Centruroides lenca, de Armas & Cubas-Rodríguez, 2025

de Armas, Luis F. & Cubas-Rodríguez, Alex M., 2025, A new Centruroides species and first record of C. tapachulaensis Hoffmann, 1932 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Honduras, Euscorpius 412, pp. 1-12 : 2-8

Centruroides lenca sp. n.

( Figures 1–28 , Table 1) http: //zoobank. org/urn: lsid: zoobank. org: act: 0819BE2D-

747C-4A50-B8E0-B9D7617D10FA

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Honduras, Ocotepeque Department, Belen Gualcho Municipality, Pacayita Volcano Biological Reserve, Plan Ojo de Agua , 14°22'20.3''N 88°48'46.8''W, 2385 m a. s. l. ; UNAH-CU.

TYPE MATERIAL Honduras, Ocotepeque Department, Belen Gualcho Municipality, Pacayita Volcano Biological Reserve, Plan Ojo de Agua , 14°22'20.3''N 88°48'46.8''W, 2385 m a. s. l., 1♀ (holotype) 1♀ (paratype) ( UNAH-CU) , 3♀ 2♂ (paratypes) (AMC-Ra), 26.II.2025, leg. A. M. Cubas R. and people of the Suyatal and Cutal Lenca communities.

ETYMOLOGY. The specific name is a noun in apposition, referring to the Lenca ethnic group, a native people of possible Aztecan origin, in southwestern Central America ( Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras). Some members of this community strongly helped in the field work for obtaining the type series of this new species and other interesting arachnids .

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 39–43 mm in the females and 33–46 mm in the males. Base color yellowish, with distinct dusky marbling on carapace, tergites, sternites (mainly on VI–VII) and ventral surface of metasomal segments I–IV; pedipalp femur and patella, yellowish-orange; chelae dark brownish; legs mainly pale yellowish. Pedipalp chelae ovate, almost smooth, with subgranular carinae; chela width/patela width ratio 1.17–1.22 in the males and 1.44–1.75 in the female; fiXed finger with eight principal rows of denticles; fingers with poorly developed basal lobe/notch combination. Pectines with 16–17 teeth in the females and 18–19 in the males. Basal plate of the female pectines with a large transverse depression. Metasomal segments I–IV with four ventral lateral pairs of macrochaetae and moderate, finely crenulate dorsosubmedian, dorsolateral and ventrolateral carinae. Telson with minute subaculear tubercle, directed towards the basal one-half of the aculeus.

DESCRIPTION (♀). ( Figs. 4–5 ). Base coloration yellowish. Carapace with distinct dusky marbling throughout; ocular tubercle black. Each tergite with dark brown marbling throughout (when alive, three narrow intermittent orangeyellowish lines were observed): a longitudinal median one and a marginal in each tergite). Metasomal segments I–IV dorsally light yellow, poorly spotted on I, with darker carinae; lateral surfaces and ventrally spotted with dark brown; segment V blackish; telson dark reddish-brown, similar to the pedipalp chelae. Cheliceral manus strongly reticulate of dark brown. Pedipalp femur and patella, yellowish-orange; chelae dark brownish, fiXed finger concolor with the manus. Legs pale yellowish, with moderate dusky markings. Sternites spotted with dark brown, mainly on VI–VII.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 10–11 , 16 ). Carapace 1.34 times wider than long; moderately granular, lightly stronger on the interocular triangle. Anterior margin almost right. Carinae: superciliary and posterior submedian well-developed, subgranular; without other distinct carinae. Furrows: anterior median moderate, broad; ocular median deep, broad; lateral ocular narrow, subtle; posterior median deep, slender; lateral posterior broad, subtle. Pretergites minutely granular. Tergites I–II with median carina poorly developed, granular; on III– VI stronger, granular. Posterior third of each tergite and its posterior margin with moderately dense granulation. Tergite VII with strong, granular submedian carinae and irregularly granulate lateral carinae; median carina strong, granulate, restricted to the anterior one-half of the post-tergite. Sternum triangular in shape (type 1), weakly granulate; 1.2 times longer that wide; concave region and posterior depression deep. Pectines with 16/16 teeth; eXternal area divided in three elongate cells. Median area divided in siX cells, of which the second one is the largest. Basal plate rectangular, 1.5 times wider than long, anterior margin almost right; posterior margin slightly conveX; central area occupied by a large transversal depression. Sternite III finely and densely granular, eXcepting in the subtriangular median area, which is mostly smooth; sternites IV–VI smooth, with obsolete granulation, including the poorly developed lateral carinae; sternite VII moderately granulose, with two pairs of subgranulose carinae, being the medians restricted to the posterior one-half of the plate.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 20–23 ). Metasoma 5.30 times longer than carapace; segment II 0.67 times as long as the pedipalp patella; intercarinal spaces finely and sparsely granulose. Carinae: dorsosubmedian I–IV, dorsolateral I-IV, median lateral I, ventrolateral I–IV, ventrosubmedian II–IV, moderate, finely crenulate; ventrosubmedian I poorly defined, subgranular; median lateral on II is vestigial and only represented by 4–5 aligned granules on the distal third of the segment. Segment V carinae: dorsolateral, ventrolateral and ventral median feeble to moderate, finely crenate; submedian carinae obsolete, only occupying the basal half of the segment. Telson almost as long as the metasomal segment V; vesicle slightly elongate, 1.52 times longer than high, laterally and ventrally with several vestigial coarse granules, scarce small setae and two pairs of macrosetae; dorsally smooth; subaculear tubercle small, clearly apart from the aculeus base and directed towards the middle of the aculeus.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 17–19 ). Chelicerae typical of the genus. Pedipalps orthobothriotaXic; moderately slender (ratio metasomal segment V width/pedipalp chela width = 1.5); chelae 1.4 times wider than patella; chela fiXed finger, trichobothrium db basal to et. Femoral carinae granular, denticulate; dorsal intercarinal surface moderately granular; internal intercarinal surface with 6–7 large spiniform granules. Patella carinae granular, denticulate; internal intercarinal surface with basal conic tubercle and siX to seven moderate subspiniform granules. Chela manus subovate, mostly smooth; carina: digital, dorsal secondary; dorsal marginal; internal dorsal; ventral eXternal; ventral internal; and ventral accessory moderate, crenulate to subgranulate. FiXed and movable fingers with poorly developed basal lobe/notch combination. FiXed finger with eight subrows of median denticles, flanked by internal and eXternal accessory series of denticles as typical of the genus.

