Vaejovis davidi Soleglad & Fet, 2005

Soleglad, Michael E. & Fet, Victor, 2005, A new scorpion genus (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae) from Mexico, Euscorpius 24 (24), pp. 1-13 : 7-12

Vaejovis davidi Soleglad & Fet , sp. nov.

Vejovis gracilis: Soleglad, 1975: 108-119 (in part: Puebla specimens only).

Diagnosis (based on female). Slender member of Vaejovis “nigrescens” group. Metasoma slender, segment I length/width>= 1.0, segment II length/width>

som & González (2004). 1.2, segment V length/width>= 3.00; telson vesicle elongated, telson length/vesicle length <1.45; chelal movable finger longer than carapace; ventrolateral and ventromedian carinae of metasomal segments I-IV well developed and crenulate; posterior termination of dorsal carinae of metasomal segment IV not formed in conspicuous spine; carapace finely granulate; median denticle (MD) row groups of chelal fixed finger number six; carinae of chela irregularly granulose; chelal finger denticle edges not noticeably scalloped; lateral carinae of sternite V well developed and granulose; pectinal tooth counts 17-19 (18.17) [n = 6]. Male unknown.

Etymology. Named after our colleague and friend W. David Sissom, who has contributed considerably to the knowledge of the vaejovids, in particular, the “nigrescens” (formerly “nitidulus”) group of Vaejovis .

Type locality. Cueva de la Barranca , 8 km. SW Cuelzalan, Puebla, Mexico, 25 December 1973 (D. McKenzie), holotype female, deposited in AMNH .

Material (type specimen and after Soleglad, 1975: 117-118). Cueva de la Barranca, 8 km. SW Cuelzalan, Puebla, Mexico , 25 December 1973 (D. McKenzie), 2 females (holotype and paratype); Grutas de Jonotla , 7 km. SW Cuelzalan, Puebla, Mexico , 26

December 1973 (J. Reddell, R. Jameson, D. McKenzie), 1 female paratype. Except for the female holotype, which was recently located, the other two type series specimens are apparently lost ( Sissom, 1986: 11).

Description ( Fig. 6 ). For detailed description, morphometrics and structure illustrations see Soleglad (1975). Note, only the three female specimens from Puebla are included in this species, the other two female specimens from Veracruz and Oaxaca are excluded, presumably a different specie(s). Therefore, the following figures in Soleglad (1975) are applicable for this species: Fig. 1 , dorsal view; Fig. 2 , carapace; Fig. 3 , stigmata; Fig. 4 , chela, lateral view; Figs. 5-7 , chelicerae, dorsal, external and ventral views; Figs. 8-9 , denticle configurations of chelal fixed and movable fingers; Fig. 10 , sternum, genital operculum and pectines; Figs. 11-12 , telson, ventral and lateral views; Fig. 16 , lateral eyes; Fig. 18 , tarsus III, exterolateral view; Fig. 20 , metasoma, lateral view; Figs. 21 -32, trichobothrial patterns. Tables 1 and 2 (Puebla specimens only).

Discussion. Member of Vaejovis “nigrescens” group based on the following characters (male unknown, for figure references see Soleglad, 1975): genital operculum of female separated on posterior ¼ ( Fig. 10 ); chelal trichobothria ib and it situated on base of fixed finger, posterior of basal inner (ID) and outer denticles (OD) ( Fig. 24 ); basal pectinal teeth formed normally, not elongate and/or lacking sensorial areas ( Fig. 10 ); carapace with noticeable anterior notch ( Fig. 2 ); ventral edge of cheliceral movable finger with well developed serru- lae ( Figs. 6-7 ); dorsointernal (D5) carina of chela well developed with conspicuous granulation; ventral spinule row of leg tarsus terminates distally in a single pair of spinules; chelal fingers elongate, terminating in a “white patch”; chela elongate, length/width ratio> 5.0 ( Fig. 4 ). Male unknown, therefore hemispermatophore structure unknown.

