Mesobuthus mesopotamicus ( Penther, 1912 )

Kovařík, František, Fet, Victor, Gantenbein, Benjamin, Graham, Matthew R., Aydin, Ersen, Yağmur, Šťáhlavský, František, Nikita, Poverennyi & Novruzov, Nizami E., 2022, A revision of the genus Mesobuthus Vachon 1950 with a description of 14 new species (Scorpiones Buthidae), Euscorpius 348, pp. 1-189 : 92-97

Mesobuthus mesopotamicus ( Penther, 1912) , stat. n.

( Figures 610–649 , 1155–1156, 1164, Tables 7, 15) http: //zoobank. org/urn: lsid: zoobank. org: act: 48250000-

B2C9-4358-838E-DB90549C064E

Buthus eupaeus (incorrect spelling) mesopotamicus Penther, 1912: 111–112 .

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Iraq, Mosul (36.34°N 43.13°E) ; NHMW.

REFERENCES (selected):

Buthus eupeus mesopotamicus: Birula, 1917a: 39 , 41, 228; Birula, 1918: 15–24, figs. 3–5.

Mesobuthus eupeus mesopotamicus: Vachon, 1958: 155 ; Fet, 1994: 527; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 173 (complete references list until 1998).

Mesobuthus eupeus: Crucitti & Cicuzza, 2000: 287 ; Teruel, 2002: 75–76, figs. 1–3 (in part); KarataŞ & KarataŞ, 2003: 1–4, figs. 1–2 (in part);?KarataŞ & Çolak, 2005: 3–4, fig. 1; Yağmur et al., 2007: 97–98 (in part).

Mesobuthus eupeus phillipsii: KovařÍk et al., 2011: 5–13 (in part), figs. 12–15, 17–18, 21–22, 24–27.

Mesobuthus phillipsii: Hussen & Ahmad, 2020: 6717–6718 , figs. 1, 6; Kachel et al., 2021: 4.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED ( NHMW). Iraq (“Mesopotamien”), Mosul (36.34°N 43.13°E), 1♂ ( NMW 2951 , lectotype designated here, Figs. 610–611 , 614, 616–618 , 622–631 , 642–643, 646–649 ), 2♂ 8♀ ( NMW 2951 , paralectotypes, Figs. 612–613 , 615, 619–621 , 632–641 , 644–645 ); 28 Маy 1910, leg . V. Pietschmann ; Kal‘at Schergat (= Qal‘at Shergat = Assur, 35.46°N 43.26°E), 1♂ 2♀ ( NMW 2953 , paralectotypes), 11 Маy 1910, leg . V. Pietschmann ; Assur (= Qal´at Shergat, 35.46°N 43.26°E), 1♂ 1♀ 1juv.♂ ( NMW 2954 , paralectotypes), 19 Маy 1910, 1♀ ( NMW 2955 , paralectotype), leg . V. Pietschmann .