Variation. One female paratype has slightly spotted pedipalps ( Fig. 28 ). The paratypes have the following pectinal tooth count: 16/16 and 17/ 17 in two females, respectively; 18/18 and 18/ 19 in the males, respectively. One male (total length 32.66 mm) belongs to the so-called “small adult” ( Table 1).

Male. Male ( Figs. 6–7 , 12–15 , 24–27 ; Table 1) differs from the female by its paler pattern, longer size, carapace longer than wide, metasoma longer and slender; telson clearly elongate, with vesicle posteriorly widened; pedipalps moderately longer; pedipalp chelae oblong; pectines with 18–19 teeth.

Measurements. See Table 1.

Natural History. The type series was collected, mainly under bark, at 2 385 m a. s. l., in the border of a trail in a pine forest ( Figs. 2–3 ). The Biological Reserve Pacayita Volcano belongs to the Biosphere Reserve Cacique Lempira Señor de la Montaña and was stablished in 1987. Temperature is moderately cold (16.1–22.8°C). There are two climatic stations: rainy and dry seasons, with annual mean precipitation of 1 300 mm, whereas the air humidity varies between 86.3 and 90.9% ( Espacio Honduras, 2015).

AFFINITIES. The nearest relative of the new species appears to be C. thorellii (Kraepelin, 1891) , from which it may be distinguished by having: (1) darker and stronger pedipalp chelae, (2) female pectines with a large transverse depression (absent in C. thorellii ), (3) telson with minute subaculear tubercle (well-developed in C. thorellii ); and (4) slightly higher pectinal tooth count (13–15 teeth in the females and 15–17 in the males of C. thorellii ).

DISTRIBUTION. Only known from the type locality ( Figs. 1–3 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Geographical distribution of Centruroides lenca sp. n. and C. tapachulaensis.

Figures 2–3. Centruroides lenca sp. n. General aspect (2) and details (3) of the habitat.

Figures 4–7: Centruroides lenca sp. n., habitus. Figures 4–5. Female holotype in dorsal (4) and ventral (5) views. Figures 6–7. Male paratype in dorsal (6) and ventral (7) views. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figures 8–11: Centruroides lenca sp. n. Figures 8–9. Male paratype, carapace and tergites I-III (8) and sternopectinal area with sternites III- IV (9). Figures 10–11. Female holotype, carapace and tergites I-III (10) and sternopectinal area with sternites III-IV (11). Scale bar: 3 mm.

Figures 12–19. Centruroides lenca sp. n. Figures 12–15. Male paratype, carapace and tergites I-IV under UV fluorescence (12), dorsal views of right pedipalp femur (13), patella (14), and chela (15). Figures 16–19. Female holotype, carapace and tergites I-IV under UV fluorescence (16), dorsal views of right pedipalp femur (17), patella (18), and chela (19).

Figures 20–23. Centruroides lenca sp. n., female holotype, metasoma and telson in lateral (20), ventral (21) and dorsal (22) views, telson in lateral view (23).

Figures 24–27. Centruroides lenca sp. n., male paratype, metasoma and telson in lateral (24) ventral (25) and dorsal (26) views, telson in lateral view (27). Scale bar: 5 mm (24–26).

Figure 28. Centruroides lenca sp. n., live female paratype, carapace and pedipalps in dorsal aspect.