Hottentotta khoozestanus Navidpour, Kovařík

Navidpour, Shahrokh, Kovařík, František, Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2008, Scorpions of Iran (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part I. Khoozestan Province, Euscorpius 65 (69), pp. 1-41 : 11

Hottentotta khoozestanus Navidpour, Kovařík ,

Soleglad et Fet, sp. n.

Figures 13–16, 17, 74–76; Table 1

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Iran, Khoozestan Province , Behbahan –Dailam road, 31°55'N 49°44'E, RRLS .

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iran, South-east part of Khoozestan Province, Behbahan –Dailam road, 31°55'N 49°44'E, VI.2006, 1♀ (holotype) RRLS, leg. Navidpour. The holotype was captured under stone .

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the type locality

DIAGNOSIS. Total length of female holotype 119.5 mm. For habitus see Figs. 74–75. Trichobothrium db on fixed finger of pedipalp situated between trichobothria et and est or dt and et ( Fig. 13). Chelicerae reticulate. Pectinal teeth number 28–30. Pedipalps and metasoma bear only a few hairs. Color yellowish green except black spot on anterior part of carapace. Femur of pedipalp with 3 carinae, patella with 8 carinae (some of them weakly indicated), chela lacks carinae. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 16 rows of granules and 4 or 5 terminal granules. Seventh mesosomal sternite smooth, with 4 smooth carinae. First and second metasomal segments with 10 carinae; third and fourth segments with 8 carinae and fifth segment with 5 carinae, 3 ventral (1 median, 2 lateral) and 2 dorsal. Dorsal carinae of metasomal segments bear terminal granules of size approximately equal to preceding granules. Dorsal surface smooth, fifth metasomal segment with 2 short, inconspicuous carinae. Ventral carinae on first to fourth metasomal segments smooth, without granules. All metasomal segments longer than wide.

DESCRIPTION: The total length of female holotype is 119.5 mm. The habitus is shown in Figs. 74–75. Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and of the pedipalps, and numbers of pectinal teeth in the holotype and allotype are given in Table 1. Trichobothrium db on the the fixed finger of pedipalp is situated between trichobothria et and est or dt and et ( Fig. 13). Pectinal teeth in the female number 28 and 30. Chelicerae are yellow, reticulate, fingers of chelicerae are black.

COLORATION: The color is yellowish green except for a black spot on the anterior part of the carapace.

MESOSOMA: The mesosoma has three dorsal and two ventral carinae, except for the seventh segment which bears four obsolete ventral carinae. The dorsal surface is granulated, whereas the ventral surface is smooth.

PEDIPALPS: The pedipalps are smooth to glossy, without hairs. The femur of pedipalp bears three discrete carinae, two other carinae are indicated only by a few scattered granules. The patella has eight carinae, some of which are weakly indicated. The chela lacks carinae. The movable fingers of pedipalps bear 16 rows of granules and 4 or 5 terminal granules ( Fig. 16).

METASOMA AND TELSON: All metasomal segments are longer than wide.The first and second segments bear 10 carinae, the third and fourth segments bears eight carinae, and the fifth segment bears five carinae, three ventral (one median, two lateral) and two dorsal. The dorsal surface is smooth and glossy, and the fifth metasomal segment bears two short, inconspicuous carinae. The ventral carinae on the first to fourth metasomal segments are smooth, without granules. The lateral carinae are smooth and weakly defined, whereas dorsal carinae of all segments bear obsolete granules of even size. The intervals between carinae are smooth, without granules, only the ventral surface of the fifth segment bears additional rows of granules. A subaculear tooth is absent; the telson is bulbous, essentially smooth, with only a few scattered granules.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish H. khoozestanus sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. Together with H. saulcyi (Simon, 1880) and H. schach (Birula, 1905) , the new species is among the largest in the genus. The last species hitherto described from Iran is H. zagrosensis Kovařík, 1997 . H. khoozestanus sp. n. can be easily distinguished from the above named three species on two characters: (1) Hairless pedipalps and metasoma, which in the other three species are densely hirsute. And (2) coloration; whereas H. khoozestanus sp. n. has the fifth metasomal segment and telson yellow, in the other three species those parts are black ( H. zagrosensis is entirely black).