Neobuthus factorio, Kovařík & Lowe & Awale & Elmi & Abdi, 2018

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Awale, Ahmed Ibrahim, Elmi, Hassan Sh Abdirahman & Abdi, Ali, 2018, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part XVII. Revision of Neobuthus, with description of seven new species from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somaliland (Buthidae), Euscorpius 271, pp. 1-82 : 27-36

Neobuthus factorio sp. n.

( Figs. 124–128, 133–181, 409, 438, Tables 1 and 5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F9A4F3

BD-87D9-44CA-852F-9EAE0081F271

Neobuthus ferrugineus: Kovařík & Lowe, 2012: 3–7 , figs. 29, 32, 41–42, 50–51, 62–66, 72 (in part).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland , Laas Gel, 50 km NE Hargeisa, 09°46'47"N 44°26'43"E, 1043 m a.s.l. ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Somaliland , Laas Gel, 50 km NE Hargeisa, 09°46'47"N 44°26'43"E, 1043 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 17SF /=17SD/), 1♂ (holotype, No. 1323) 2♀ 1juv.♂ (paratypes) , FKCP, 1♀ (paratypes) GLPC, 28.-30.VIII.2017, leg. F. Kovařík ( UV detection) ; 15 km near Sheikh , Goolis mts. , 09°58.9'N 45°10.3'E, 1247 m a.s.l. (figs. 63–64 in Kovařík & Lowe, 2012: 13), 10.VII.2011, 1♂ (14O96-97 figs. 32, 42, 50–51, 62–64, 72 in Kovařík & Lowe, 2012: 3–7), leg. F. Kovařík , FKCP; near Sheikh , 09°46.1'N 45°17.5'E, 1329 m a.s.l. (fig. 66 in Kovařík & Lowe, 2012: 14), 10.-11.VII.2011, 1♀ (14O98- 99 figs. 29, 41, 65–66, 72 in Kovařík & Lowe, 2012: 3–7), leg. F. Kovařík , FKCP; 15 km N of Sheikh, Goolis Mts. , 09°32'27.7"N 45°31'38.9"E, 1056 m a.s.l (Locality No. 17SB), 2♀ im. (No. 1203), 6.II. 2017, leg. F. Kovařík et D. Král , FKCP; Sheikh , Goolis Mts., 09°56'38"N 45°10'59"E, 1418 m a.s.l (Locality No. 18SK = 17SO), 2♂ (Nos. 1545, 1546), 31.VIII. 2018, leg. F. Kovařík ( UV detection) , FKCP .

ETYMOLOGY. Named after a game made by the son of the first author.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 17–19 mm (males), 24–27 mm (females); carapace with area between anterior median carinae yellow to orange; tergites with 3 dark stripes, median stripe flanked on either side by broad longitudinal yellow bands that may be broken by fuscosity extending across anterior tergites; pedipalp relatively slender, males with femur L/ W 2.42 –2.70, patella L/ W 2.18 –2.28, chela L/ W 4.25 –4.48; chela movable finger with 5 subrows of primary denticles, 4 external accessory denticles flanking proximal end of each subrow; trichobothria d 2 usually absent from femur and patella; dorsoexternal carina on pedipalp patella in female weakly indicated, ventroexternal carina absent; smooth dorsal carinae on pedipalp chela present; posterior margins of tergites without or with 1–2 pairs of macrosetae; pedipalps, legs, metasoma and telson with moderately short, not spiniform macrosetae in males, and long, fine setae in females; males with sternites III–VI shagreened to smooth medially, sternite VII shagreened with 4, granulated carinae; females with sternites III–VI smooth, sternite VII with 4 weak granulated carinae; metasoma I–III with median lateral and dorsal carinae present in both sexes; lateral surface of metasoma V granulated in both sexes, with granules separated; soles of telotarsi with relatively sparse setation, leg III of adults with 14– 18 ventral macrosetae on telotarsus; pectine teeth: 16–19 (males), 14–18 (females).

DESCRIPTION. Total length of adult males 17–19 mm, of adult females 24–27 mm; measurements of carapace, telson, segments of metasoma and pedipalps given in Table 1; positions and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps shown in Figs. 156–159 and 162–163; trichobothrium d 2 usually absent from femur and patella; base color pale yellow with variable fuscous pigmentation ( Figs. 176–179) and patterns of dark maculation on metasoma, pedipalps and legs; chelicerae yellow with dark reticulation on anterior manus, dentition reddish. Sexual dimorphism: strong, adult males substantially smaller, but without differences in shapes of pedipalps, metasoma and telson; pedipalp patella and femur granulate and matte in males, smooth and glossy in females; sternites smooth in females and shagreened to smooth medially in males; macrosetae on pedipalps, legs, metasoma and telson much longer and finer in females than males; other sex differences cited below.

