Parabuthus robustus, Kovařík & Lowe & Elmi & Šťáhlavský, 2019

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Elmi, Hassan Sh Abdirahman & Šťáhlavský, František, 2019, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida Scorpiones) Part XXI Parabuthus (Buthidae) (Part II), with description of five new species from Somaliland and Ethiopia, Euscorpius 290, pp. 1-63 : 37-48

Parabuthus robustus sp. n.

( Figs. 137–149, 190–213, 219–227, 270–271, 299–301, 305, Tables 3–5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:761318CC-

056F-44DB-B5E7-004A40618161

Parabuthus heterurus (in part) KovařÍk et al., 2016: 34–36 , figs. 94–97, 99–102, 176–177, 190, 199, 204).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland , Toon village near Hargeisa, 09°23‘30“N 44°07‘10“E, 1272 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 17 SE, Fig. 227) ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL ( FKCP). Ethiopia, ca 20 km on road from Jijiga to Dagah Bur, 09°09.353‘N 43°07.962‘E, 1741 m a.s.l. ,

1♂ 1♀ 2juvs. ♀ (paratypes), XI.2010, leg. T. Mazuch ; beetwen Jijiga and Degehbur, 09°09‘18.7“N 43°08‘03.5“E, 1740 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 11EU), 17.VII.2011 , 4♀ 2juvs. ♀ 1juv.♂ (paratypes), leg. F. KovařÍk. Somaliland, between Hargeisa and Salahle, 09°12‘16“N 44°99‘51.5“E, 1229 m. a.s.l., (locality No. 11 SQ), 14.VII.2011 , 1♂ 1♀ (paratypes), leg. F. KovařÍk; Toon village near Hargeisa, 09°23‘30“N 44°07‘10“E, 1272 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 17 SE), 8.II.2017 , 4♂ 1♀ 1juv.♂ (holotype and paratypes, 1557, 1572, 1590), leg. F. KovařÍk ( FKCP; hemispermatophores GLPC) .

ETYMOLOGY. The name conveys the visual impression when first encountering this species, especially the males with their wide pedipalp chelae.

DIAGNOSIS. Adult from 65 mm (male) to 80 mm (female) long. Base color uniformly yellow to yellowish brown, tergites brown to black, fourth metasomal segment and telson black. Pectine teeth number 34–42 in males and 33–37 in females. Stridulatory area present on dorsal surface of metasoma I– II, reduced in metasoma III, and absent in metasoma IV–V. Metasoma densely hirsute. Metasoma V length/ width ratio is 1.46–1.57 in males. Dorsal carina of metasoma IV posteriorly composed of blunt denticles, of which the posterior-most denticle is not enlarged. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12–13 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. Fingers of pedipalp not elongated. Fingers of pedipalps of male with inner side of base smooth, no trace of tubercle. Manus of pedipalp of male broad, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 2.93–3.16 in males. Pedipalp chela smooth and patella finely granulated. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with bristle-combs.

DESCRIPTION. The adults are 65 mm (male) – 85 mm (female) long. The habitus is shown in Figs. 190–193. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 138–143, and 145–146. Sexual dimorphism: adult males with pedipalp chela broader. Female with basal middle lamella wide ( Fig. 204).

Coloration ( Figs. 190–193, 219–223). The base color is uniformly yellow to yellowish brown, tergites brown to black. The pedipalps and legs are yellow. The metasoma I–III is yellow, the metasoma II could be light orange, metasoma IV is black, and metasoma V is yellow with fuscous patterns mainly on dorsal surface towards the lateral edges. Telson is black. Carapace and tergites can be yellowish brown or almost black, tergite VII in male could be yellowish brown.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 190–193, 200–204). The entire carapace is covered with large granules, more in males. Carinae are absent. The anterior margin of the carapace is almost straight, medially weakly convex, and bears 14–18 symmetrically distributed short, stout spiniform macrosetae. The tergites are granulated, more so in males. Tergite VII is pentacarinate, with lateral pairs of carinae strong, serratocrenulate. The pectinal tooth count is 34–42 (1x34, 1x36, 1x37, 3x38, 5x39, 4x40, 1x42) in males and 33–37 (1x33, 9x35, 7x36, 2x37, 2x38) in females. The pectine marginal tips extend to the end of the fourth sternite in the male and to the end of the third sternite in the female. The pectines have three marginal lamellae and 10–13 middle lamellae. The lamellae and fulcra bear numerous dark setae. All sternites are smooth, except that there is a stridulatory area on the third sternite that is more visible in the male. Sternite VII bears four carinae that are more visible in the male.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 194–199). The first to fourth metasomal segments bear a total of 10 granulated carinae. The fifth segment has five carinae, and its ventral and lateral surfaces are strongly granulated. The ventral surface of metasomal segment V has several strong paired granules symmetrically located laterally in the middle part. Dorsolateral carinae of the third and fourth segments composed of blunt denticles, of which the posterior-most denticle is not enlarged. The stridulatory area is located on the dorsal surface of the first and second segments in both sexes. On the third segment it is reduced or absent and on fourth and fifth segments the stridulatory area is absent. The entire metasoma and the telson are pilose with long hairs. The ventral surface of the telson is strongly granulated. The metasomal segment V length/ width ratio is 1.46–1.57 in males and 1.48–1.52 in females. The telson is rather bulbous, with the aculeus approximately the same length as the vesicle in males and little bit shorter in females.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 137–149). The pedipalps are hirsute with shorter setae on the chela and the patella, and longer setae on the femur, and trochanter. The femur bears four carinae. The chela is smooth without carinae and the patella is finely granulated with carinae indicated. The movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12–13 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. The fingers of pedipalps of male with inner side of base smooth, tubercle absent. The manus of pedipalp of male broad, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 2.93–3.16 in males and 4.38–4.44 in females.

Legs ( Figs. 205–208). Legs III and IV bear tibial spurs. Retrolateral and prolateral pedal spurs are present on all legs. All legs without distinct carinae and smooth. The tarsomeres bear two rows of macrosetae on the ventral surface and other macrosetae on the other surfaces. Bristlecombs are present on all legs, although slightly reduced on the fourth leg.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 209–213). Flagelliform, elongate and slender. Trunk ca. 9.2 times length of capsule region. Flagellum emanating from posterior lobe of capsule; pars recta narrow, hyaline, ribbon-like, 0.75× length of capsule; pars reflecta narrow, hyaline in proximal 20% of length, becoming thicker, opaque white in distal 80% of length, in total ca. 4× length of capsule. Capsule region with 3 lobes: broad posterior lobe with angulate apical margin and strong anterior carina; small anterior lobe with narrowed apical tip; and robust basal lobe with sharp pointed tip. Similar morphology was found for 3 other hemispermatophores (including left and right) from this species (locality 17SE, Sc1557, 1572). Hemispermatophore is similar to that reported for other Parabuthus species ( KovařÍk et al., 2016).

Measurements. See Table 3.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish P. robustus sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. P. robustus sp. n. is a member of P. heterurus complex, which is characterized by both non-elongated pedipalp fingers ( Figs. 266–273) and a combination of metasoma IV black and metasoma V yellow ( Figs. 194– 199). P. robustus sp. n. is characterized by relatively stable color pattern and differs from other species by metasomal granulation and morphometrically.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. P. robustus sp. n. inhabits semidesert to rocky areas on the Ethiopia / Somaliland border. The types were collected by day under rocks, often in short burrows ( Figs. 224–225) together with Gint calviceps (Pocock, 1900) and Pandinurus hangarale KovařÍk et al., 2017 (type locality).