Using Sissom & González’s (2004) species key as a basis, V. davidi keys out to couplet 13, where V. gracilis is contrasted with other species by its conspicuous slenderness. V. davidi is also more slender than other species of this group, but presumably not as slender as V. gracilis (see Table 1 for species comparisons). However, morphometrics are difficult to contrast since a sexually mature male is known for V. gracilis whereas only females are known for V. davidi (i.e., the metasoma of sexually mature males is usually more slender than that of a female). By creating a relative difference-ratio for the metasoma, using species V. mitchelli , a slender species, we can determine with some certainty, that the metasoma of a male V. davidi in all probability would not be as thin as that found in V. gracilis , especially segment V. In V. mitchelli , metasomal segments I and V are 11.3 % and 2.8 % thinner in the male, respectively. Using this for a comparative basis, we see that segment I of V. davidi would be quite close to that in V. gracilis , however segment V is not, exhibiting a hypothetical L/W ratio of 3.122 vs. 4.313. In addition, V. davidi , though found in caves, is more pigmented, not exhibiting noticeable cave adaptedness as seen in V. gracilis ; and, the carapace is finely granulose in V. davidi , whereas in V. gracilis , it is basically smooth.

Species list. The following twelve species comprise the Vaejovis “nigrescens” group (general locality data based on specimens examined; Gertsch & Soleglad, 1972; Soleglad, 1975; Williams, 1980; Sissom & Francke, 1985; Sissom, 1991; Capes, 2001; Sissom & González, 2004):

V. curvidigitus Sissom, 1991 . Guerrero, Morelos,

Oaxaca.

V. davidi Soleglad & Fet , sp. nov. Puebla. V. decipiens Hoffmann, 1931 . Chihuahua. V. gracilis Gertsch & Soleglad, 1972 . Veracruz. V. intermedius Borelli, 1915 . Texas (SW), USA; Chi-

huahua, Coahuila, Durango. V. janssi Williams, 1980 . Isla Socorro ( Figs. 20-29 ). V. mauryi Sissom, 1991 . Sonora. V. mitchelli Sissom, 1991 . Querétaro, San Luis Potosí. V. nigrescens Pocock, 1898 . Aguascalientes, Distrito

Federal, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán,

México, Querétaro, Zacatecas .

V. norteno Sissom & González, 2004 . Coahuila, Nuevo Leon.

V. pococki Sissom, 1991 . Guanajuato, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí.

V. solegladi Sissom, 1991 . Oaxaca, Puebla.

Figures

Figure 6: Trichobothrial patterns of external aspect of pedipalp patella for genus Franckeus. Patterns based on specimen of F. peninsularis and, in part, on Sissom & Francke (1985: Figs. 11, 46) and Sissom (1991: Figs. 14, 34, 54). Orthobothriotaxy depicted as opened circles and accessory trichobothrium depicted as a closed circle.

Figure 7: Trichobothrial patterns of external aspect of pedipalp patella for “nigrescens” group of genus Vaejovis. Patterns based on specimen of V. janssi and, in part, on Soleglad (1975: Fig. 25), Sissom & Francke (1985: Figs. 16, 26, 36), Sissom (1986: Fig. 4), Sissom (1991: Figs. 4, 24, 44, 64) and Capes (2001: Fig. 3).

Figure 8: Chelal finger terminus of Serradigitus subtilimanus showing the apical “white patch” of the fixed and movable fingers.

Figure 9: Map of Mexico (partial) showing general distribution of genus Franckeus. Locality data based on Williams (1980), Sissom &

Figures 1-3: Patellar trichobothrial configurations for external series em and esb. 1. Typical configuration for Vaejovis “nigrescens” group, showing em series angling towards the proximal aspect of the patella. 2. Configuration for Franckeus, hypothesizing em series slanting towards distal aspect of the patella, accessory trichobothria positioned adjacent to esb1 (after Sissom & Francke, 1985). 3. Configuration for Franckeus, hypothesizing em series slanting towards proximal aspect of the patella, accessory trichobothria positioned adjacent to em1 (after Soleglad & Fet, 2003).

Figures 4-5: Clustered trichobothrial patterns of the patellar external series em and esb. 4. Vaejovis “nigrescens” group. 5. Franckeus. Each cluster is anchored at trichobothrium em1, the other trichobothria clusters are plotted from this trichobothrium. em series is shaded white, esb series is shaded light gray and the accessory trichobothrium is shaded dark gray. Trichobothria plots, 11 species for “nigrescens” group and six species for Franckeus, are based on patterns illustrated in Figs. 6-7, only species Vaejovis norteno is not represented.

Figures 10-19: Franckeus peninsularis, male. 10-16. Pedipalp showing trichobothrial pattern and carinal development. 17. Telson and metasomal segments IV-V, lateral view. 18-19. Chelal fixed and movable fingers, showing denticle organization.

Figures 20-29: Vaejovis janssi, male. 20-26. Pedipalp showing trichobothrial pattern and carinal development. 27. Telson and metasomal segments IV-V, lateral view. 28-29. Chelal fixed and movable fingers, showing denticle organization.