarsus III ventral setation represented by short and strong spiniform setae. Tarsi not densely hirsute, adults with 7–9 retroinferior macrosetae on basitarsus III. Pedal spur of legs with solitary setae only. Telson elongated. Anal lobe divided in two parts.

HISTORY OF STUDY. The existence of scorpions in and near the lower Volga River valley has been recorded in Russian literature since the late 18 th century. Birula (1917b: I-II) wrote:

“The first scientific data on scorpions inhabiting the Russian Empire dates from the second half of the 18th century and is taken from the primary source on Russian fauna in general, which is the most important to date – the works of P. S. Pallas. In the travel-notes of this brilliant observer, who journeyed through different southern and southeastern parts of the Empire, which at that time had the novelty and mystery of newly-discovered countries, we find scattered short notes on the distribution and mode of life of various animals and, in particular, of Arthropoda, which are of interest to us, and which can be likened to precious metals sparkling in a rock. These notes are far more accurate in their description and are of greater scientific value than the verbose works of later authors. Much of the data on scorpions collated by Pallas has not lost its originality, and some is still unique. The sections on the geographical distribution and biology of scorpions in the Astrakhan Province can be used to date; they are of value although the author does not describe the scorpions found there, because it is еvident that his observations refer to the local race of the widely distributed Buthus eupeus (C. Koch) .”

We found the original work of Pallas (1776) where these scorpions were mentioned. On 29 April (11 May) 1773, the great explorer approached Maloe Bogdo (‘Lesser Bogdo’), a small hill (37 m a. s. l.) and a sacred place for the local Kalmyk tribes, now within Kazakhstan. Another such natural monument, a more impressive Bolshoe Bogdo hill (‘Greater Bogdo’), 150 m a. s. l., is located 25 km away, now in the Astrakhan Province of Russia. (Pallas also visited Bolshoe Bogdo a day earlier). It was at Maloe Bogdo that Pallas (1776: 677) obtained (“erhielt”) “…[the] first scorpions in the Russian Empire, which were hiding among dry rocks, small and belonging to a distinct species, though very similar to one I saw from Persia ” (“…allerersten Scorpionen im russischen Reich, welche sich zwischen den trocknen Steinen verbergen, klein und von einer besondern Art sind, denenjenigen aber, welche ich aus Persien gesehn habe, vollkommen gleichen”).

Scorpions collected by Pallas have not been preserved. The first description of the Maloe Bogdo population was only published a century later by Alexei Birula (1896) as “ Buthus eupeus forma δ bogdoënsis ”. It was the very first scorpion taxon Birula described in his illustrious carreer. The type specimens were collected by Alexander Becker, a botanist who worked at Maloe Bogdo in summer 1871; the label date ‘1872’ probably refers to the date of specimens’ acquisition by ZISP.

In 1887, A. N. Kharuzin and K. A. Satunin collected scorpions from both Maloe and Bolshoe Bogdo; these specimens are deposited in the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University and were listed in Birula’s review of this collection ( Birula, 1900b: 3). Recent DNA data, which are used in our revision, were obtained at Bolshoe Bogdo and other localities in Russia. Existence of the type locality population at Maloe Bogdo has not been confirmed since 1887.

Аlong with B. eupeus bodgoensis, Birula (1917а) mentioned “ Buthus eupeus volgensis Birula ” that was only described 8 yeаrs later ( Birula, 1925). The types of this subspecies were collected in 1910 by a young zoologist Vladimir Tchernavin (1887—1949), later one of the few prisoners who managed to escape from Stalin’s Gulag (Tchernavin, 1935). Birula himself was arrested in 1930 and spent years in the Gulag.

This taxon has not been recorded in literature for 70 years since Birula (1925, 1928). Scorpions were never again collected in both type localities of Birula (1896, 1925). Existence of several new, disjunct populations along the Volga River was only recently documented ( Anikin, 1997; Anikin & Kireev, 1998); the scorpion was first misidentified as Buthus occitanus , and later corrected to Mesobuthus eupeus . The first DNA data for this species have been recently obtained by N. Poverennyi.

A detailed distribution of the Volga scorpion is under further investigation; several new, disjunct populations were only recently documented by the Saratov zoologists, and some records are still unpublished. Accidental records were documented by local tourists and naturalists including the Stepan Razin Cliff (a historical monument). The species was listed (as either M. eupeus or M. e. volgensis ) in the Red Data Books of endangered species of the Astrakhan, Saratov, and Volgograd Provinces of Russia. It is protected in the Shcherbakovsky Nature Park, Nizhne-Bannovsky Reserve, and Bogdo-Baskunchak Reserve, all three localities represented in our DNA data. Our phylogeny confirms recent suggestions (Poverenny & Anikin, 2020a, 2020b) that the Volga populations have a species status, likely representing an interesting palaeo-Caspian relict (see Discussion).

DISTRIBUTION. Kazakhstan, Russia (Astrakhan Province, Saratov Province, Volgograd Province,?Kalmyk Republic) (Figs. 1155, 1158) .

Figures

Figures 127–130: Mesobuthus bogdoensis. Figures 127–128. Male lectotype, dorsal (127) and ventral (128) views. Figures 129–130. Female paralectotype, dorsal (129) and ventral (130) views. The label (ZISP 271) says, in Russian and Latin: “Buthus eupeus bogdoensis Bir. 8 (♀ +♂) sp [ecimina] typ[ica] Det.:A. Birula. Coll.:Astrakhan Gub [erniya] [= Province], Mts. Maloe Bogdo,A. Becker, 1872”. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figures 131–136: Mesobuthus bogdoensis. Figures 131–133. Female lectotype, metasoma and telson, lateral (131), dorsal (132), and ventral (133) views. Figures 134–136. Male lectotype, metasoma and telson, lateral (134), dorsal (135), and ventral (136) views. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figures 137–153: Mesobuthus bogdoensis. Figures 137–145, 148, 150, 152–153. Male lectotype. Pedipalp chela, dorsal (137), external (138), and ventral (139) views. Pedipalp patella, dorsal (140), external (141) and ventral (142) views. Femur and trochanter, dorsal (143) and ventral (144) views. Movable finger (145). Chelicerae, carapace and tergites I–III (148), sternopectinal region and sternite III (150). Right legs III–IV, retrolateral aspect (152–153). The trichobothrial pattern is indicated in Figures 137–141, 142. Figures 146–147, 149, 151. Female paralectotype. Pedipalp chela, dorsal (146) and external (147) views. Chelicerae, carapace and tergites I–III (149), sternopectinal region and sternite III (151).