Scorpio iznassen, Ythier & François, 2023

Ythier, Eric & François, Alexandre, 2023, The scorpion fauna of the Oriental region in Morocco (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Scorpionidae) with description of three new species of the genus Scorpio Linnaeus, 1758., Faunitaxys 11 (3), pp. 1-15 : 10-12

Scorpio iznassen sp. n.

( Fig. 9-10 , 15, 19 , 22 )

ZooBank:http://zoobank.org/ 5598657E-7F40-4CBA-9BC8-0C68C1ED1EC8

Holotype, ♂, Morocco, Guerbous pass , MHNL 47036249 , 11/III/1984 (G. Chavanon), deposited in the MHNL.

Paratypes (2 ex.).

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Guerbous pass , MHNL 47036247 , 26/II/1984 (G. Chavanon), deposited in the MHNL;

- 1 ♀ (right chela), Morocco, Beni Snassen , Tafoughalt, 34.84771 lat.-2.33716 lon., ID 16569, 01/VII/2015 (A. François, C. Galkowski, M. Sbai), deposited in theECWP .

Comparative material examined (3 ex.).

Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, 1758 : Algeria, Zurich (= Sidi Amar), 2 ♂, 1 ♀, MHNL 44003122 , 1889 (Massard), MHNL.

Etymology. – The specific name is placed in apposition to the generic name and refers to the Beni Snassen (Aït Iznassen in Tamazight) tribe, living in the area where the new species occurs.

Diagnosis. – Scorpion of moderate size for the genus, with a total length of 50-58 mm for the males holotype and paratype. Coloration basically blackish brown. Genital operculum suboval, formed by two plates having a semi-triangular shape; convex anteriorly and flattened posteriorly. Pectinal plate strongly constricted medially; pectines slightly longer than length of third coxa and slightly exceeding the distal end of fourth coxa in male; pectinal count 9-10 teeth in male. Chela fixed finger internal length shorter than manus ventral length in male. Leg IV tarsus with 9 internal and 7 external spines.

Description (based on male holotype; measurements after the description).

Coloration. – Prosoma: carapace blackish brown with diffuse black variegated spots on the entire surface; median and lateral ocular tubercles marked with black pigments. Mesosoma : tergites blackish brown; sternites reddish black. Coxapophysis and sternum reddish yellow; genital operculum and pectines yellowish. Metasoma: dark brown with blackish pigmentation on ventral carinae of all segments. Telson yellowish brown with some brownish pigmentation on ventral and lateral surfaces; aculeus reddish at its base and black at its extremity. Chelicerae yellowish with brownish variegated spots close to the fingers; fingers yellowish with reddish teeth. Pedipalps: femur and patella brownish with carinae blackish; chela reddish brown with carinae and fingers blackish; dentate margins of fingers black. Legs brownish.

Morphology. – Carapace acarinate, without any granulations; anterior margin with a strongly pronounced concavity; posterior furrows moderately pronounced;median ocular tubercle in the centre of the carapace; three pairs of lateral eyes; the first two of equal size, the third slightly reduced. Mesosoma : tergites acarinate and minutely granular, coarser on VII. Sternum pentagonal, slightly wider than high. Venter: genital operculum suboval, formed by two plates having a semi-triangular shape; convex anteriorly and flattened posteriorly. Pectinal plate strongly constricted medially. Pectines slightly longer than length of third coxa and slightly exceeding the distal end of fourth coxa; pectinal tooth count 9-10 in male; fulcra strongly developed. Sternites smooth and shiny; VII with four moderately marked carinae; spiracles linear and conspicuous. Metasoma with moderately to strongly marked carinae on segments I to IV; granulation becomes spiniform on segment V; ventral and latero-ventral carinae intensely spinoid on V; all intercarinal surfaces weakly granular. Telson globular and strongly granular on ventral side with four ventral carinae formed by strong spinoid granules; aculeus shorter than vesicle and moderately curved. Cheliceral dentition characteristic of the Scorpionidae (Vachon, 1963) ; movable finger with one subdistal tooth and conspicuous basal teeth. Pedipalps: femur with four incomplete carinae, intercarinal surfaces smooth to weakly granulated; patella with dorsal carina almost complete, intercarinal surfaces smooth to weakly granulated; chela with weakly marked ventral carinae; dorsal carinae moderately marked; dorso-external aspect of the manus coarsely granular. Dentate margin on fixed and movable fingers with a series of granules divided by 5 strong accessory granules; fixed finger internal length shorter than manus ventral length. Trichobothriotaxy of type C; orthobothriotaxic (Vachon, 1974); femur with 3 trichobothria, patella with 19 and chela with 26. Legs: tarsi of legs I to IV with 7/5, 8/6, 8/7, 9/7 internal and external spines arranged in series.

Morphometric values (mm) (male holotype).

– Total length (including telson): 57.78.

– Carapace

length, 9.88;

anterior width, 5.38;

posterior width, 11.13.

– Mesosoma : length, 16.0.

