Diplocentrus hoffmanni Francke, 1977

Santibäñez-López, Carlos E., Francke, Oscar F. & Prendini, Lorenzo, 2013, Systematics of the keyserlingii group of Diplocentrus Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae), with descriptions of three new species from Oaxaca, Mexico, American Museum Novitates 2013 (3777), pp. 1-48 : 18-19

Diplocentrus hoffmanni Francke, 1977

Figures 1C , 4B ; tables 1, 2

Diplocentrus hoffmanni Francke, 1977: 150 , 185–191, 194, 198, figs. 7, 14, 22, 51–54; Sissom, 1991: 156; Sissom and Walker, 1992: 130; Sissom, 1994: 257, 264, 265, figs. 20–22; Kovařík, 1998: 130; Beutelspacher and Trujillo-Olvera, 1999: 8; Beutelspacher, 2000: 29; Sissom and Fet, 2000: 338; Armas and Martín-Frías, 2003: 74; Francke and Ponce-Saavedra, 2005: 52.

TYPE MATERIAL: MEXICO: OAXACA: DISTRITO DE ETLA: Municipio de Santiago Tenango : Holotype ♂, paratype ♀ ( AMNH), near Tejocote [17°14′N 97°00′W], 7800 ft, summer 1963, C.M. Bogert, under logs; paratype ♂ ( AMNH), Tejocote, 31 mi. NW Oaxaca city, 7600 ft,

9.ix.1962, M. R. Bogert. Municipio de San Francisco Telixtlahuaca : Paratype ♂ ( AMNH), Telixtlahuaca, 6 mi. N [17°17.667′N 96°54.25′W], 7050 ft , 26.vii.1966, C.M. Bogert, under rocks in moderately dry area with oak and juniper.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: MEXICO: OAXACA: DISTRITO DE ETLA: Municipio de San Francisco Telixtlahuaca: Telixtlahuaca , 6 km N, 17°20.367′N 96°56.121′W, 1915 m, 22.vii.2002, O. Francke, E. González and J. Ponce, SE slope, dry scrub, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ ( AMCC [ LP 2036 ]), 1 ♂ ( CNAN) . DISTRITO DE ZIMATLAN: Municipio de Magdalena Mixtepec: Magdalena Mixtepec , 16°52.824′N 96°51.056′W, 1710 m, 19–20.vi.2006, O. Francke, G. Villegas, H. Montaño, C. Santibáñez and A. Valdez, 1 ♂, 4 ♀, 4 subad. ♀, 2 juv. ( AMNH), 2 ♂, 3 ♀, 4 subad. ♀, 2 juv. ( CNAN), 2 ♀ ( AMCC [ LP 6599 ]) . DISTRITO DE TLACOLULA: Mitla , 15 km E, 16°56.606′N 96°17.114′W, 2081 m, 18.vii.2007, O. Francke, H. Montaño, A. Valdez, A. Ballesteros, and C. Santibáñez, pine-oak woodland, 1 ♂ ( CNAN), 1 ♂ ( AMCC [ LP 7615 ])

DIAGNOSIS: The following character combination, updated from Francke (1977), is diagnostic for D. hoffmanni . Total length (adult), up to 55 mm. Base coloration (adult) reddish brown to orange-brown. Carapace anteromedian notch moderately deep, V-shaped; frontal lobes and interocular surface moderately granular. Pedipalp femur, dorsal surface sparsely and moderately granular. Pedipalp patella, dorsomedian carina strongly developed, crenulate (♂); dorsoexternal carina weakly to moderately developed, coarsely granular to crenulate (♂); externomedian carina weakly developed, granular (♂); ventromedian carina obsolete to weakly developed, slightly granular (♂, ♀). Pedipalp chela manus, dorsal surface sparsely granular, surface between dorsal secondary and digital carinae sparsely granular and slightly reticulate (♂) or weakly reticulate (♀); digital and dorsal secondary carinae moderately to weakly developed, granular (♂; fig. 4B) or obsolete, smooth (♀); fingers gently curved. Legs I–IV telotarsi, counts of spiniform macrosetae in pro- and retroventral rows, 5/5:5/5–6:6/6:6/6–7 (variation in table 2). Pectinal tooth count, 9–11, mode = 11 (♂) or 7–9, mode = 8 (♀) (variation in table 1).

Diplocentrus hoffmanni resembles D. keyserlingii , D. kraepelini , n. sp., and D. sissomi , n. sp., in adult size and coloration but can be distinguished as follows. The pedipalp patella ventromedian carina (♂) is weakly developed to obsolete, the pedipalp chela manus, dorsal surface (♀) weakly reticulate, and the digital carina (♂) granular to smooth in D. hoffmanni , whereas the pedipalp patella ventromedian carina (♂) is strongly developed, smooth to granular, the pedipalp chela manus, dorsal surface (♀) smooth, and the digital carina (♂) smooth to crenulate in D. kraepelini , n. sp., and D. sissomi , n. sp. The pedipalp chela manus, dorsal surface (♂) is slightly granular in D. hoffmanni but markedly reticulate in D. keyserlingii , and the counts of spiniform macrosetae on the telotarsi of legs III and IV are higher in D. hoffmanni (6/6:6/6–7) than in D. keyserlingii (5/5:5/6).

DISTRIBUTION: Diplocentrus hoffmanni is known from the central valleys and adjacent mountains of Oaxaca in the following municipalities: Magdalena Mixtepec, San Francisco Telixtlahuaca, and Santiago Tenango (fig. 3A).

ECOLOGY: This species was observed doorkeeping at burrow entrances at night with UV detection, and was excavated during the daytime. Burrows, constructed in sandy soil at an angle of ca. 30°–40° to the ground surface, were ca. 20–30 cm long, with turns in places due to the presence of stones in the soil matrix (fig. 1A). The area where this species was collected was heavily disturbed, but there were remnants of oak forest. The habitat and habitus of D. hoffmanni are consistent with the pelophilous ecomorphotype ( Prendini, 2001).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Diplocentrus keyserlingii group, microhabitat and representative species. A. Diplocentrus hoffmanni Francke, 1977, burrow entrance. B. Diplocentrus sissomi, n. sp., female with brood in burrow under stone. C. D. hoffmanni, ♂. D. Diplocentrus mitlae Francke, 1977, ♂. E. Diplocentrus rectimanus Pocock, 1898, ♂. F. D. sissomi, n. sp., ♀.

FIGURE 4. Diplocentrus keyserlingii group, dextral pedipalp chela, dorsoexternal aspect. A. Diplocentrus coylei Fritts and Sissom, 1996, ♂ (AMNH). B. Diplocentrus hoffmanni Francke, 1977, ♂ (CNAN). Scale bar = 1 mm.