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. Iraq, Haditha (34.15°N 42.24°E), 1958, 2juvs ., NMPC; Baghdad env. (33.31°N 44.21°E), 17♂ 44♀ 88juvs., 1923, leg. Vlasta Kálalová , NMPC. Syria, Damascus (33.51°N 36.21°E), 3♀, June 1963, leg. HavlÍn , NMPC. Turkey, Adıyaman Province, Nemrut Mountain (37.98°N 38.74°E), 9 June 1996, 1♂, leg. M. SnÍžek , NMPC; Sincik, Kocahisar Village , 37°56'35"N 38°38'47"E (37.93°N 38.63°E), 625 m a. s. l., 15 July 2020, 5♂, leg. F. Alaca ; Diyarbakır Province, Ergani District, Tevekli Village , 38°11'54"N 39°51'37"E (38.18°N 39.85°E), 823 m a. s. l., 16 June 2007, 1♀, leg. E. A. Yağmur & M. Yalçın , NMPC; Çermik District , 6 km SW of Petekkaya Village, 38°03'06"N 39°24'17"E (38.05°N 39.40°E), 722 m a. s. l., 11 April 2008, 1♀, leg. E. A. Yağmur , NMPC; Gaziantep Province, Şehitkamil, Bedirköy , 37°10'34"N 37°26'57"E (37.17°N 37.43°E), 852 m a. s. l., 29 August 2020, 7♂ 2♀ 3juvs., leg. E. A. Yağmur, E. Tezcan & M. Özkörük , AZMM; Şahimbey, Perilikaya, Gaziantep Town , 10 May 2010, 3♂ 1♀ (Nos. 211, 217, 223), leg. E. A. Yağmur , AZMM; Kahramanmaraş Province, Türkoğlu, Evri Village , 37°16′13″N 37°08′33″E (37.27°N 37.13°E), 720 m a. s. l., 23 June 2007, 7♂ 2♀ 11juvs. (No. 1897), leg. E. A. Yağmur , AZMM; Mardin Province, YeŞilli, Hop Pass , 37°22'20"N 40°51'51"E (37.37°N 40.85°E), 1161 m a. s. l., 14 April 2010, 3♀ 3juvs, leg. E. A. Yağmur , AZMM; YeŞilli , 37°19'57"N 40°48'33"E (37.33°N 40.81°E), 12 May 2013, 1♀ (No. 370), leg. H. Koç , AZMM; Şanlıurfa Province, Birecik District, Çiçekalan Village , 36°56'74"N 38°01'37"E (36.93°N 38.02°E), 410 m a. s. l., 1 April 2006, 1♂ 1♀, leg. E. A. Yağmur & M. Z. Yıldız, NMPC; Kelaynak Valley, 2 km N of Birecik District, 37°02'59"N 37°59'07"E (37.03°N 37.98°E), 388 m a. s. l., 1 April 2006, 1♀, leg. E. A. Yağmur & M. Özkörük, NMPC; Birecik District, Çiçekalan Village, 36°56'74"N 38°01'37"E (36.93°N 38.02°E), 410 m a. s. l., 1 April 2008, 1♀ 2juvs.(♀ ♂), leg. M. Z. Yıldız , NMPC; Halfeti, SavaŞan Village , 1 km S of Halfeti, 37°17'17"N 37°51'49"E (37.28°N 37.85°E), 576 m a. s. l., 30 March 2008, 2♂ 2♀, leg. E. A. Yağmur , AZMM; Ceylanpınar , 3 km W of Ceylanpınar Town, 36°51'59"N 39°59'59"E (36.87°N 39.99°E), 376 m a. s. l., 1 April 2011, 4♀ 7juvs., leg. E. A. Yağmur , AZMM; Central , N of Tektek Mountains, 37°10'08"N 35°13'40"E (37.17°N 35.22°E), 555 m a. s. l., 10 June 2007, 2 juvs., leg. E. A. Yağmur & H. Koç , AZMM; Şırnak Province, İdil District, Yörük Villag , 37°16'57"N 42°01'07"E (37.27°N 42.02°E), 669 m a. s. l., 21 May 2009, 1♀ 1juv.♂, leg. E. A. Yağmur , NMPC; İdil , 40 km NW of İdil, 37°18'57"N 41°42'48"E (37.32°N 41.70°E), 828 m a. s. l., 12 April 2011, 2♀ 2juvs., leg. E. A. Yağmur & M. Özkörük , AZMM; Şırnak, Uludere, Bağlıca Village , 37°27'00"N 42°45'08"E (37.45°N 42.75°E), 931 m a. s. l., 10–15 October 2018, 8♂ 2♀, leg. D. Türk , AZMM.

DNA DATA. This species was represented in our survey by two DNA sequences from Turkey (KahramanmaraŞ and Mardin Provinces ) ( Table 16) .

