Parabuthus somalilandus, 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 : 48-57

Parabuthus somalilandus sp. n.

( Figs. 228–265, 272–273, 302–305, Tables 3–5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:128EC132-

75AF-4B0A-BC46-2C73C8786885

Parabuthus heterurus (in part) KovařÍk et al., 2016: 34–36 , figs. 98, 103).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland , Sheikh, Goolis Mts., 09°56‘38“N 45°10‘59“E, 1418 m a.s.l (Locality No. 18SK = 17SO, Fig. 265) ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL ( FKCP). Somaliland, Sheikh, Goolis Mts. , 09°56‘38“N 45°10‘59“E, 1418 m a.s.l (Locality No. 18SK), 1♂ (holotype, 1551; FKCP; hemispermatophores GLPC), 31.VIII.2018, leg. F. KovařÍk, (Locality No. 17SO), 1♂ 3juvs. (paratypes), 6.-7.IX.2017, leg. F. KovařÍk; Sheikh , 09°57‘25.9“N 45°09‘52.2“E, 1492 m a.s.l. (locality No 11SN, Fig. 264), 12.VII.2011, 1♀ 1juv.♂ (paratypes), leg. F. KovařÍk; near Sheikh , foothills of Goolis Mts , 09°59.881‘N 45°09.762‘E, 896 m a.s.l., 1♀1juv.♀ (paratypes), XI.2010, leg . T. Mazuch; Burao, airport, 09°31‘51“N 45°33‘15“E, 1040 m a.s.l (Locality No. 17SC), 6.II.2017, 1juv.♂ (paratype), leg. F. KovařÍk; Laas Gel , 50 km NE Hargeisa, 09°46‘47“N 44°26‘43“E, 1043 m a.s.l., XI.2010, 1♂ (paratype), leg . T. Mazuch, (Locality No. 17SF =17SD), 28.-30.VIII.2017, 2juvs. ♂ ♀ (paratypes), leg. F. KovařÍk; Agabar , 09°53‘04.8“N 43°57‘40.9“E, 982 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 19SO), 9.VII.2019, 1♀ (paratype, 1672), leg. F. KovařÍk et T. Mazuch .

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the country of occurence.

DIAGNOSIS. Adult from 70 mm (male) to 95 mm (female) long. Base color uniformly yellow to yellowish brown, tergites brown to black, fourth metasomal segment and telson black. Pectine teeth number 39–44 in males and 36–39 in females. Stridulatory area present on dorsal surface of metasoma I–II, reduced or absent in metasoma III, and absent in metasoma IV–V. Metasoma densely hirsute. Metasoma V length/ width ratio is 1.58–1.60 in males. Dorsal carina of metasoma IV composed posteriorly of blunt denticles, of which the posterior-most denticle is not enlarged. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 13–14 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 3.38–3.91 in males. Pedipalp chela smooth and patella finely granulated. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with bristle-combs.

DESCRIPTION. The adults are 75 mm (male) – 90 mm (female) long. The habitus is shown in Figs. 228–231. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 239–243, 245–246. Sexual dimorphism: adult males with pedipalp chela broader. Female with basal middle lamella wide ( Fig. 255) and a smaller number of pectine teeth.

Coloration ( Figs. 228–231, 260–263). 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, metasoma IV is black, and metasoma V is yellow with black pattern mainly on dorsal surface laterally. Telson is black. Carapace and tergites can be yellowish brown or almost black, tergite VII in male could be yellow to yellowish brown.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 228–231, 252–255). 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 39–44 (1x39, 2x40, 3x40, 5x42, 1x44) in males and 36–39 (4x36, 4x37,1x39) 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 11–13 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. 232–237). 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 1.58–1.60 in males and 1.46–1.50 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. 238–249). 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 13–14 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 3.38–3.91 in males and 4.50–4.69 in females.

Legs ( Figs. 256–259). 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. The bristle-combs are present on all legs, although slightly reduced on the fourth leg.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 214–218). Flagelliform, elongate and slender. Trunk ca. 14 times length of capsule region. Flagellum emanating from posterior lobe of capsule; pars recta narrow, hyaline, ribbon-like, 0.85× length of capsule; pars reflecta narrow, hyaline in proximal 30% of length, becoming thicker, opaque white in distal 70% of length, in total ca. 5.3× 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. Left and right hemispermatophores were similar. Hemispermatophore is similar to that reported for other Parabuthus species ( KovařÍk et al., 2016).