Neobuthus maidensis, 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 : 59-66

Neobuthus maidensis sp. n.

( Figs. 263–267, 311–348, 414, 417, 438, Tables 4–5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:66CD40

7D-16F3-4EF1-9C4D-C32D57AD8267

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland, Maid, 11°00'03"N 47°06'30"E, 52 m a.s.l. ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Somaliland, Maid, 11°00'03"N 47°06' 30"E, 52 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 17SN, fig. 120 in Kovařík et al., 2018: 26 and fig. 38 in Kovařík, 2018: 8), 3.-4.IX.2017, 1♂ (holotype, No. 1320) 1♀ (paratype), leg. F. Kovařík ( UV detection), FKCP.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the village of collection.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 19.85 mm (male), 22.46 mm (female); carapace with area between anterior median carinae yellow to orange; tergites with 3 incomplete dark stripes; pedipalp relatively very slender, male with femur L/ W 2.56, patella L/ W 2.81, chela L/ W 5.33; 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 and ventroexternal carinae on pedipalp patella in female present, smooth; posterior margins of tergites sparsely setose (male) or with 1–2 pairs of macrosetae (female); pedipalps, legs, metasoma and telson with moderately short, non- spiniform macrosetae in male, and long, fine setae in female; male with sternites III–VI shagreened to smooth medially, sternite VII finely granulated with 4 granulated carinae; female with sternites III–VI smooth, sternite VII with 4 weak granulated carinae; metasoma I–III with median lateral carinae present in both sexes; lateral surface of metasoma V in male densely granulated, with granules separated; soles of telotarsi with relatively sparse setation, leg III of adults with 12–14 ventral macrosetae on telotarsus; pectine teeth: 19–21 (male), 15–16 (female).

DESCRIPTION. Total length of adult male 19.85 mm, of adult female 22.46 mm; measurements of carapace, telson, segments of metasoma and pedipalps given in Table 1; positions and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps shown in Figs. 332–335 and 338–339; trichobothrium d 2 usually absent from femur and patella; base color pale yellow to white with variable fuscous pigmentation and patterns of dark maculation on metasoma, and very weakly on 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 male, smooth and glossy in female; sternites smooth in females and partly granulated in male; macrosetae on pedipalps, legs, metasoma and telson much longer and finer in female than male; other sex differences cited below.

Pedipalp ( Figs. 331–346). Pedipalp mostly sparsely hirsute; finely granulated in male and smooth in female; femur with five conspicuously granulose carinae, more strongly developed in male; patella with seven granulose carinae developed in male, and five smooth carinae in female; ventroexternal and dorsoexternal carinae on pedipalp patella in female present, smooth; chela with smooth carinae indicated in male, and more clearly developed in female.

Carapace ( Figs. 315–316). Strongly trapezoidal (narrower anteriorly), wider than long (L/ W 0.82 –0.83); 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 6–8 macrosetae; all carinae indistinct; dense granulation covering most of carapace.

Chelicera. Fingers with typical buthid dentition (Vachon, 196 3, 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, mediumsized subdistal and medial, and 2 small, partially fused basal denticles; ventral margin with 2 denticles.

Mesosoma ( Figs. 311–318). Tergites I–VI bear three carinae of which the lateral pair may be less conspicuous mainly on tergites I–IV; tergite VII bears five welldefined carinae (median, submedians and laterals); tergites I–VI granular, with coarser granules on posterior lateral areas; tergite VII densely granular; sternites III– VI smooth medially and granulate laterally in male and smooth in female; sternite VII with four well-defined carinae, sternite VII densely, finely granulated in male and weakly granulated in female; sternum type 1, triangular in shape, smooth, with deep posteromedian invagination; genital opercula smooth; genital papillae present; pectines extending to around a quarter of sternite V in male and around end of sternite IV in female; pectine teeth 19 and 21 in male, 15 and 16 in female; combs with 3 marginal lamellae and 8–9 middle lamellae; marginal lamellae, middle lamellae and fulcra with dense cover of short dark reddish macrosetae; fulcra with 2–5 setae.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 263–267). Typical of the genus.

Legs ( Figs. 319–322). 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 setae on ventral aspect, 12–14 macrosetae on telotarsus III; tibial spurs moderate on leg IV and reduced, very short on leg III.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 323–330). Metasoma and telson sparsely hirsute, setae moderately short in male and longer in female, straight and reddish; metasomal segments I–III with 10 carinae, IV with 6–8 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 dentatelobate ventrolateral carinae; segments I–IV with dense granulation on all intercarinal surfaces including dorsal surfaces; segment V densely granular on lateral and ventral surfaces, more coarsely so on ventral surface, granules not arranged along any traces of carinae; telson smooth, 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. maidensis sp. n. from all other species of the genus. N. maidensis sp. n. has the narrowest pedipalp patella among all Neobuthus species ( Fig. 417) and several other unique characters, mainly almost white color ( Figs. 347–348), and indistinct anterior median carapacial carinae. The limited available sample of specimens precludes us from characterizing intraspecific variability of this species.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality, 17SN is sandy semi-desert to desert (fig. 120 in Kovařík et al., 2018: 26 and fig. 38 in Kovařík, 2018: 8). The types of N. maidensis sp. n. were obtained at night during UV collecting together with Compsobuthus maidensis Kovařík, 2018 (type locality), Gint maidensis Kovařík et al., 2018 (type locality), Hottentotta sp. , and Leiurus sp. (Buthidae) . The first author arrived at the locality at night on 3th September 2017 at 21.00. At this time the temperature was 38.6 ºC and humidity 52%. Minimum temperature of 31.9 ºC and humidity of 46% were recorded on 4th September 2017 in the early morning.