Scorpiops prasiti, Kovařík & Lowe & Stockmann & Šťáhlavský, 2020

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Stockmann, Mark & Šťáhlavský, František, 2020, Revision of genus-group taxa in the family Scorpiopidae Kraepelin, 1905, with description of 15 new species (Arachnida Scorpiones), Euscorpius 325, pp. 1-140 : 90-96

Scorpiops prasiti sp. n.

( Figures 601–633 , 799 , Tables 6, 9) http: //zoobank. org / urn: lsid: zoobank. org: act: 4401E957-

2A7E-4E1F-A68D-775D3CF8349C

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Thailand, Mae Hong Son Province, Pang Mapha District, Limestone sinkhole env., 19°31'45.95"N 98° 9'41.20"E (19.52°N 98.15°E) ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Thailand, Mae Hong Son Province, Pang Mapha District, Limestone sinkhole env., 19°31'45.95"N 98° 9'41.20"E (19.52°N 98.15°E), 7.XII.2014, 2♂ 1♀ (holotype and paratypes), leg. Prasit Wongprom and Chaowalit Songsangchote ; FKCP.

ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Prasit Wongprom, one of the collectors of the new species.

DIAGNOSIS (♂ ♀). Total length 48–53 mm. Base color uniformly reddish black. Telson and legs reddish brown. Pectine teeth number 8 in males, 6–7 in female, fulcra absent. Pectines with 3 marginal and one middle lamellae. Patella of pedipalp with 20– 22 (5 eb, 2 esb, 2 em, 6 est, 5–7 et) external and 14–15 ventral trichobothria. Chela of pedipalp with 4 V series trichobothria located on ventral surface. Chelal trichobothrium Eb 3 located in distal half of manus between trichobothria Dt and Est. Fingers of pedipalps undulate in both sexes. Chela length to width ratio 5.52 in male, 3.73 in female. Pedipalp movable finger with ca. 70 IAD which create a second row, parallel with MD (ca. 95 in number). There are also 7 ID and 14–15 OD present. Tarsomere II of legs with row of 4–6 stout median ventral spinules and two pairs of flanking setae. Metasoma I with 10 carinae and metasoma II–IV with 8 carinae. Telson elongate and finely granulated granulate, length to depth ratio 3.4 in male and 3.36 in female; annular ring developed in both sexes.

DESCRIPTION (♂ ♀). Total length 48–53 mm. Habitus as shown in Figs. 601–604 . For position and distribution of trichobothria on pedipalps, see Figs. 613–618 . Sexual dimorphism: adult males have larger pectines than females; pedipalp chela is more narrow in male; fingers of pedipalps undulate in both sexes ( Figs. 614 and 621 ).

Coloration ( Figs. 601–604 ). Base color uniformly reddish black to black. Legs and telson are reddish brown, sternites lighter, yellowish to reddish brown. Chelicerae yellowish brown and reticulate, fingers reddish brown.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 601–604 , 627–630 ). Entire carapace covered with minute granules; carinae absent. Anterior margin of carapace with a deep median notch. Carapace with 3 pairs of lateral eyes of which two are normal and one is reduced. Mesosoma finely granulated, with one median carina developed. Tergite VII is pentacarinate. Sternites smooth with two parallel furrows except sternite VII which is finely granulated with two or four granulate carinae indicated. Pectine teeth number 8 in male and 6–7 in female. Pectines with 3 marginal and 1 middle lamellae; fulcra absent. Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 605–612 ). Metasoma sparsely hirsute and granulated, with sparse, relatively large granules. Metasomal segment I with 10 carinae, II–IV with 8 carinae, and V with 5 carinae. Median lateral carinae of metasoma II and V indicated by isolated granules that may coalesce into carinae. Dorsolateral carinae of segments II–IV terminate posteriorly in a pronounced tooth. Telson elongate and granulate with annular ring developed in both sexes.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 613–626 ). Pedipalps very sparsely hirsute. Patella with 20–22 (5 eb, 2 esb, 2 em, 6 est, 5–7 et) external and 14–15 ventral trichobothria. Chela with 4 V series trichobothria located on ventral surface. Femur and patella are finely granulated. Femur with 3–4 granulose carinae, and patella with 5 carinae, with dorsal and ventral patellar spurs pronounced. Manus dorsally with fine reticulated, rounded granules, which in the central area form an irregular dorsal secondary carina. External surface of chela covered by minute granules, with an almost complete external secondary carina with larger sparse granules. Movable fingers with ca. 70 IAD which create a second row, parallel with MD (ca. 95 in number) and there are also 7 ID and 14–15 OD present.

