Hoffmannius bilineatus Soleglad & Fet, 2008

Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2008, Contributions to scorpion systematics. III. Subfamilies Smeringurinae and Syntropinae (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Euscorpius 71 (71), pp. 1-115 : 91

H. bilineatus (Pocock, 1898) , comb. nov. H. coahuilae (Williams, 1968) , comb. nov. H. confusus (Stahnke, 1940) , comb. nov. H. diazi diazi (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. diazi transmontanus (Williams, 1970), comb. nov.

H. eusthenura (Wood, 1863) , comb. nov.

H. galbus (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. glabrimanus (Sissom et Hendrixson, 2005) , comb. nov.

H. globosus (Borelli, 1915) , comb. nov.

H. gravicaudus (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. hoffmanni hoffmanni (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. hoffmanni fuscus (Williams, 1970), comb. nov.

H. punctatus punctatus (Karsch, 1879) , comb. nov.

H. punctatus spadix (Hoffmann, 1931), comb. nov.

H. punctatus variegatus (Pocock, 1898), comb. nov.

H. puritanus ( Gertsch, 1958) , comb. nov.

H. spinigerus (Wood, 1863) , comb. nov.

H. viscainensis (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. vittatus (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. waeringi (Williams, 1970) , comb. nov.

H. waueri (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972) , comb. nov.

Distribution. Same as for subtribe.

This genus is widespread in North America (see map in Fig. 203 ), extending north to the southern edge of Idaho ( H. confusus ), is distributed in all areas of Baja California, Mexico. Its most northern species are H. puritanus and H. waeringi , and the extreme southern, H. eusthenura , H. galbus , and H. vittatus . Eastward the genus extends into Arizona ( H. confusus and H. spinigerus ), New Mexico and Texas ( H. coahuilae , H. globosus , and H. waueri ). Most of mainland Mexico is occupied by this genus, northern states such as Sonora ( H. spinigerus ), Chihuahua and Coahuila ( H. coahuilae , H. bilineatus , and H. globosus ), and central and southern states, as far south as Oaxaca ( H. punctatus ). Its highest diversity occurs in Baja California, Mexico with no less than nine out of 16 species, many endemic to the peninsula including the unusual species H. viscainensis , isolated in the Vizcaino Desert.

Etymology. The new generic name (masculine) is a patronym honoring Mexican zoologist Carlos C. Hoffmann (1876–1942), one of the prominent scorpion researchers of the 20 century, the author of the first systematic revision of Mexican scorpions (Hoffmann, 1931, 1932).

Diagnosis. Metasomal segments I–IV with paired ventromedian carinae; chelal fingers variable in length, but never extremely elongated, basal OD denticles located basally or suprabasally on fingers; chelal trichobothria ib–it, db–dt and eb–et positioned evenly over the fixed finger, not on the distal half; metasomal segments medium to heavy, segments I–II usually as wide or wider than long, length-to-width ratio 0.67–1.08 (0.889) and 0.83–1.31 (1.051) for the male, and 0.67– 1.03 (0.813) and 0.77–1.29 (0.949) for the female; dorsal and dorsolateral carinae of metasomal segments I–IV flared posteriorly, distal denticle noticeably larger than other denticles.

Taxonomic history. Scorpions of this genus were previously placed in the informal “eusthenura ” group of Vaejovis , first defined by Williams (1970d); see Sissom (2000: 530–537).

Discussion. The majority of species in Hoffmannius are medium in size, averaging 45–55 mm in length, the smallest species are: H. waueri , 25 mm, H. bilineatus , 34 mm, and H. vittatus , 35 mm, and the largest: H. spinigerus , 68 mm, H. gravicaudus , 65 mm, and V. punctatus , 61 mm. Most species are clear yellow in color and lack patterns, but there are many exceptions to this, such as H. spinigerus , H. gravicaudus , and H. vittatus whose tergites are mottled with dark patterns and faint dark stripes are found on the ventral metasomal carinae, and H. puritanus , which exhibits color races from clear yellow to a darker yellow-orange with subtle variegated patterns.

Metasomal segments of this genus are in general somewhat heavy, significantly so in the terminal segments IV–V, as discussed in detail elsewhere in the section on morphometrics. The telson vesicle of Hoffmannius ( Figs. 178–179 ) is large basally and tapers noticeably towards the aculeus. Again, the width and depth of the Hoffmannius vesicle is relatively the largest in tribe Syntropini . Carination of the ventral aspect of metasoma and the chelal palm is also quite reduced in Hoffmannius , Tables 4–5 compare this carinal development between Hoffmannius and subtribe Thorelliina genera Thorellius and Kochius . Roughly half of the species in Hoffmannius lack ventromedian carinae and the chelal carinae are in general obsolete to vestigial and smooth. At the same time, in Kochius and Thorellius many of the species exhibit granulate to serrate ventromedian carinae, especially in the former, and the chelal carinae are always present, with many being granulate to crenulate.

Figures

Figure 203: General distribution of scorpion subfamily Syntropinae (tribe Syntropini, subtribe Syntropina) in North America with the ranges of genera Hoffmannius and Syntropis delineated.

Figures 170–181: Telson, lateral view, of representative Syntropini species. 170. Kochius hirsuticauda, female, Indian Gorge Canyon, ABDSP, California, USA. 171. K. bruneus loretoensis, male, Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. 172. K. punctipalpi punctipalpi, female, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. 173. K. punctipalpi punctipalpi, male, Los Aripes, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Note the significant sexual dimorphism in this species. 174. K. cazieri, male, Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila, Mexico. 175. K. russelli female, Deming, New Mexico, USA. 176. Thorellius atrox, female, Colima, Colima, Mexico. 177. T. cristimanus, male, Autlán, Jalisco, Mexico. 178. Hoffmannius globosus, female, Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico. 179. H. eusthenura, male, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. 180. Syntropis williamsi, female holotype, Los Aripes, Baja California Sur, Mexico. 181. S. macrura, female, Isla Carmen, Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Figs. 180, 181 after Soleglad et al., 2007, in part).