Leiurus libycus ( Birula, 1908 )

Leiurus libycus ( Birula, 1908) , stat. n.

( Figures 1–3, 5–19 View FIgures 1–7 View FIgures 8–18 View FIgure 19 )

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0F81B8FA- D 04C-4A9C-9C4A-35FD82147455

Buthus quinquestriatus libycus Birula, 1908: 129 .

Buthus quinquestriatus libycus : Birula, 1910: 118; Vachon, 1949: 90.

= Leiurus aegyptiacus Lourenço & El-Hennawy, 2021: 326 - 333, fig. 1–14, 16, fig. 15, 18 (map). Syn. n.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Egypt (see below), Libyan Desert, ZISP 567 (45).

TYPE MATERIAL. Holotype, juv. ♂, [ Egypt] Libyan Desert, 1879, leg. Dr. [Wilhelm] Junker.

DIAGNOSIS. The base color is pale dark yellow. Carapace subtrapezoidal; Median eyes located slightly anterior to the middle of the carapace. Five couple lateral eyes (3 large, 2 small) present on each side. Central lateral and posterior median carinae fused forming a lyre-shaped figure. Posterior median and posterior lateral carinae terminate with inconspicuous spinoid protrusions. Anterior median carinae do not extend to the anterior margin, and the area between them with two groups of rounded granules. The rest intercarinal area smooth but some scattered medium granules present between posterior median carinae and posterior lateral carinae. Tergites I–II bear 5 granular carinae, terminate with inconspicuous spinoid protrusions. Tergites III–VI bear 3 moderate and moderately granulated carinae, terminate with inconspicuous spinoid protrusions that extending slightly beyond the posterior margins. The pectinal tooth count is 35–43. Pedipalps orthobothriotaxic, pattern type A β ( Vachon 1974, 1975), the femur with trichobothrium d 2 on its dorsal surface. The femur bears five and patella bears seven carinae. Chela slender and elongated. Manus relatively short and rounded whereas fingers elongated (Movable finger length/manus length ratio= 3.08, chela length/manus width ratio= 6.45). The pedipalp movable and fixed fingers bear 12 principal rows of denticles, with external and internal accessory granules and four distal granules. Fixed fingers bear 12 principal rows of denticles, with external and internal accessory granules, only last row of denticles without external accessory granules. Trichobothrium et is located between dt and db, and proximal to dt; trichobothrium db located between et and est, so proximal to est, almost opposite. Metasomal segments moderately slender; I L/ W 1.42; II L/ W 1.96; III L/ W 2.18; IV L/ W 2.67; V L/ W 3.04. Metasomal segments I-III bear 10, IV bears 8 and V bears 5 carinae. Ventrolateral carinae of segment V strong with dentate granules increasing in size posteriorly, with several somewhat large subconical and pointed denticles. Vesicle smooth, bulbous and sparsely setose. Aculeus abruptly curved and slightly shorter than the vesicle.

REDESCRIPTION (based on subadult male holotype).

