Prionurus crassicauda

Barahoei, Hossein, Mirshamsi, Omid, Amiri, Masoumeh, Moeinadini, Asma & Rakhshani, Ehsan, 2025, Integrative taxonomy reveals the existence of a new species of fat-tailed scorpions, Androctonus (Buthidae), in Iran, Turkish Journal of Zoology 49 (2), pp. 48-74 : 60-61

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0179.3213
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C787A6-FFCA-9606-FF3A-FCC7FF453305
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Prionurus crassicauda
status

Treatment

Prionurus crassicauda : Birula, 1905a: 120.

Androctonus crassicauda : Habibi, 1971: 42; Akbari et al., 1997: 112; Pooladgar, 1999: 176; Kovařík, 2002: 5; Navidpour et al., 2008a: 5, figures 5, 12, and 44–45; Navidpour et al., 2008b: 3, figures 4, 20, and 25–28; Navidpour et al., 2008c: 3, figures 2, 3, 8, and 13–16; Navidpour et al., 2008d: 3, figures 4, 9, and 15–18; Dehghani et al., 2009: 274; Karataş et al., 2012: 112 (in part); Mohseni et al., 2013; Nejati et al., 2018: 7140; Barahoei et al., 2020b: 379; Mansouri et al., 2020: 765.

Type locality

Iraq, Dhi Qar Province, Al-Kar region ( Al-Nasr town ) ( AZMM) .

Geographical distribution

This species is distributed in eastern Iraq and southwestern Iran ( Barahoei et al., 2020b; Al-Khazali and Yağmur, 2023).

Material examined (11 specimens including five female and six male)

1♀ * ( Figure S5), 1♂ * ( Figure 10) ( ZMFUM), Khuzestan prov., Ahvaz , 31°30′N, 48°58′E, 13 July 2017, H. Barahoei leg. GoogleMaps ; 1♂ * ( ZMFUM), Ramhormoz , 31°15′N, 49°22′E, 13 July 2017, H. Barahoei leg. GoogleMaps ; 3♀ *, 3♂ * ( ZMFUM), 31°16′N, 49°34′E, 2021, H. Barahoei leg. GoogleMaps ; 1♀ *, 1♂ ( ZMFUM), Shush , 32°04′N, 48°14′E, 13 July 2017, H. Barahoei leg. GoogleMaps

Diagnostic characters ( Figures 10 and 11)

Total length 64.8–73.3 mm in male and 62.5–85.1 mm in female individuals ( Table S1); body dark brown in females and brown in males ( Figures 10 and S 5); carapace carinae with large and rounded granules, median eyes separated by nearly two ocular diameters, five pairs of lateral eyes ( Figure 10A); pedipalps stocky and moderately long, sparsely setose without carinae, femur moderately slender, internal surface of manus densely covered with fine granules in males and moderately in females, manus wider than patella, fingers moderately elongated, evenly curved ( Figure 11A), movable finger with 14–16 rows of oblique teeth, with external and internal accessory granules and four terminal granules, trichobothrium et located between est and dt, and proximal to dt; number of pectin teeth 28–32 in males ( Figure 10B) and 23–25 in females ( Figure S5); metasoma very sparsely setose with all segments robust, segments I–III wider than long; segments IV–V longer than wide ( Figure 11C), all segments wider than deep ( Figure 11B), dorsal lateral carinae of metasomal segment V strong with rounded granules anteriorly, without granules posteriorly ( Figure 11B), ventral median carina moderate with moderate and rounded granules on segment V ( Figure 11C); anal arch with three large lobes on lateral ( Figure 11B); telson slender and not setose, telson depth/length = 0.44 in males and 0.46 in females, telson width/length = 0.36 in males and 0.37 in females ( Table S1).

Affinities: Androctonus rostami sp. nov. can be distinguished from other Iranian Androctonus by the following characters:

Overall coloration is black in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 3 View Figure 3 , 5, and 7) and A. crassicauda ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 ), whereas it is brown in A. sumericus ( Figure 10) and yellow in A. sistanus ( Figure 8).

The ventral lateral carinae of metasomal segment V of A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4E View Figure 4 and 6F) and A. crassicauda ( Figure 2F View Figure 2 ) do not bear large granules, whereas those of A. sumericus bear somewhat large denticles ( Figure 11B).

Middle part of median carina, end part of sublateral carina, and upper part of respiratory opening in the sixth sternite are granulated in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4B View Figure 4 and 6B) and A. crassicauda ( Figure 2B View Figure 2 ), whereas there are no carinae on the sixth sternite in A. sumericus ( Figure 10B).

Dorsal lateral carinae of metasomal segment V are serrated anteriorly and have pointed granules in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4E View Figure 4 and 6F) and A. crassicauda ( Figure 2F View Figure 2 ), whereas they are rounded anteriorly in A. sumericus ( Figure 11B).

Intercarinal surface of sternite VII is smooth (or sometimes with some large granules) in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4B View Figure 4 and 6B) but has fine and abundant granules in A. crassicauda ( Figure 2B View Figure 2 ).

Lateral surface of sternites III–VI is smooth in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4B View Figure 4 and 6B) but they are covered with granules in A. crassicauda ( Figure 2B View Figure 2 ).

Posterior lateral carina of carapace faded in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4A View Figure 4 and 6A) but present in A. crassicauda ( Figure 2A View Figure 2 ).

Number of granules on carapace surface in A. rostami sp. nov. ( Figures 4A View Figure 4 and 6A) less than that in A. crassicauda ( Figure 2A View Figure 2 ).

The range of distribution of two species is entirely separate: A. crassicauda is distributed in the center and A. rostami sp. nov. in the eastern and southern highlands of Iran.