Scorpio touili, 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 : 8-10

Scorpio touili sp. n.

( Fig. 5-8 , 13-14, 17-18 , 21, 29 , 32 )

ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/ 761CC1D8-7C61-48D0-A282-9DE3791A55CB

Holotype, ♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt, 32.43128 lat. -2.57354 lon., ID 10549, 11/III/2015 (S. Touil), deposited in the MNHN.

Paratypes (3 ex.).

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt, 32.44389 lat. -2.29296 lon., ID 10541, 11/III/2015 (S. Touil), deposited in the ECWP ;

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt, 32.44350 lat. -2.29312 lon., ID 10554, 11/III/2015 (S. Touil), deposited in the ECWP ;

- 1♀, Morocco, betweenAïnBniMattar and Maatarka ,34.02078lat. -2.12397lon., ID 12441, 31/XII/2012 (A. François, C. Galkowski, M. Sbai), deposited in the MNHN .

Other material examined (9 ex.).

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt, 32.53565 lat. -2.55283 lon., ID 10530, 22/VIII/2008 (S. Touil), ECWP ;

- 1♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt,32.43095 lat.-2.57379lon., ID 10533, 22/VIII/2008 (S. Touil), ECWP ;

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt, 32.43033 lat. -2.43403lon., ID 10592, 26/VI/2008 (S. Touil), ECWP ;

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Bouârfa , Tamlelt, 32.44563 lat. -2.39064 lon., ID 20682, 31/III/2015 (J. Gabbard), ECWP ;

- 1♂, Morocco,betweenAïnBniMattar and Maatarka,34.02078lat. -2.12397lon., ID 12438, 06/VII/2012 (A. François, C. Galkowski, M. Sbai), ECWP;

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Tendrara , MHNL 47036246 , 1984 (G. Chavanon) , MHNL;

- 1 pre-adult ♂, Morocco, Figuig , MHNL 47036248 , 1979 (G. Chavanon) , MHNL;

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Anoual , 32.65387 lat. -3.13153 lon., ID 574, 24/V/2008 (A. François), ECWP ;

- 1 ♂, Morocco, Léthima , 32.72258 lat. -2.74343 lon., ID 577, 13/III/2008 (M. Lelièvre, L. Pomarède), ECWP .

Comparative material examined (2 ex.).

Scorpio punicus Fet, 2000 :

- Tunisia, Gafsa, 1 ♂, MHNL 44003128 , 1903 (Fracques) , MHNL;

- Tunisia, El Djennah, 1 ♀, EY0264, J.-B. Lacroix leg. (No. 148), 1993, EYPC .

Etymology. – The specific name honours Mr. Soufiane Touil, staff member of ECWP, who recently passed away. He used to be involved in ECWP’s arthropods sampling, and was greatly appreciated for his engagement and conscientiousness. He is also collector of the holotype of the new species.

Diagnosis. –Scorpion of moderate to large size for the genus, with a total length of 61-64 mm for the males holotype and paratypes and 57 mm for the female paratype. Coloration basically yellowish to yellowish brown, without delimited darker pigmentation on carapace and tergites; chela manus of similar colour as body.Genital operculum suboval, formed by two plates having a semi-triangular shape; convex anteriorly and posteriorly in both sexes. Pectinal plate weakly divided in two parts, the posterior part slightly wider than the anterior part; pectines longer than length of third coxa and largely exceeding the distal end of fourth coxa in male, slightly longer than length of third coxa and slightly exceeding the distal end of fourth coxa in female; pectinal count 9-11 teeth in male, 9-11 in female. Leg IV tarsus with 9 internal and 7 external spines. Hemispermatophore with distal lamina curved, terminus enlarged and almost flat; laminar hook close to lamina, long and almost straight.