ColoratIon ( Figs. 1–2 View FIgures 1–7 ). The base color is pale dark yellow. The chelicerae are pale yellow without reticulation. The ventral submedian and ventrolateral carinae of metasoma II– IV lack pigmentation, and metasoma V yellowish brown but most posterior portion of segment dark yellow. Vesicle and base of aculeus dark yellowish, tip of aculeus reddish.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 1–2 View FIgures 1–7 , 17–18 View FIgures 8–18 ). Carapace subtrapezoidal; lateral margins of carapace parallel at posterior quarter, whereas steeply sloped at anterior ¾ and there is first a depression and then a convexity here. The anterior margin of the carapace is almost straight and crenulate, with bordered by a row of moderate granules. Median eyes located slightly anterior to the middle of the carapace. Five couple of lateral eyes (3 large, 2 small) present on each side. The carinae are typical for the genus Leiurus , with moderate and granular anterior median, superciliary, central lateral, central median, posterior median and posterior lateral carinae. Central lateral and posterior median carinae fused forming a lyre-shaped figure. Posterior median and posterior lateral carinae terminate with inconspicuous spinoid protrusions. Anterior median carinae do not extend to the anterior margin, and the area between them with two groups of rounded granules. The rest intercarinal area smooth but some scattered medium granules present between posterior median carinae and posterior lateral carinae. The area between the posterior median carinae is depressed area with a shallow median furrow forming inverted “T”. Tergites I–II bear 5 granular carinae, terminate with inconspicuous spinoid protrusions; median carinae indistinct, granules fine to medium; submedian carinae indistinct, granules fine to medium, aligned with the posterior median carinae of the carapace; lateral carinae moderate and oblique, granules moderate to coarse, aligned with the posterior lateral carinae of the carapace. Tergites III–VI bear 3 moderate and moderately granulated carinae, terminate with inconspicuous spinoid protrusions that extending slightly beyond the posterior margins. The surface between submedian carinae finely granular, lateral flanks sparsely granular with coarse granules in tergites I–VI. Tergite VII is pentacarinate, with all carinae strong and moderately granular, and submedian and lateral carinae are joined anteriorly by transverse granule rows. Intercarinal area smooth with scattered coarse granules. Sternite III–IV shagreened but poststernites smooth medially; bear weak and finely granular four carinae. Sternite VII shagreened with moderate and moderately granular four carinae. The pectinal tooth count is 35–43. The pectinal marginal tips extend to half of the length of sternite V and almost reach trochanter-femur joint. The pectines have three marginal lamellae and 7–8 middle lamellae. The lamellae bear numerous stout macrosetae.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 8–16 View FIgures 8–18 ). Pedipalps orthobothriotaxic, pattern type A and in β ( Vachon 1974, 1975), the femur with trichobothrium d 2 on its dorsal surface. The femur bears five carinae. Dorsointernal, dorsoexternal and ventrointernal carinae strong with coarse, closely spaced rounded granules. Internal carina strong and crenulate, with irregular large and spaced conical granules. External median carina moderate with irregular subspinoid granules. Dorsal surface sparsely granular, ventral surface smooth. Patella bears seven coarsely granular carinae. Dorsointernal carina is strong and crenulate with somewhat large 7-8 subconical granules and distinct dorsal patellar spur. Dorsomedian carina moderate with fine granulation. Dorsoexternal and ventromedian carina weak, almost smooth, bears a few minute granules. External median and ventral external carinae weak and smooth. Ventrointernal carina is strong and crenulate, with well-spaced mediumsized granules and without ventral patellar spur. Chela slender and elongated. Manus relatively short and rounded whereas fingers elongated (Movable finger length/manus length ratio= 3.08, chela length/manus width ratio= 6.45). The pedipalp movable and fixed fingers bear 12 principal rows of denticles, with external and internal accessory granules and four distal granules. Fixed fingers bear 12 principal rows of denticles, with external and internal accessory granules, only last row of denticles without external accessory granules. Trichobothrium et located between dt and db, and proximal to dt; trichobothrium db located between et and est, so proximal to est, almost opposite.

Legs ( Fig. 19 View FIgure 19 ). Leg pairs III and IV bear long tibial spurs. Leg pairs I-IV with tarsal spurs. The telotarsi of legs bear two rows of spiniform macrosetae on their ventral surfaces. Basitarsi IIII bear bristle-combs, and basitarsus III has 16 retrosuperior macrosetae.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 3, 5–7 View FIgures 1–7 ). Metasomal segments moderately slender; I L/ W 1.42; II L/ W 1.96; III L/ W 2.18; IV L/ W 2.67; V L/ W 3.04. Metasomal segments I-III bear 10, IV bears 8 and V bears 5 carinae. Lateral inframedian carinae complete and granular on segment I; incomplete, reduced on segment I-II, presents anterior 1/3 and bears 8 granules on segment II and presents anterior 1/4 and bears 5 granules on segment III. Dorsolateral carinae strong, finely serrate on segments I-II with fine subspinoid granules, almost smooth on segments III-IV. Lateral supramedian and ventrolateral carinae moderate and faintly serrate on segments I–IV, granules small and almost fixed. Ventral submedian carinae moderate on segments I–IV, serratocrenulate on segment I with small granules, serratocranulate to serrate on segments II and III with small granules, crenulate on segment IV. Segment V: Dorsolateral carinae moderate, rounded and sparsely granular. Ventrolateral carinae strong with dentate granules increasing in size posteriorly, with several somewhat large subconical and pointed denticles. Ventromedian carina moderate, armed with small to large dentate and spaced granules. Segments I-V sparsely setose. Intercarinal surfaces smooth on segment I-V, only lateral surfaces with some scattered minute granules. Telson: Vesicle smooth, bulbous and sparsely setose. Aculeus abruptly curved and slightly shorter than the vesicle.

