Buthacus deserticus, Sadine & Souilem & Chedad & Chebihi & Zebsa & Houhamdi & Lourenço & Ythier, 2024

Buthacus deserticus View in CoL sp. n. Sadine, Souilem, Lourenço & Ythier

( Fig. 5-15 View Fig View Fig View Fig , Tab. I)

ZooBank:https://zoobank.org/ 095D35DB-B116-45AD-9ED0-0E27C8747B14

Holotype, ♀, Algeria, Ghardaïa, Dhayet Bendhahoua , 17/III/2019 (S. E. Sadine), deposited in the MNHL.

Paratypes (3 ex.)

- Algeria, Ghardaïa, Mansoura , 03/III/2023 (Z. Souilem), 1 ♂, deposited in the MNHL .

- Algeria, Ghardaïa, Mansoura , 03/III/2023 (Z. Souilem), 1 ♀, deposited in the EYCP .

- Algeria, Ghardaïa, Beni Isguen , 11/X/2022 (Z. Souilem), 1 ♂, deposited in the EYCP .

Etymology. – The specific name refers to the Sahara Desert, where the new species was collected.

Diagnosis. – Scorpions of moderate size for the genus with a total length of 44-50 mm in female and 47-52 mm in male. General coloration yellowish to brownish yellow, with dark brown to blackish pigmentation on the carapace and metasomal segment V. Pectinal tooth count 15-17 in female, 22-24 in male. Ventral carinae on metasomal segments II-III with well-marked spiniform granules; ventral and latero-ventral carinae on segment V with moderate to strong spinoid granules and several conspicuous spinoid lobes. Pedipalp chela manus strongly inflated in male; fingers straight in female, twisted in male, with 8 rows of granules on fixed finger, 9 on movable finger; external and internal accessory granules moderately to strongly marked. Tibial spurs moderate on legs III and IV. Tibial spurs moderate to weak on legs III and IV. Trichobothriotaxy A-β (beta) orthobothriotaxic; fixed fingers with trichobothrium eb slightly displaced on chela manus, situated closer to Et than esb; trichobothrium db distal to esb.

Description (based on male holotype andmale andfemalesparatypes; measurements in Table I).

Coloration. – Prosoma: carapace yellowish (male) to brownish yellow (female) with diffuse variegated dark brown to blackish spots between lateral eyes and median ocular tubercle; eyes surrounded by black pigment. Mesosoma: tergites yellowish (male) to brownish yellow (female); sternites, coxapophysis, sternum and genital operculum yellowish, pectines pale yellow. Metasoma: yellowish with dark brown to blackish pigmentation on segment V. Vesicle pale yellow; aculeus reddish yellow at the base and reddish at its extremity. Chelicerae yellowish without any reticulation; teeth reddish. Pedipalps: yellowish, the rows of granules on the dentate margins of the fingers reddish. Legs pale yellow.

Morphology. –Prosoma: anterior margin of carapace not emarginate, straight, bearing ten macrosetae. Carapace carinae weak; anterior median carinae obsolete; central median, posterior median and central lateral carinae weak. All furrows weak to obsolete. Intercarinal spaces moderately granular. Median ocular tubercle slightly anterior to the centre of the carapace; median eyes separated by about two ocular diameters. Five pairs of lateral eyes; the first four disposed in one line, the fifth situated behind fourth eye. Mesosoma: tergites I-VI tricarinate; all carinae weak; lateral carinae vestigial on segment I; tergite VII pentacarinate, with lateral pairs of carinae strong. Intercarinal spaces with fine granulation in central area of tergites, with coarse and fine granulation on lateral sides. Sternites smooth; all carinae absent from sternites III-VI; sternite VII with two pairs of smooth carinae. Pectines with the marginal tips extending to the end of sternite III in female, end of sternite IV in male; pectinal tooth count 15-17 in females, 22-24 in males; pectines with 3 marginal lamellae and 8-9 middle lamellae; lamellae and fulcra with numerous setae. Metasoma: segment I with 10 complete carinae, II-IV with 8 complete carinae (incomplete lateromedial carinae on posterior half of segment II, indicated by a few granules on posterior part of segment III), V with five carinae. Ventral carinae weak on segment I, with well-marked spiniform granules on II-III (especially in female), weak on IV; dorsal carinae without any well marked spinoid granules on segments I to IV. Segment V with ventral and ventrolateral armed with moderate to strong spinoid granules and several conspicuous spinoid lobes. Dorsal furrows of all segments weakly developed; dorsal and lateral intercarinal spaces smooth on all segments; ventral intercarinal spaces smooth on segments I-III, weakly granulated on IV-V. Segment V with 36 long setae. Anal arc composed of 6 ventral teeth and two lateral lobes. Telson smooth. Aculeus very long and curved; subaculear tubercle absent. Chelicerae with two reduced but not fused denticles at the base of the movable finger (Vachon, 1963). Pedipalps: Trichobothrial pattern orthobothriotaxic, type A (Vachon, 1974); chela fixed fingers with trichobothrium eb slightly displaced on chela manus, situated closer to Et than esb; trichobothrium db distal to esb; dorsal trichobothria of femur in β (beta) configuration (Vachon, 1975). Femur pentacarinate; all carinae moderately crenulate. Patella and chela with vestigial carinae only, almost smooth. Pedipalp chela manus strongly inflated in male; fingers straight in female, twisted in male, with 8 rows of granules on fixed finger, 9 on movable finger; each row with one external and one internal accessory granule, both moderate to strong; 3 terminalgranulesnexttotheterminaldenticle. Legs: Ventral aspect of tarsi with numerous thin long setae. Tibial spurs moderate on legs III-IV.

Relationships. – Buthacus deserticus sp. n. shows similarities with regard to several morphological characters as well as a similar biotope, with B. spinatus and B. elmenia , both species belonging to the “ leptochelys ” complex and occurring in the region of Ghardaïa, Central Algeria.

The new species can however be easily distinguished from these species notably by the following main features:

(i) larger size with 44-52 mm (36-42 mm in B. spinatus , 41 mm in B. elmenia );

(ii) general coloration yellowish to brownish yellow with darker pigmentation on carapace (yellow to pale yellowwithoutspots oncarapace in B. spinatus and B. elmenia );

(iii) pectinal tooth count 22-24 in male (19-20 in male B. elmenia ); (iv) ventral and latero-ventral carinae on segment V with moderate to strong spinoid granules and several conspicuous spinoid lobes (stronger granulation in B. spinatus , spinoid lobes inconspicuous in B. elmenia ); (v) male pedipalp chela manus strongly inflated (moderately inflated in B. spinatus );

(vi) chela fixed fingers with trichobothrium db distal to esb (at the same level in B. spinatus );

(vii) vesicle more bulky in female and several other distinct morphometric values ( Tab. I).