Parabuthus granimanus Pocock, 1895

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Plíšková, Jana & Šťáhlavský, František, 2016, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part VII. Parabuthus Pocock, 1890 (Buthidae) with description of P. hamar sp. n. and P. kajibu sp. n. from Ethiopia, Euscorpius 228, pp. 1-58 : 22-23

Parabuthus granimanus Pocock, 1895

( Figs. 42–49, 170–171, 186, 196, 204)

Parabuthus granimanus Pocock, 1895: 311–312 , pl. IX, figs. 4–4d; Pocock, 1896: 178; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 202 (complete reference list until 2000); Kovařík, 2003: 144, fig. 7; Kovařík, 2004: 19, fig. 8;?

2003: 144, fig. 7; Kovařík, 2004: 19, fig. 8;? Kovařík & Whitman, 2005: 110.

= Parabuthus granimanus fuscicauda Caporiacco, 1947: 228 (syn. by Kovařík, 2003: 144).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somalia (now

Somaliland), Zeyla (now Zeila, in Somali Saylac, 11°21'

N 43°28'E); BMNH .

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Somaliland , Zeyla, 1♂ 1♀ (lectotype and paralectotype) , BMNH. Eritrea, dint. Elghena (Hassi Habab), XI.-XII.1902, 1♂ 1♀ (lectotype and paralectotype of Parabuthus granimanus fuscicauda Caporiacco, 1947 ) , MZUF, Nos 548 and 549 (see comments in P. eritreaensis ) .

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXAMINED. " Eritrea, Asmara env.", 1983, leg. Dorsak, 1♂ 2♀ (see comments in P. eritreaensis ). Somaliland, near Berbera , 1juv.♀, XI.2010, leg . T. Mazuch; near Sheikh, foothills of Goolis Mts , 09°59.881'N 45°09.762'E, 896 m a.s.l., 1im. ♂ 2juvs., XI.2010, leg . T. Mazuch; Berbera env., 10°22.8'N 45°02.2'E, 107 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 48, Locality No. 11 SE), 8.-10.VII.2011, 3♂ 3♀ ( Figs. 42–49, 170–171, 186, 196), leg. F. Kovařík; near Berbera , 10°16'01"N 45°06'21.3"E, 367 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 49, Locality No. 11SG), 10.VII.2011, 1im. ♀, leg. F. Kovařík. All specimens are in the first authors collection ( FKCP) .

DIAGNOSIS. Adults from 90 mm to 120 mm long. Base color uniformly yellow to yellowish brown, carapace, tergites, metasomal segments IV–V and telson dark brown to black. Pectine teeth number 42–49 in males and 36–39 in females. Stridulatory area present on dorsal surface of metasomal segments I–II, absent on third segment absent. Metasoma densely hirsute. Metasoma of male narrow; metasomal segment V length/ width ratio 1.95–2.05 in male. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12–13 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. Fingers of pedipalp not enlarged. Fingers of pedipalps of male with a tubercle on inner side of base ( Fig. 171). Male with chela of pedipalps broader than those of female, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 3.10–3.3 in male. Pedipalp manus and patella strongly granulated. Tarsomere I of legs I–II with bristlecombs.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The first author together with Tomáš Mazuch collected P. granimanus at sandy deserts in the vicinity of Berbera City in northwestern Somaliland, in an area called Guban, whose southern edge lies in close proximity to the Goolis and Ogo Mountain Range. This low-lying area is extremely warm and dry, and hosts scorpions Neobuthus berberensis Hirst, 1911 and Hottentotta polystictus ( Pocock, 1896) that have been able to adapt to a variety of biotopes in the region. P. granimanus was found in close proximity to Berbera City, in the sandy desert (Locality No. 11SE, Fig. 48). In the local rocky semideserts (Locality No. 11SG, Fig. 49) P. granimanus occurs together with Buthus berberensis Pocock, 1900 , Compsobuthus somalilandus Kovařík, 2012 , Hottentotta polystictus , Leiurus cf. quinquestriatus Ehrenberg, 1828 , Neobuthus ferrugineus (Kraepelin, 1898) , and Hemiscorpius novaki Kovařík et Mazuch, 2011 . At this locality we recorded a daytime temperature of 48.4 ºC and 9.9% humidity. At a further removed locality near Sheikh, in the foothills of the Goolis Mountains, P. granimanus reaches relatively higher altitudes around 900 m a.s.l. and occurs together with Neobuthus ferrugineus , Hottentotta polystictus , and Pandinus phillipsii ( Pocock, 1896) .

DISTRIBUTION.? Eritrea,? Ethiopia,? Djibouti,? Somalia, Somaliland. Kovařík & Whitman (2005: 110) cited also specimens labeled " Yemen Arab Republic, Aden, 1882" but these must be mislabeled.