Alpiscorpius beta ( Di Caporiacco, 1950 ) Kovařík & Štundlová & Fet & Šťáhlavský, 2019

Kovařík, František, Štundlová, Jana, Fet, Victor & Šťáhlavský, František, 2019, Seven new Alpine species of the genus Alpiscorpius Gantenbein et al., 1999, stat. n. (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Euscorpius 287, pp. 1-29 : 7-9

Alpiscorpius beta ( Di Caporiacco, 1950) , comb. n., stat. n.

( Figures 13–17, 71, Tables 1, 2, 5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:02256D81-

6FBF-46C0-BB92-5B23BD676CA5

Euscorpius germanus “forma B”: Capra, 1939: 204.

Euscorpius germanus beta Di Caporiacco, 1950: 211 .

Euscorpius germanus germanus: Bonacina, 1980: 58 (in part).

Euscorpius (Euscorpius) germanus alpha: Fet & Sissom, 2000: 366–368 (in part).

Euscorpius (Alpiscorpius) alpha: Gantenbein et al., 2000: 858 (in part; Gondo, Fountainemore); Fet & Braunwalder, 2005: 34 (in part; Gondo, Zwischbergental).

Euscorpius alpha: Braunwalder, 2001: 281 (in part; Gondo, Zwischbergental); Vignoli & Salomone, 2008: 206 (in part); Fet, 2010: 6 (in part).

Euscorpius (Alpiscorpius) alpha Karyotypic race I (Eal 60): ŠtundlovÁ et al., 2019: 155.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Italy, Piedmont: Novara, Monte Massone, [45.947°N, 8.337°E] ( MZUF 5588), lectotype ♂ designated by Gantenbein et al. (2000: 856, 858). Paralectotypes: 5♂ 5♀ ( MZUF 5589-5593 ), type locality ; 1♂ 1♀ ( MZUF 5584-5585 ), Colle della Piccola Mologna , 2000 m ; 2♀ ( MZUF), Lamorano .

MATERIAL EXAMINED ( NMPC): 4♂ 8♀ . Italy, Piedmont: Tavigliano , 45.662°N 8.072°E, 1♀ (S647) ; Loreglia , 45.902°N 8.370°E, 2♂ (S589-S590) 1♂ 3♀ ; Val d’Aosta: Antey-St André , 45.788°N 7.589°E, 1♂ (S098) . Switzerland, Valais: Gondo , 46.195°N 8.137°E, 2♂ (S547, 589) 1♀ (S637) 3♀.

DIAGNOSIS. Alpiscorpius beta is a cryptic species of the “ alpha group” of the “ germanus compleX” defined by ŠtundlovÁ et al. (2019) as “Karyotypic race I (Eal 60)”, which has 2n = 60 chromosomes. The karyotype is composed of 34 metacentric, 14 submetacentric, 2 subtelocentric, and 10 telocentric chromosomes (fig. S1A in ŠtundlovÁ et al., 2019). The rDNA clusters are localized in the subterminal region of the long arms of the metacentric chromosome pair 4 (fig. 2A and fig. S1A in ŠtundlovÁ et al., 2019). Number of pectinal teeth (Dp) in male usually 8. Number of patellar ventral trichobothria (Pv) varies from 5 to 6. Reduction of patellar eXternal trichobothria from 4 to 3 rare in series et (<10%) and more common in series eb a (>10%); see also Notes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MALE. The following description is based primarily on a male from Gondo, Switzerland. Measurements of this specimen are presented in Table 1. Carapace, tergites, and pedipalps reddish-brown; carapace with some darker mottling; metasoma dark reddish-brown with dark mottling; telson, legs, and sternites dark yellow to reddish-brown; chelicerae light, slightly reticulated. Anterior edge of carapace essentially straight; smooth and lustrous, lacking any indication of carinae. There are two lateral eyes. Median eyes and tubercle are small in size. Tergites I–VII essentially smooth; tergite VII lacking lateral and median carinal pairs. Sternites III–VII smooth and lustrous; VII lacking lateral and median carinae. Stigmata are small, narrow elliptical. Metasomal segment V smooth without granulation and carinae. Vesicle of telson swollen and elongated, with short highly curved aculeus. Vesicle essentially void of granules, lustrous. Pectinal teeth number 8/7. Pedipalp carinae well-developed ( Figs. 13–15). Trichobothrial pattern type C, neobothriotaXic: chela ventral = 4/4; patellar eb = 4/5, eb a =4/4, esb = 2/2, em = 3/3, est = 3/3, et = 4/5; patellar ventral = 5/5. Tarsus of legs with single row of spinules on ventral surface.

