Buthiscus ifoghas, Ythier & Lourenço, 2023

Buthiscus ifoghas View in CoL n. sp.

( Fig. 3-4, 10-14, 16, Tab. I)

ZooBank:http://zoobank.org/ DBEA7779-B712-4E21-B852-D40EB5B8BE01

Buthiscus bicalcaratus Goyffon et al., 2012: 363-364 View in CoL ; Aboshaala et al., 2020 (181-183), 2022 (264).

Holotype, ♂, Afrique-Occidentale Française (now Mali), Adrar des Iforas (Ifoghas), North Kidal , around Aguel’hoc (Aguelhok), J. Millot coll., 1937 (MNHN).

Distribution. – Only known from the type locality but the species might be distributed in mountain zones between Kidal and Tessalit ( Goyffon et al., 2012) or even more broadly within the Adrar des Ifoghas.

Diagnosis. –Scorpion of moderate size in relation to specimens of the species Buthiscus bicalcaratus , with a total length of 66.3 mm for male. General coloration yellowish orange with aculeus and chela fingers darkened. Anterior margin of carapace moderately convex. Pedipalps with 8-9 rows of granules almost fused on the fixed and movable fingers; external and internal accessory granules weakly marked. Latero-ventral carinae on metasomal segments V conspicuous with some well-marked spiniform granules and some

3. Dorsal. 4. Ventral.

small lobes. Tibial spurs absent on leg III and extremely reduced on IV. Pectines small not overlapping in the anterior region, with 21-21 teeth.Trichobothriotaxy of type A with β (beta) configuration for the dorsal trichobothria of femur; majorante neobothriotaxy with the presence of three external trichobothria on the femur; femur trichobothrium d 5 distal in relation to e 3; chela trichobothrium et strongly distal.

Description (based on male holotype, measurements in Table I).

Coloration. –Generally yellowish orange with aculeus and chela fingers darkened. Prosoma: Carapace yellowish orange, slightly paler in the anterior zone; eyes surrounded by light brownish pigment. Mesosoma: tergites yellowish orange, slightly paler in the median zone. Metasomal segments I to V yellowish orange. Vesicle yellow; aculeus reddish at the base and brownish at the tip. Venter yellowish; pectines pale yellow. Chelicerae yellow to pale yellow; denticles dark red. Pedipalps yellowish with chela yellowish orange; fingers reddish orange; rows of granules on the dentate margins of the fingers reddish. Legs yellow, paler than body.

Morphology. – Anterior margin of carapace moderately convex. Carapace carinae weakly developed; anterior median carinae weak to obsolete; central median, posterior median and central lateral carinae weak to obsolete. All furrows weak. Intercarinal spaces weakly granular to smooth. Median ocular tubercle anterior to the centre of the carapace; median eyes separated by almost two ocular diameters. Four pairs of small lateral eyes, disposed in one line, the fourth extremely reduced. Mesosoma : Tergites I-VI tricarinate; all carinae extremely weak; lateral carinae vestigial on segment I; tergite VII pentacarinate, with lateral pairs of carinae moderate; median carinae present on proximal one-half, moderately marked. Intercarinal spaces mostly 15. Buthiscus bicalcaratus , ♂ from Souf , Northeastern Algeria. 16. Buthiscus ifoghas n. sp., ♂ holotype .

smooth and lustrous with some thin granulations laterally. Sternites: carinae absent from sternites III-VI; moderate to weak on VII. Pectines small, not overlapping on the anterior region; pectinal tooth count 21-21. Metasomal segments I to III with 10 carinae; IV with 8 carinae; intermediate carina strongly reduced on II and III. Ventral carinae weak on segment I, stronger on II to IV; dorsal carinae with some spinoid granules on segments I to III. Segment V with five carinae; latero-ventral armed with strong spinoid granules and some minor lobes. Dorsal furrows in all segments weakly developed, smooth; intercarinal spaces smooth dorsally, minutely granular laterally and ventrally. Metasomal setation almost absent. Telson partially smooth with some ventral granulations. Aculeus longer than vesicle; subaculear tubercle absent; setation absent. Chelicerae: movable finger with externaldistal denticle shorter thaninternal distal; two reduced but not fused denticles at the base of the movable finger (Vachon, 1963). Pedipalps: Trichobothrial pattern majorante neobothriotaxy, type A as defined by Vachon (1974), with dorsal trichobothria of femur in β (beta) configuration (Vachon, 1975); see diagnosis for other details. Femur pentacarinate; all carinae moderately crenulate. Patella with dorso-internal and ventro-internal carinae; internal face with spinoid granules; chela smooth without carinae. Dentate margins on fixed and movable fingers composed of 8-9 almost fused rows of granules; internal and external accessory granules weakly marked. Legs: ventral aspect of tarsi with numerous long thin setae; general setation typical of a psammophilous species. Tibial spurs absent from leg III and extremely reduced on IV. Pedal spurs moderate on all legs.

Etymology. – The specific name is placed in apposition to the generic name and refers to the Adrar des Ifoghas, where the new species was found.

Comparisons. – The new species shows several common aspects in relation to Buthiscus bicalcaratus , however, it can be distinguished notably by the following features: (i) slightly darker general coloration in the new species, (ii) anterior margin of carapace moderately convex, while it is straight in B. bicalcaratus , (iii) latero-ventral carinae on metasomal segments V more strongly marked in the new species with some conspicuous spiniform granules,(iv) pedipalp chela fingers more strongly scalloped in the new species, (v) pectines smaller in the new species, (vi) femur trichobothrium d 5 distal in relation to e 3 (proximalin B. bicalcaratus ) and chela trichobothrium et strongly distal in the new species and (vii) several different morphometric ratios (see tab. I) including slender pedipalp chela (chela length/width ratio 2.79 in the new species, 2.70-2.74 in B. bicalcaratus ; chela manus width / patella width ratio 1.23 in the new species, 1.31-1.34 in B. bicalcaratus ), longer pedipalp chela fingers (movable finger length / manus length ratio 1.30 in the new species, 1.23-1.25 in B. bicalcaratus ), longer metasoma (metasoma length / carapace length ratio 5.51 in the new species, 4.88-5.03 in B. bicalcaratus ) and telson deeper than wide in the new species (width/ depth ratio 0.95) while wider than deep in B. bicalcaratus (width/ depth ratio 1.09). Moreover, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC) were conducted using all morphometric values presented in tab. I, confirming the difference between the new species and B. bicalcaratus (see fig. 19). Finally, the two species present a totally allopatric geographic distribution and inhabit different habitats (the Mali population seems to correspond to a species of altitude; see ecological and biogeographical section).