Odontobuthus persicus, Barahoei & Shahi, 2024

Order Scorpiones C. L. Koch, 1837 View in CoL View at ENA Family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Genus Odontobuthus Vachon, 1950

Odontobuthus persicus sp. nov. ( Figs. 3 View Fig , 4 View Fig , Table 3) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:87D23AB8-BED8-4DF3-BE45-AE15B15F4E69

Type material: Holotype: ñ ( Figs. 3 View Fig , 4 View Fig ), IRAN, Hormozgan Province, Bandar Abbas County, Baghu village , 27°19'N, 56°27'E, 15 m a.s.l ( Fig. 1 View Fig ), daytime excavation, 09 March 2013, leg. M. Shahi (RIZ- Odo-015). GoogleMaps

Paratypes: Hormozgan Province: 1ñ (RIZ- Odo-012), Bandar Abbas County, Baghu village, 27°19’N, 56°27’E, 15 m a.s.l, 2014, leg. H. Ahmadi; 1ò (RIZ-Odo-004), 26 August 2015, leg. A. Jafari; 1ò (RIZ-Odo-065) ( Figs. 5 View Fig , 6 View Fig ), 06 January 2023, leg. M. Moradi and M. Shahi; 1ñ subadult (RIZ-Odo-113), 04 March 2023, leg. M. Shahi - 1ò (RIZ-Odo-063), Jallabi village, 27°20’N, 56°31’E, 22 m a.s.l, 14 June 2022, leg. M. Shahi; 1ò (RIZ-Odo-059) ( Fig. 7 View Fig ), 13 August 2022, leg. M. Shahi; 1ò (RIZ-Odo-058), 14 September 2022, leg. M. Ghoreyshi; 2ñ, 1ò (RIZ-Odo-057), 27 October 2022, H. Barahoei and M. Shahi.

Etymology: The species name is derived from the term ‘Persia’ that has been used for centuries and originated from a region of southern Iran formerly known as Persis.

Diagnosis: Scorpions of small to medium size, adults ranging from 48.7–57 mm in females and 55.1–62.5 mm in males; general colouration light yellow; dentate margins of fixed and movable fingers of pedipalps with 10–12 rows of oblique denticles; pectinal teeth 31–33 in males and 21–23 in females; ventrosubmedian carinae of metasomal segments II–III with two pairs of large tooth-like processes; metasomal segment IV L/W 1.62–2.05; ventrolateral carinae of metasomal segment V with two strong lobate denticles; lateral anal arch armed with three strong lobes; posterior ventral margin of metasomal segment V with two large lobes; small and wide telson (L/W 2.38–2.72; L/D 2.48– 2.85), oval vesicle (L/W 1.25–1.59; L/D 1.33–1.66; W/ D 1.03–1.07) ( Table 3).

Description: Female holotype (ZMFUM-Odo-015) ( Figs. 3 View Fig , 4 View Fig )

Colour: Light brown to yellow, median and lateral eyes and end of telson dark, other parts yellow ( Fig. 3 View Fig ).

Chelicerae: Two basal denticles on the ventral surface of the fixed finger, with equally sized external and internal distal denticles.

Pedipalps: Femur: three times longer than wide with four complete granular carinae; intercarinal surfaces smooth. Patella: 2.71 times longer than wide. Chela: three times longer than manus; manus wider than patella; fingers not very long, 1.9 times longer than manus; number of primary denticle subrows: fixed finger 10 right, 10 left; movable finger 10 right, 10 left; all oblique rows of denticles except proximal flanked by external and internal accessory granules; movable finger with five subdistal granules, one internal and four external; trichobothrium et adjacent to the mid part of denticle subrow 6; est adjacent to proximal end of denticle subrow 8.

Carapace: Trapezoid shaped; ocular tubercle located on anterior half of prosoma, five pairs of lateral ocelli; wider than long ( CWA /CL:0.71; CWP/CL: 1.15); carination developed, central lateral and posterior median carinae completely aligned; anteromedian and posteromedian sulcus shallow; posterolateral furrow wide and curved ( Fig. 4A View Fig ).

Mesosoma : Tergites I– VI tricarinate; tergite VII pentacarinate, median carinae on tergite VII granulate, incomplete in posterior one-third ( Fig. 4A View Fig ); sternites III– VI without carinae; sternite VII with four moderately developed carinae ( Figs. 3B View Fig , 4B View Fig ); pectines not extending beyond the coxa-trochanter joint of the leg IV; with three marginal and seven median lamellae; fulcra present; pectinal tooth count 23|23; sternum type I sub-pentagonal and longer than wide with a deep median depression; genital operculum completely divided longitudinally ( Figs. 3B View Fig , 4B View Fig ).