VARIABILITY. We scored standard phenotypic markers for 7 eXamined specimens (5♂, 2♀), with the following variation observed:

Dp in males (n=5): 7/7 (1), 8/8 (3), 8/9 (1); in total, 7 in 20% (2), 8 in 70% (7) and 9 in 10% (1); mean = 7.90, SD = 0.57.

Dp in females (n=2): 6/4 (1), 6/6 (1).

Pv (n=7): 5/5 (3), 5/6 (1), 6/5 (1), 6/6 (2); in total, 5 in 57.14% (8), and 6 in 42.86% (6); mean = 5.43, SD = 0.51.

et (n=7): 4/3 (1), 4/4 (13); in total, 3 in 7.14% (1), and 4 in 92.86% (13); mean = 3.93, SD = 0.27.

eb a (n=7): 4/3 (2), 4/4 (12); in total, 3 in 14.29% (2) and 4 in 85.71% (12); mean = 3.86, SD = 0.36.

DISTRIBUTION. Italy (Piedmont, Val d’Aosta), Switzerland (Valais: Zwischbergental) ( Fig. 71).

NOTES. This taXon was first informally delineated by Capra (1939) as “Form B” from Val d’ Aosta, including the marginal, westernmost populations of “ Euscorpius germanus ” (sensu lato). It was formally described as a subspecies by Di Caporiacco (1950). Bonacina (1980) synonymized E. g. beta with E. g. germanus and noted that both taXa had five trichobothria on ventral aspect of patella (Pv =5). This synonymy, however, created a disjunct distribution for E. g. germanus sensu Bonacina (1980) . Italian populations studied by Bonacina (1980) should be reassessed, and their phenotypic markers scored from the material deposited in MCSNB.

Populations from Fontainemore (Val d’Aosta, Italy) and Gondo, on the Simplon Pass road ( Switzerland, Valais) were studied by Gantenbein et al. (2000) who synonymized E. germanus beta with E. alpha . The Gondo (or Simplon) population was studied in more detail by Braunwalder (2001) and Fet & Braunwalder (2005).

Gantenbein et al. (2000) published a 16S mtDNA sequence ( AJ389379 ), identical for Gondo and Fontainemore populations, which closely matches those of Eal 60 (= A. beta ) obtained independently by ŠtundlovÁ et al. (2019).

Following Gantenbein et al. (2000), both Braunwalder (2001) and Fet & Braunwalder (2005) addressed the Swiss population from Simplon as E. alpha . However, both Gantenbein et al. (2000) and Fet & Braunwalder (2005) noted morphological features (Pv=5 to 6, mean 5.40) distinguishing it from the more eastern Swiss populations of E. alpha (Ticino, Grisons), which usually had Pv=6.

Fet & Braunwalder (2005) scored the standard phenotypic markers for 25 specimens of this species from Switzerland (Simplon), with the following results :

Dp in males (n=6): mean= 8.17, SD = 0.58.

Dp in females (n=17): mean = 6.71, SD = 0.52,

Pv (n=25): mean = 5.40, SD = 0.50,

et (n=23): 3 in 2.17% (1), and 4 in 97.83% (45); mean = 3.98, SD = 0.15.

These data are consistent with the 7 eXamined specimens used for karyotype and DNA phylogeny study by ŠtundlovÁ et al. (2019). We confirm that males indeed have a higher Dp value than A. alpha (8 vs. 7), Pv varies between 5 and 6, and reduction of et from 4 to 3 is rare (ca. 2%, only one case out of 46 scored pedipalps).