DIAGNOSIS. Total length of adults 38 mm (male) to 58 mm (female). Trichobothrium db on fixed finger of pedipalp situated between trichobothria est and esb, near to est. Male with fingers proximally more twisted than in female. Pedipalp chela length/width ratio 3.2–3.45 in both sexes. Pectinal teeth number 21–27 in male, 16–22 in female. Chelicerae yellow, without reticulation. Pedipalps and metasoma sparsely hirsute. Carapace and tergites yellowish to reddish brown, black pigmented; metasoma, telson, pedipalps and legs yellowish brown, only part of metasomal segment V black. Femur of pedipalp with 4–5 granulated carinae. Patella with 8 usually smooth carinae, both dorsal can be granulated. Chela lacks carinae. Movable fingers of pedipalps with 11–12 cutting rows of denticles and 5 terminal denticles. Central lateral and posterior lateral carinae of carapace not joined to form a continuous linear series of granules to posterior margin. Sternite VII smooth, with 4 well marked smooth or granulated carinae. Metasomal segment I with 10 carinae; segments II to IV with 8 carinae, other two carinae are indicated by incomplete row of denticles on metasomal segments II and III; segment V with 5 carinae. Metasoma with all carinae granulated. Intercarinal surfaces on metasoma laterally smooth. Length to depth ratio of metasoma III 1.3–1.45, metasoma IV 1.65–1.8 in both sexes. Telotarsus III ventral setation represented by short and strong spiniform setae. Tarsi hirsute, in adults with 7–9 retroinferior macrosetae on basitarsus III. Telson bulbous, mainly in female. Anal lobe divided into three or four parts.

HISTORY OF STUDY. This taxon was described, as a subspecies of Buthus eupeus , in 1912 by an Austrian naturalist Arnold Penther (1865–1931) from the collections of Victor Pietschmann (1881–1956) in 1910 in Mesopotamia, now in Iraq, then still part of the Ottoman Empire. A few years later, right before the World War I started, a Russian zoologist Petr Nesterov (1883–1941) conducted a detailed exploration of the border region between the Ottoman Empire and Persia (now Iran). Nesterov’s collections were brought to ZISP and his scorpions were thoroughly studied by Birula (1918) who confirmed validity of Penther’s subspecies. It was recently considered a synonym of Mesobuthus eupeus phillipsii (see KovařÍk et al., 2011: 5) or M. phillipsii (see KovařÍk, 2019). Here, we restore it from synonymy and elevate to species status, according to our DNA phylogeny.

DISTRIBUTION. Iraq, Syria, Turkey (Figs. 1155–1156).

Figures

Figures 610–613: Mesobuthus mesopotamicus. Figures 610–611. Male lectotype, dorsal (610) and ventral (611) views. Figures 612–613. Female paralectotype, dorsal (612) and ventral (613) views. Scale bars: 10 mm (610–611, 612–613).

Figures 614–621: Mesobuthus mesopotamicus. Figures 614, 616–618. Male lectotype, telson lateral (614), metasoma and telson, lateral (616), dorsal (617), and ventral (618) views. Figures 615, 619–621. Female paralectotype, telson lateral (615), metasoma and telson, lateral (619), dorsal (620), and ventral (621) views. Scale bars: 10 mm (616–618, 619–621).

Figures 622–641: Mesobuthus mesopotamicus, pedipalp. Figures 622–631. Male lectotype, chela, dorsal (622), external (623), and ventral (624) views. Patella, dorsal (625), external (626) and ventral (627) views. Femur and trochanter, internal (628), dorsal (629), and ventral (630) views. Movable finger (631). Figures 632–641. Female paralectotype, chela, dorsal (632), external (633), and ventral (634) views. Patella, dorsal (635), external (636) and ventral (637) views. Femur and trochanter, internal (638), dorsal (639), and ventral (640) views. Movable finger (641). The trichobothrial pattern is indicated in Figures 622–626, 628–629.

Figures 642–649: Mesobuthus mesopotamicus. Figures 642–643, 646–649. Male lectotype, chelicerae, carapace and tergites I–IV (642), sternopectinal region and sternites (643), and left legs I–IV, retrolateral aspect (646–649). Figures 644–645. Female paralectotype, chelicerae, carapace and tergites I–III (644), sternopectinal region and sternites III–V (645).