Legs ( Figs. 631–633 ). Tibia and tarsomeres of legs with several setae not arranged into bristle combs on dorsal surfaces but with rows of spinules on dorsolateral surfaces and on legs I – II also on ventrolateral surface. Tarsomere II of legs with row of 4–6 stout median ventral spinules and two pairs of flanking setae. Femur with 3–4 and patella 4–5 carinae; both femur and patella granulated.

Measurements. See Table 6.

AFFINITIES. The combination of five characters (chelal trichobothrium Eb 3 located in distal half of manus between trichobothria Dt and Est; patella of pedipalp with 14–15 ventral and 20–22 external trichobothria; fingers of pedipalps undulate in both sexes; pedipalp movable finger with ca. 70 IAD; and chela length to width ratio 5.5 in male) is unique in the entire genus Scorpiops . The most similar species is S. alexandreanneorum from Laos which differs in having fingers of pedipalps straight in the male (vs. undulate in S. prasiti sp. n.), different shape of pedipalp chela which is narrower in S. alexandreanneorum (see Table 9) and total length (38 mm in S. alexandreanneorum vs. 48–53 mm in S. prasiti sp. n.). The combination of 13–18 patellar ventral and 22–27 patellar external trichobothria was also a diagnostic character for the genus Neoscorpiops from India, which is here synonymized with Scorpiops . S. prasiti sp. n. differs from all species previously placed in Neoscorpiops by the shape of the chela which is narrower in S. prasiti sp. n. (chela length to width ratio 5.5 in S. prasiti sp. n. vs. 2.8–5.1 in species previously placed in genus Neoscorpiops ). Additionally, all species previously placed in the genus Neoscorpiops have pedipalp fingers undulate in males.

DISTRIBUTION. Thailand ( Fig. 799 ).

Figures

Figure 799. Geographic distribution of the family Scorpiopidae. The map plots locality

Figures 601–604: Scorpiops prasiti sp. n. Figures 601–602. Male holotype in dorsal (601) and ventral (602) views. Figures 603–604. Female paratype in dorsal (603) and ventral (604) views. Scale bar: 10 mm.

Figures 605–612: Scorpiops prasiti sp. n. Figures 605–608. Female paratype, telson lateral (605), and metasoma and telson lateral (606), ventral (607), and dorsal (608) views. Figures 609–612. Male holotype, telson lateral (609), and metasoma and telson lateral (610), ventral (611), and dorsal (612) views. Scale bars: 10 mm (606–608, 610–612).

Figures 613–626: Scorpiops prasiti sp. n., pedipalp segments. Figures 613–619. Male holotype, chela dorsal (613), external (614) and ventral (615) views. Patella dorsal (616), external (617) and ventral (618) views. Movable finger (619) dentition. Trichobothrial pattern is indicated by white circles (613–618). Figures 620–625. Female paratype, chela dorsal (620), external (621) and ventral (622) views. Patella dorsal (623), external (624) and ventral (625) views. Movable finger (626) dentition under UV light.

Figures 627–633: Scorpiops prasiti sp. n. Figures 627, 629, 631–633. Male holotype, carapace and tergites I–III (627), coxosternal area and sternites III–IV (629), and left legs II–IV, retrolateral aspect (631–633 respectively). Figures 628, 630. Female paratype, carapace and tergites I–III (628), coxosternal area and sternites III–IV (630).