Pedipalp ( Figs. 155–175). Pedipalp mostly sparsely hirsute; finely granulated in males and smooth in females; femur with five conspicuously granulose carinae, more strongly developed in males; patella with seven granulose carinae, weakly developed in males and weakly indicated in females; chela with at least dorsal carinae present.

Carapace ( Figs. 137, 139, 141–142). Strongly trapezoidal (narrower anteriorly), wider than long (L/ W 0.82 –0.88); posterior median postocular area flat, anterior median preocular area gently sloped downwards towards anterior margin; lateral flanks steeply sloped; ocular tubercle broad, prominent, located slightly anterior to middle of carapace; anterior margin straight, finely microdenticulate, with coarser granules overlapping edge, bearing 8 macrosetae; anterior median carinae present, coarsely granular, other carinae indistinct; dense granulation covering most of carapace.

Chelicera ( Figs. 173–175). Fingers with typical buthid dentition ( Vachon, 1963, Lowe & Kovařík, 2016); fixed finger with large distal denticle, 1 subdistal denticle and 2 basal denticles fused into bicusp, single denticle on ventral surface at level of bicusp; dorsal margin of movable finger with 5 denticles: 1 large distal denticle, medium-sized subdistal and medial, and 2 small, partially fused basal denticles; ventral margin with 2 denticles.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 137–144). Tergites I–VI bear three carinae of which the lateral pair may be less conspicuous mainly on tergites I–IV; tergite VII bears five well-defined carinae (median, submedians and laterals); tergites I–VI densely granular, with coarser granules on posterior lateral areas; tergite VII densely granular; sternites III–VI smooth in females, and shagreened to smooth medially and granulate laterally in males; sternite VII granulated in both sexes, more so in males, with four weak to well-defined carinae; sternum type 1, triangular in shape; smooth, with deep posteromedian invagination; genital opercula smooth; genital papillae present; pectines extending to around half of sternite V in male and around a quarter of sternite IV in female; pectine teeth 16–19 in males, 14–18 in females; combs with 3 marginal lamellae and 7–8 middle lamellae; marginal lamellae, middle lamellae and fulcra with dense cover of short dark reddish macrosetae; fulcra with 2–4 setae.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 173–175). Typical of the genus.

Legs ( Figs. 145–148). Coxa, femora, patella and tibia of all legs bearing variable numbers of short to medium length, straight, dark-reddish macrosetae; tarsi with mix of short and longer, dark-reddish macrosetae; basitarsi I– III slightly compressed with flat retrolateral surfaces, with bristle combs consisting of retrosuperior series of longer macrosetae, plus retroinferior and proinferior series of shorter macrosetae; telotarsi with two rows of short macrosetae on ventral aspect, 13–16 macrosetae on telotarsus III; tibial spurs moderate on leg IV and almost reduced on leg III.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 149–154). Metasoma and telson sparsely hirsute, macrosetae moderately short in male and longer in female, straight and reddish; metasomal segments I–III with 10 carinae, IV with 8 carinae, V with 2 carinae; segments I–III with moderate, granulate dorsolateral carinae, other carinae relatively well developed; segment IV with weakly indicated dorsolateral carinae; segment V with strong, granulate to dentate-lobate ventrolateral carinae; segments I–IV with dense granulation on all intercarinal surfaces except dorsal surfaces which are sparsely granulated; segment V densely granular on lateral and ventral surfaces, more coarsely so on ventral surface, granules not arranged along any traces of carinae; telson tuberculate, ventral surface sparsely, weakly granular; vesicle slightly elongated; aculeus stout, shorter than vesicle, tip of aculeus almost vertically directed.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish N. factorio sp. n. from all other species of the genus. According to the distribution (see Fig. 438) the localities of N. factorio sp. n. are near to the localities of N. berberensis . Males of N. berberensis have the metasoma without setae or with macrosetae very short, stout and spiniform ( Figs. 67–68) while males of N. factorio sp. n. have metasoma with macrosetae moderately short, not very spiniform ( Figs. 152–154). Females of N. berberensis have dorsoexternal carinae on pedipalp patella well developed while females of N. factorio sp. n. have these carinae absent or weakly indicated.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality, 17SF (fig. 48 in Kovařík et al., 2018: 10) ,

is in rocky semi-desert terrain with the riverbed of an occasional river in the center. N. factorio sp. n. was recorded at night during UV light collecting together with Gint amoudensis Kovařík et al., 2018 (type locality), Hottentotta polystictus (Pocock, 189 6), Parabuthus heterurus Pocock, 1897 (Buthidae) , and Pandinurus sp. (Scorpionidae) . At this locality, the first author recorded maximum daytime temperatures of 33.8 ºC (28th August 2017) and 34.7 ºC (29th August 2017), and a minimum nighttime temperature of 22.8 ºC (29th August 2017) and 23.2 ºC (30th August 2017). The recorded humidity was between 26% and 54%.