Legs: Ventral surface of tarsi with two rows of fine setae, legs III–IV with tibial spurs, legs III–IV with 17–18 and 4–5 long setae on the tarsus, respectively ( Fig. 3 View Fig ).

Metasoma: Segment I with 10 carinae; segment II–IV with eight carinae; median lateral carinae of segment II nearly complete; lateral inframedian carinae of segment III incomplete and present only on posterior half with four separate granules; ventral carinae on segments II–III strongly dentate with two distinct posterior conical denticles ( Fig. 4C–E View Fig ); anterior ventral margin of segments III–IV with six large and conical denticles; segment V with five carinae; ventrolateral carinae on segment V dentate without large posterior denticles; ventral posterior margin of metasomal segment V with two large conical denticles; lateral anal arch with three large separate conical lobes ( Fig. 4D–E View Fig ).

Telson: Oblong-ovoid, with dorsal surface flat ( TD /TL: 0.40; TW/TL: 0.41); ventral surface of telson smooth; not wider than metasomal segment V ( TW / Mt( V)W: 0.84) ( Fig. 4D–E View Fig ).

Measurements (holotype: ZMFUM-Odo-015): Given in the table 3.

Male (paratype: RIZ-Odo-065) ( Figs. 5 View Fig , 6 View Fig )

Same as female [holotype] with differences below:

Femur: 3.5 times longer than wide; patella: 3.1 times longer than wide; manus wider than patella; fixed finger, 11 left; movable finger 12 right, 12 left; trichobothrium et adjacent to denticle subrow 7; est adjacent to denticle subrow 9; Carapace wider than long ( CWA /CL: 0.68; CWP/CL: 1.13) ( Fig. 6A View Fig ); pectinal tooth count 31|32 ( Figs. 5B View Fig , 6B View Fig , Table 3); Telson narrower than female ( TD /TL: 0.39; TW/TL: 0.40); wider than metasomal segment V (dorsal part wide) ( TW /Mt( V)W: 1.03) ( Fig. 6C View Fig , Table 3).

Measurements: Given in the table 3.

Distribution: Hormozgan province, south of Iran.

Affinities: Odontobuthus persicus sp. nov. is separated from O. baluchicus , O. doriae , O. kermanus , and O. tirgari by having three long triangular lobes ( Figs. 4D View Fig , 6C View Fig ) in the lateral part of the anal arch (against two lobes, figs. 7A, 13A, 20A, 20C, 20F in Barahoei et al. 2022). This species can be distinguished from O. bidentatus and O. tavighiae by having two large lobes in the ventral part of the 5th metasomal segment ( Fig. 4E View Fig ) against four to six short lobes (figs. 21A, 21E in Barahoei et al. 2022). In addition, this species has 10– 12 rows of oblique teeth on the movable finger of the manus, while the above two species have 13–14 rows of oblique teeth. Odontobuthus persicus sp. nov. is smaller than all the species mentioned above and lives in low altitudinal, coastal areas, whereas all other species mentioned above are found in mountainous areas.

This species can be distinguished from O. brevidigitus by having a narrow manus and a relatively long movable finger ( Fig. 3 View Fig ) against a short and wide movable finger in O. brevidigitus (fig. 16A–D in Barahoei et al. 2022). O. brevidigitus is also distributed in Oman and UAE, but there are no records from Iran ( Lowe 2010).

The anal arch of metasomal segment V of O. odonturus has six reduced lobes (figs. 16E and 21D in Barahoei et al. 2022) and is distributed in India and Pakistan, while the anal arch has two distinct lobes in O. persicus sp. nov. ( Fig. 4E View Fig ), which is only distributed in southern Iran.

Odontobuthus persicus sp. nov. is similar (in all traits mentioned above) to O. chabaharensis Barahoei et al., 2022 View in CoL ( Fig. 8 View Fig ). Odontobuthus persicus sp. nov. has two large and conical tooth-like processes on ventrosubmedian carinae of the second and third metasomal segments ( Fig. 4C–E View Fig ), while O. chabaharensis View in CoL has three or four medium to large tooth-like processes ( Fig. 8B–C View Fig ). The carinae of the mesosomal tergites (especially tergites V and VI) in males of O. persicus sp. nov. project beyond the posterior margin as spiniform processes ( Fig. 6A View Fig ), while this character is not present in O. chabaharensis View in CoL ( Fig. 8A View Fig ). The number of pectinal teeth in female specimens ranges between 21–23 in O. persicus sp. nov. ( Table 3) and 18–20 in O. chabaharensis View in CoL .