Euscorpius tergestinus (C. L. Koch, 1837 )

Tropea, Gioele, 2013, Reconsideration of the taxonomy of Euscorpius tergestinus (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Euscorpius 162, pp. 1-23 : 3-4

Euscorpius tergestinus (C. L. Koch, 1837) , s.str.

Scorpius tergestinus C. L. Koch, 1837: 106 , pl. CVII-CVIII, Fig. 247-248, surroundings of Trieste, Italy (leg. Wagner).

Syntypes (male and female), formerly in J. Sturm’s collection in Nuremberg ( Birula, 1917), now are presumed lost (Fet & Sissom, 2000).

Neotype from Osp, Slovenia, assigned in Fet & Soleglad (2002) is not valid due to misidentification, since it does not correspond to the original description (see below). A new neotype is designated according to ICZN Article 75 as it is required for the purposes of clarifying the taxonomic status of specific populations.

Neotype: male, Basovizza , Trieste , Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy ( MSNT); label as: SC N° 4001 Sito 2L- UTM: Trieste , Basovizza, Hotel Pesek, 450 m a.s.l., 16- 9-2005, leg. A. Quadracci.

Synonyms:

Scorpius tergestinus var. austriacus Ferrari, 1872: 657-658 . Syntypes: 2 specimens ( NHMW 1901 ), Krems , Austria, 30 June 1873 (leg. J. Ferrari).

Euscorpius carpathicus mesotrichus Hadži, 1929: 36-38 , Fig. 5-6; a junior primary homonym of E. italicus mesotrichus Hadži, 1929 ( Capra, 1939: 202; Di Caporiacco, 1950: 181; Fet, 1997: 248); synonymized by Di Caporiacco (1950: 181) with E. carpathicus tergestinus (C. L. Koch, 1837) . Syntypes: 2 males, 7 females (depository unknown), southern Slovenia. Not E. “mesotrichus” sensu Kinzelbach (1975), as stated by Fet & Sissom (2000), misidentification.

Diagnosis: A medium Euscorpius species , total length 27-38 mm. Color of adults light brown-reddish with carapace and pedipalps darker, reddish. With more or less expressed reticulations or marbling on carapace, metasoma and chelicerae. Trichobothria db on the base of the fixed finger in line with the trichobothria eb or esb or slightly moved, esb proximal to eb. The number of trichobothria on the pedipalp manus ventral surface is 4 (3 V + Et 1); the number of trichobothria on the pedipalp patella ventral surface usually is 10/11 (10 in 50% and 11 in 41.56% of examined pedipalps); the number of trichobothria on pedipalp patella external surface is: eb = 4, eba = 4, esb = 2, em = 4, est = 4, et = 7-8 (series et = 7 in 35.06% and et = 8 in 61.04% of examined pedipalps). The pectinal teeth count usually is 9 in males (in 81.58% of pectines examined) and 7 to 8 in females (7 in 32.05% and 8 in 56.41% of pectines examined). The telson vesicle in males is more swollen than in females: average L/H ratio of the vesicle is 1.85 (min. 1.79, max. 1.94) in males and 2.15 (min. 1.95, max 2.28) in females. Chela with a strong notch on fixed finger and scalloping of the movable finger in adult males, obsolete in females; Lchel/Wchel ratio is 2.42 in males and 2.52 in females. Dorsal patellar spur medium developed. Femur usually shorter than patella or as long as it; Lfem/Lpat ratio is 0.97. Average ratio Lcar/Wcar is 0.965; average value of the length from center of median eyes to anterior margin of the carapace is 43.21% of the carapace length. Average value of the length from center of median eyes to posterior margin of the carapace is 56.79% of the carapace length. Average ratio of Lmet/Lcar is 2.88 in males and 2.72 in females.