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

Coloration. –Prosoma: carapace yellowish brown with diffuse brownish variegated spots on the entire surface; median and lateral ocular tubercles marked with dark pigments. Mesosoma : tergites yellowish brown; sternites yellowish.Coxapophysis and sternum yellow;genital operculum andpectines yellow in male, pale yellow in female. Metasoma: yellowish with some greyishpigmentation on ventral face of segments I-III inmale, on ventralface of all segments and on lateral and dorsal faces of segment V in female. Telson yellow; aculeus yellowish at its base and black at its extremity. Chelicerae yellow without any variegated spots in male, with some greyish pigmentation at the base in female; fingers yellow with reddish teeth. Pedipalps: femur and patella yellowish brown; chela yellowish brown with carinae and fingers darker, reddish black in male, reddish brown in female; dentate margins of fingers black. Legs yellowish.

Morphology. – Carapace acarinate, without any granulations; anterior margin with a moderately (male) to strongly (female) pronounced concavity; posterior furrows moderatelypronounced; 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 almost smooth, with only some sparse minute granulation on posterior and lateral sides. Sternum pentagonal, slightly wider than high. Venter: genital operculum suboval, formed by two plates having a semi-triangular shape; convex anteriorly and posteriorly in both sexes. Pectinal plate weakly divided in two parts, the posterior part slightly wider than the anterior part.Pectines longer than length of third coxa and largely exceeding the distal end of fourth coxa in male, slightly longer than length of third coxa and slightly exceeding the distal end of fourth coxa in female; pectinal tooth count 9-10 in male, 9-11 in female; fulcra strongly developed. Sternites smooth and shiny; VII with four moderately marked carinae;spiracleslinear andconspicuous.Metasomawithmoderatelytostrongly markedcarinaeonsegmentsI 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 ventralcarinae formedbystrong 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, especially in male. Dentate margin on fixed and movable fingers with a series of granules divided by 5 strong accessory granules. 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, 8-9/6, 9/7, 9/7 internal and external spines arranged in series. Hemispermatophore: distal lamina curved, terminus enlarged and almost flat; laminar hook close to lamina, long and almost straight.

Morphometric values (mm) (male holotype and female paratype).

– Total length (including telson): 63.63/57.15.

– Carapace length, 10.25/8.13; anterior width, 5.63/5.38; posterior width, 8.75/8.13.

– Mesosoma : length, 22.50/22.63.

– Metasomal segments

I: length, 3.63/3.13; width, 4.50/3.88;

II: length, 4.0/3.50; width, 4.0/3.63;

III: length, 4.50/3.75; width, 4.0/3.38;

IV: length, 5.25/4.38; width, 3.88/3.25;

V: length, 7.25/6.0; width, 3.63/2.63; depth, 3.25/2.75.

– Telson

length, 6.25/5.63; vesicle width, 2.75/2.63; depth, 2.50/2.25.

– Pedipalp

femur length, 5.63/4.88; width, 2.63/2.38; patella length, 5.63/6.0; width, 3.13/2.75; chela length, 11.75/11.38; width, 8.38/6.88; depth, 4.13/3.88;

– Movable finger length, 6.75/6.75.

Comparisons. – By its light coloration and the general shape of its pectinal plate and male genital operculum plate, Scorpio touili sp. n. seems to be more closely related to Scorpio punicus Fet, 2000 (formerly known as Scorpio maurus tunetanus Birula, 1910 ), a yellowish brown species largely distributed in the high plateaus, the Saharan Atlas and Aures mountains and the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia and Algeria, and the new species might represent the ‘occidental form’ of S. punicus (to which it has been referred in Touloun et al., 2014).

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

(i) pectinal plate with posterior part slightly wider than anterior part (same width in S. punicus ; Fig. 21, 25, 29 -30 );

(ii) male pectine largely exceeding the distal end of the fourth coxa (reaching or only slightly exceeding the distal end of the fourth coxa in S. punicus );

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

(iv) male genital operculum plate generally slightly less flattened with high/length ratio 0.7 (high/length ratio 0.6 in S. punicus ; Fig. 21, 25 );

(v) female genital operculum plate more convex anteriorly (more flattened anteriorly in S. punicus ; Fig. 29-30 );

(vi) hemispermatophore with laminar hook almost straight (more curved in S. punicus, Fig. 32, 34 );

(vii) leg IV tarsus with 9 internal and 7 external spines (n=4) (8 internal and 6-7 external spines in S. punicus ).