AFFINITIES. Birula (1908) compared the subspecies he described with two others, now recognized as L. hebraeus ( Birula, 1908) and L. quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828) . According to Birula (1908), the pectinal tooth count in males of L. libycus , stat. n. was 35–43, whereas it was 33–35 in L. hebraeus and 32–36 in L. quinquestriatus . Lowe et al. (2014) reported the pectinal tooth count as 30–39 in L. hebraeus and 33–37 in L. quinquestriatus for males. This character is valid, but more specimens should be examined to determine the exact range of pectinal tooth counts.

Birula (1908) reported the number of granules on the ventral carinae of metasomal segment III as 27–30 in Leiurus libycus , stat. n., 15–17 in L. hebraeus , and 20–23 in L. quinquestriatus in males; for metasomal segment V, the granule count was 35–43 in L. libycus , stat. n., 24–31 in L. hebraeus , and 25–38 in L. quinquestriatus in males. These characters are variable, and therefore, a series of specimens of L. libycus , stat. n., L. hebraeus , and L. quinquestriatus should be examined in detail with regard to this character. Consequently, we do not confirm this character here as diagnistic.

L. aegyptiacus Lourenço & El-Hennawy, 2021 ; L. ater Lourenço, 2019 ; L. hoggarensis Lourenço, Kourim & Sadine, 2018 ; L. quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828) ; and L. tamajeq Lourenço & Ythier, 2024 are known from regions surrounding the distribution of L. libycus , stat. n. Therefore, we compared L. libycus , stat. n. with these species.

L. aegyptiacus was described based on a subadult female by Lourenço & El-Hennawy (2021). The vesicle of this specimen is elongated; however, females of L. libycus , stat. n. are unknown. The trichobothria db and est are positioned at approximately the same level on the fixed finger in L. aegyptiacus , L. tamajeq , and L. libycus , stat. n., whereas in L. hoggarensis and L. quinquestriatus , the trichobothrium db is located roughly in the middle between et and est. The trichobothrium et is proximal to est in L. tamajeq , whereas it is proximal to dt in L. aegyptiacus and L. libycus , stat. n. In L. ater , the trichobothrium db is located between dt and et, which is atypical for all known Leiurus species.

The ventrolateral carinae bear several somewhat large, subconical, and pointed denticles in L. libycus , stat. n., whereas they bear smaller, subtriangular or subspinoid denticles in L. quinquestriatus .

COMMENTS. L. libycus , stat. n., was originally described as a subspecies of L. quinquestriatus , but it clearly differs from this species. The holotype of L. libycus , stat. n. was collected by Wilhelm Junker (1840-1892), a famous Russian traveller and ethnographer who travelled mainly to sub-Saharan Africa. Junker’s first travel to Africa in 1875 included initial training trip to the ‘Libyan Desert’ within the borders of modern Egypt (between Alexandia and Fayum); he returned there again in 1879 ( Petri, 1891). The type locality of L. aegyptiacus (northeast of Maghra, east of the Qattara Depression, about 52 km southeast of El Alamein; 30°23’3.84”N, 29°10’0.12”E) is also situated within this area. Furthermore, the trichobothrial pattern on the fixed finger of the pedipalp is nearly identical in both species. Therefore, we synonymize Leiurus aegyptiacus Lourenço & El-Hennawy, 2021 with L. libycus , stat. n., syn. n.