– Metasomal segments

I: length, 3.63; width, 5.13;

II: length, 4.38; width, 4.88;

III: length, 4.75; width, 4.75;

IV: length, 5.63; width, 4.38;

V: length, 6.88; width, 3.50; depth, 3.50.

– Telson length, 6.63; vesicle width, 3.25; depth, 2.75.

– Pedipalp femur length, 6.50, width, 3.0; patella length, 7.75, width, 3.75; chela length, 14.38, width, 9.50, depth, 6.0; movable finger length, 8.88.

Comparisons. – By its general coloration and its pectinal plate strongly constricted medially, Scorpio iznassen sp. n. seems to be more closely related to Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, 1758 , a dark species largely distributed on the northern flanks of Tellian Atlas in Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and the new species might represent the ‘occidental form’ of S. maurus .

S. iznassen sp. n. can however be easily distinguished from S. maurus notably by the following main features:

(i) an overall darker coloration, blackish brown (reddish brown to dark reddish brown in S. maurus );

(ii) a smaller overall size in male with 50-58 mm (60-70 mm in S. maurus );

(iii) male pectine length slightly longer than length of third coxa (as long as third coxa in S. maurus );

(iv) male genital operculum plate more flattened posteriorly (more convex posteriorly in S. maurus ; Fig. 22, 24 );

(v) male chela fixed finger internal length shorter than chela manus ventral length (as long as manus ventral length in S. maurus ).

S. iznassen sp. n. can also be easily distinguished from the two other dark species present in northern Morocco, namely Scorpio birulai Fet, 1997 (formerly known as Scorpio maurus subtypicus Birula, 1910 ) described from the Fahs-Anjra Province and Scorpio hesperus Birula, 1910 described from the surroundings of Tanger, notably by the following main features:

(i) general coloration blackish brown (reddish brown to dark reddish brown in S. birulai );

(ii) pectinal plate strongly constricted medially (only slightly constricted in S. birulai and S. hesperus ; Fig. 22, 26, 28 );

(iii) male pectine length slightly longer than length of third coxa (as long as third coxa in S. hesperus );

(iv) male genital operculum plate suboval, flattened posteriorly (strongly subtriangular posteriorly in S. birulai and S. hesperus ; Fig. 22, 26, 28 );

(v) male chela fixed finger internal length shorter than chela manus ventral length (longer than manus ventral length in S. hesperus );

(vi) moreover, the new species present a totally allopatric distribution from S. birulai and S. hesperus , separated notably by the Moulouya river basin.

Distribution and remarks. – Scorpio iznassen sp. n. is only known from the type locality, in the Beni Snassen mountains. As previously mentioned, notably by its pectinal plate strongly constricted medially, S. iznassen sp. n. seems to be more closely related to S. maurus , occurring on the northern flanks of the Tellian Atlas in Tunisia and eastern Algeria (up to Algiers; Vachon, 1952) than S. birulai and S. hesperus from the north-west of Morocco. The new species might represent the ‘occidental form’ of S. maurus .

It should also be mentioned that a former subspecies of S. maurus , S. m. trarasensis Bouisset et Larrouy, 1962, now synonymized with S. maurus (Kovařík, 2009) , was described from Tlemcen, in the Tellian Atlas of north-western Algeria, close to the border with Morocco (about 100 km from the type locality of S. iznassen sp. n.). It can however easily be distinguished from the new species by the shape of the pectinal plate, not strongly constricted medially (one can then wonder about it synonymization with S. maurus ). It should also be noted that S. atlasensis is considered to be related to S. m. trarasensis (Khammassi et al., 2023).

Figures

Fig. 9-10. Scorpio iznassen sp. n., ♂ holotype, habitus (dried specimen). 9. Dorsal aspect. 10. Ventral aspect.

Fig. 13 -20. Metasomal segment V, telson and chela of the new Scorpio species (Scale bar = 2 mm). 13-16. Metasomal segment V and telson, lateral aspect. 13. Scorpio touili sp. n., ♂ holotype. 14. Scorpio touili sp. n., ♀ paratype. 15. Scorpio iznassen sp. n., ♂ holotype. 16. Scorpio moulouya sp. n., ♂ holotype. 17 -20. Chela, dorso-external aspect, showing the trichobotrial pattern. 17. Scorpio touili sp. n., ♂ holotype. 18. Scorpio touili sp. n., ♀ paratype. 19. Scorpio iznassen sp. n., ♂ holotype. 20. Scorpio moulouya sp. n., ♂ holotype.

Fig. 21-31. Genital opercula and pectinal plates of the Scorpio species discussed in this work. 21-28. Males. 21. Scorpio touili sp. n., holotype. 22. Scorpio iznassen sp. n., holotype. 23. Scorpio moulouya sp. n., holotype. 24. Scorpio maurus. 25. Scorpio punicus. 26. Scorpio birulai. 27. Scorpio fuliginosus. 28. Scorpio hesperus. 29-31. Females. 29. Scorpio touili sp. n., paratype. 30. Scorpio punicus. 31. Scorpio atlasensis, holotype. (24-28 and 30 modified after Vachon, 1952 and Lourenço, 2009; 31 modified after Khammassi et al., 2023).