S. touili sp. n. can also be easily distinguished from another new species described in this work, S. moulouya sp. n., mainly occurring in the middle Moulouya river basin, but with some potential zones of sympatry between both species ( Fig. 4 ), notably by the following main features:

(i) an overall lighter coloration, yellowish to yellowish brown (brownish to dark brown in S. moulouya sp. n.);

(ii) chela manus of similar colour as body (lighter than body in S. moulouya sp. n.);

(iii) hemispermatophore with distal lamina more curved (almost straight in S. moulouya sp. n.), lamina terminus enlarged and almost flat (not enlarged and ending with a 45° angle in S. moulouya sp. n.) and laminar hook longer and closer to lamina (smaller and further apart from lamina in S. moulouya sp. n., Fig. 32- 33 ).

Finally, S. touili sp. n. can be easily distinguished from Scorpio atlasensis Khammassi, Harris & Sadine, 2023 , a species recently described from the Tellian Atlas of north-western Algeria (Khammassi et al., 2023) and reported in Morocco from two locations in the high plateaus and Saharan Atlas, by the following main features:

(i) carapace and mesosoma without delimited darker pigmentation (dark triangular zone on carapace and median dark line on mesosoma in S. atlasensis sp. n.);

(ii) female genital operculum plate more convex anteriorly (more flattened anteriorly in S. atlasensis ; Fig. 29, 31 );

(iii) leg IV tarsus with 9 internal and 7 external spines (n=4) (8 internal and 7 external spines in S. atlasensis . NB. internal and external spine numbers seem to be inversed in Khammassi et al., 2023).

Distribution and remarks.– In Morocco, Scorpio touili sp. n. seems to be mainly distributed in the high plateaus of the Oriental region, bordered to east by the Moulouya river basin, to the north by the Tellian Atlas and to the south by the Saharan Atlas and the Sahara Desert ( Fig. 4 ). The new species most probably also occurs in the high plateaus of Western Algeria. As previously mentioned, Scorpio touili sp. n. might represent the ‘occidental form’ of S. punicus , a species occurring in the high plateaus, the Saharan Atlas and Aures mountains and the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia and Algeria (Vachon, 1952, Lourenço & Rossi, 2016).

Khammassi et al. (2023) recently described a new Scorpio species, S. atlasensis , from one location in the Tellian Atlas of north-western Algeria on the basis of two female specimens (one adult and one pre-adult) and reported the same species to also occur in the Moroccan high plateaus (north Tendrara; one specimen) and Saharan Atlas (south Figuig; one specimen) based on molecular comparison of partial sequences of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I gene. Considering the type location of S. atlasensis and the distribution of Scorpio touili sp. n. ( Fig. 4 ) as well as the morphological differences between both species (Comparisons section), we believe that S. atlasensis is restricted to the Tellian Atlas of Algeria and the two mentioned locations in Morocco might rather refer to S. touili sp. n.

Touloun et al. (2014) referred to S. hesperus Birula, 1910 for specimens collected around Ain Beni Mathar. Considering the type location ( Tanger) and biotope of S. hesperus , these might rather be referred to S. touili sp. n.

Figures

Fig. 5-8. Scorpio touili sp. n., habitus. 5-6. ♂ holotype, dorsal (5) and ventral (6) aspects. 7-8. ♀ paratype, dorsal (7) and ventral (8) aspects.

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).

Fig. 32-35. Right hemispermatophores of some of the Scorpio species discussed in this work, external aspect. 32. Scorpio touili sp. n., holotype. 33. Scorpio moulouya sp. n., paratype. 34. Scorpio punicus. 35. Scorpio fuliginosus. (34-35 modified after Vachon, 1952 and Lourenço, 2009).

Fig. 1-4. Topographic map of the Oriental region in Morocco and surroundings areas showing the collection sites of Androctonus, Buthus, Hottentotta and Scorpio species (symbols with white cross showing the type localities). 1. Androctonus. 2. Buthus. 3. Hottentotta. 4. Scorpio.