Compsobuthus maidensis, Kovařík, 2018

Kovařík, František, 2018, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part XVI. Compsobuthus maidensis sp. n. (Buthidae) from Somaliland, Euscorpius 260, pp. 1-11 : 4-6

Compsobuthus maidensis sp. n.

( Figs. 1–39, Table 1) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:442AA0

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TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Somaliland, Maid, 11°00'03"N 47°06'30"E, 52 m a.s.l. ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Somaliland, Maid, 11°00' 03"N 47°06'30"E, 52 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 38, Locality No. 17SN), 3.-4.IX.2017, 1♂ 3♀ (holotype and paratypes), leg. F. Kovařík , FKCP.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the village of collection.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 30–33.5 mm. Sexual dimorphism minor, fingers of pedipalps straight in both sexes; there is no difference in length and width of metasomal segments. Base color uniformly yellow to yellowish brown with dark spot on fifth and four metasomal segment. Movable finger of pedipalp bears 10 rows of granules, all without external and with internal accessory granules ( acutecarinatus group of Levy & Amitati, 1980). Pedipalp chela length/width ratio 4.49 in males and 4.9 in females. Manus of chela shorter than fixed finger. Pedipalp chela length/movable finger length ratio 1.40–1.41 in both sexes. Trochanter of pedipalps with 3– 7 spinules and 2 setae. Anterior margin of carapace bears 8 symmetrically distributed spinules. First to third metasomal segments bear 10 carinae, fourth bears 8 or 10 carinae. All metasomal segments longer than wide. Pectinal teeth number 19–20 in male and 16–18 in females. Sternites and ventral surface of metasoma granulated. Seventh sternite bears four crenulate carinae. Telson bulbous, aculeus shorter than vesicle. Subaculear tubercle present but not spinoid.

DESCRIPTION. Total length 30–33.5 mm in both sexes. The habitus is shown in Figs. 1–4. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 20– 28. Sexual dimorphism minor, fingers of pedipalps straight in both sexes ( Figs. 22 and 32); there is no difference in length and width of metasomal segments.

Coloration ( Figs. 1–4). The base color is uniformly yellow to yellowish brown, with dark spot on anterior half of the fifth and fourth metasomal segment; other spots missing or indicated only.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 5–8). The entire carapace is covered by granules of different sizes. The carinae are moderately to strongly developed and granular. The anterior margin of the carapace is medially weakly concave, and bears eight symmetrically distributed spinules. The tergites are granulated. Tergites I–VI bear very strong, denticulate lateral carinae. Each carina terminates in a spiniform process that extends well past the posterior margin of the tergite. Tergite VII is pentacarinate, with lateral pairs strong, serratocrenulate and the median carina moderate, crenulate and present only in the proximal half. The pectinal tooth count is 18–19 in male and 16–18 (2x16, 4x18) in females. The pectine marginal tips extend to one-third of the fourth sternite in the female and to half of the fifth sternite in the male. The pectines have three marginal lamellae and six to eight middle lamellae. The lamellae bear numerous dark setae, each fulcrum with two or three dark setae. All sternites are finely granulated. The glabrous wide zone on posterior part of fifth sternite developed medially and absent on other sternites in male.The sixth and seventh segments bear four ventral crenulate carinae, which are more strongly developed on the seventh segment. The other sternites bear two carinae.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 13–20). The first to third segments bear 10 carinae, the fourth segment bears 8 or 10 carinae and the fifth segment bears five carinae. Intermediate carinae of the fourth segment are replaced by isolated granules that may also form carinae. All segments are sparsely setose and densely granulated. Accessory rows of granules are present on dorsal surfaces of segments as well as on the ventral surface of the fifth segment. The telson is bulbous, with the aculeus a little shorter than the vesicle. A subaculear tubercle is present and variously short.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 21–37). The pedipalps are granulated and hirsute. The femur bears five carinae. The patella bears seven granular carinae. The chela bears five carinae. The movable and fixed fingers bear 10 rows of granules, all without external and with internal granules. Pedipalp chela length/width ratio 4.49 in males and 4.9 in females. Manus of chela shorter than fixed finger. Pedipalp chela length/movable finger length ratio 1.40– 1.41 in both sexes. The trochanter of pedipalps bears 3–7 spinules and 2 setae.

Legs ( Figs. 9–12). Legs III and IV bear moderate tibial spurs. Retrolateral and prolateral pedal spurs are present on all legs. The tarsomeres bear two rows of macrosetae on the ventral surface and several macrosetae on the other surfaces. Bristlecombs are absent. The femur bears four carinae and the patella bears four to six carinae. The femur and patella bear only solitary macrosetae and are granulated except for external lateral surfaces, which are smooth.

Measurements. See Tab. 1.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish Compsobuthus maidensis sp. n. from all other species of the genus. C. maidensis sp. n. is morphologically the most similar to C. eritreaensis Kovařík et al., 2016 (see key in Kovařík et al., 2016: 19) but these two species occur in remote areas ( Fig. 39) and can be morphologically unequivocally separated by: 1) Pectinal teeth number 19–20 in male and 16–18 in females in C. maidensis sp. n. vs. 22–26 in males and 18–23 in females in C. eritreaensis ; 2) pedipalp chela length/movable finger length ratio is 1.40–1.41 in both sexes in C. maidensis sp. n. vs. 1.32–1.38 in C. eritreaensis ; 3) trochanter of pedipalps with 3–7 spinules and 2 setae in C. maidensis sp. n. vs. 10–12 spinules and 2 setae in C. eritreaensis ; 4) fingers of pedipalps straight in both sexes in C. maidensis sp. n. ( Figs. 28 and 30) vs. adult males with fingers of pedipalps slightly flexed proximally (figs. 28 and 30 in Kovařík et al., 2016: 7) in C. eritreaensis ; 5) glabrous wide zone on posterior part of fifth sternite developed medially and absent on other sternites in male in C. maidensis sp. n. ( Fig. 7) vs. reduced/indicated on sternites in male in C. eritreaensis (fig. 11 in Kovařík et al., 2016: 6).

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality, 17SN is sandy semi-desert to desert ( Fig. 38). The types of Compsobuthus maidenensis sp. n. were obtained at night during UV collecting together with Gint maidensis Kovařík et al., 2018 , Hottentotta sp. , Leiurus sp. , and Neobuthus sp. (Buthidae) . The first author arrived at the locality at night on 3th September 2017 at 21.00. At this time the temperature was 38.6 ºC and humidity 52%. Minimum temperature of 31.9 ºC and humidity of 46% were recorded on 4th September 2017 in the early morning.