Lisposoma josehermana Lamoral, 1979

PRENDINI, LORENZO, 2005, New Records and Observations on the Natural History of Lisposoma elegans and L. josehermana (Scorpiones: Bothriuridae), American Museum Novitates 3487, pp. 1-12 : 8-10

Lisposoma josehermana Lamoral, 1979

Lisposoma josehermana Lamoral, 1979: 665–668 , fig. 327, 328, 331–340.

Lisposoma josehermana: Francke, 1982: 36 ; Kovařík, 1998: 101; Prendini, 2000: 40, table 3, figs. 2 , 6, 8A; Fet et al., 2004: 195–207, table I, II, figs. 2 , 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 20; Acosta and Fet, 2005: 4 .

Lisposoma joseehermanorum: Lowe and Fet, 2000: 34 ; Prendini, 2001: 137; Prendini, 2003a: figs. 2 –4, appendix 1; Prendini, 2003b: 247, 257–262, figs. 1, 2 , 18–34, table 2; Prendini, 2005a: 45, 51, 70 (appendix 1).

NOMENCLATURE: Following Acosta and Fet (2005), Lamoral’s (1979) original specific epithet, josehermana , is used, rather than Lowe and Fet’s (2000) unjustified emendation, subsequently cited by Prendini (2001, 2003a, 2003b, 2005a).

TYPE MATERIAL: NAMIBIA: Oshikoto Region: Tsumeb District: Holotype? ( NMSA 10697 [Type No. 2223]), Farm Elandshoek 771, 198269S 178429E, Otavi Highlands , 8.iii.1969, B. Lamoral & R. Day. Paratypes: same data as holotype, 1 subad.? ( NMNW 765 ex NMSA 11110 ), 2 juv.? ( NMSA 11110 [Type No. 2224]) . Otjozondjupa Region: Grootfontein District: Märchenhöhle, Farm Uisib 427, 19 8329S 178149E, 13.ii.1977, P. von Wrede, found in cave, 1 subad. / ( NMSA 11388 [Type No. 2297]); same data, except ‘‘ 7.viii.1977 ’’, 1/ ( NMSA 11389 [Type No. 2298]); Kempten (Höhle) [198339S 178149E, Farm Uisib 427], 6.viii.1977, P. von Wrede, ges. im Lehm Canon (found in cave), 1 subad.? ( NMSA 11390 [Type No. 2299]) .

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL: NAMIBIA: Oshikoto Region: Tsumeb District: Farm Elandshoek 771, ca. 10 km SW Tsumeb, Otavi Highlands [198269S 178429E], 25.iv.1980, A. Harington, under ill fitting stones on S slope of hillside, no burrows or scrapes, leaf littered, 1/ 1 juv. / ( AMNH), 1 subad.? ( AMNH [AH 1342]), 1 subad. / ( AMNH [AH 1344]), 1 juv.? ( AMNH [AH 1343]); Elandshoek, Tsumeb, 198149S 178439E, 1– 16.iv.1984, J. Visser, 1? ( SAMC C4333 [JV 3207]), 1/ ( SAMC C4331 [JV 3157]), 1/ ( SAMC C4332 [JV 3208]); Farm Varianto on Elandshoek 771, 19822.7739S 17844.4569E, 4.i.2004, L. Prendini, E. Scott, T. & C. Bird, Q. & N. Martins, collected with UV light on warm, still, very humid night after rain, completely overcast with slight, occasional drizzle, walking or sitting on rocks and rockfaces, on the ground, or in crevices (two pairs in copula), on and at the base of rocky dolomite slopes (especially S­ and E­facing) in dense broadleaf woodland with Burkea , Dichrostachys , Commiphora , Terminalia, 1500 m , syntopic with Parabuthus kraepelini Werner, 1902 , U. planimanus , Hadogenes hahni (Peters, 1862) , and O. carinatus , 16? 54/ ( AMNH), 5? 9/ 6 subad.? 1 subad. / ( NMNW 2677), 7 juv.? 4 juv. / ( AMCC 138989). Otjozondjupa Region: Grootfontein District: Märchenhöhle [198329S 178149E], 30.viii.1990, E. Marais, 1/ ( NMNW 1352), 30.viii.1990 – 7.iv.1991, E. Marais, preservative pitfall trap, 1/ ( NMNW 1622); Farm Uisib 427, 15 km NW of Otavi, on slopes and near base of mountain, 19833.1329S 17814.1249E, 2.i.2004, L. Prendini, E. Scott, T. & C. Bird, Q. & N. Martins, collected from under stones, often in dense leaf litter, during the day, and with UV light on warm, humid night, last quarter moon, sitting or walking on rock faces and rock crevices, mostly at the base of a rocky dolomite slope in dense broadleaf thicket with Dichrostachys , Spirostachys , and Sclerocarya, 1293 m , sympatric with P. kraepelini , U. otjimbinguensis (in trees), H. hahni , O. carinatus , and Opistophthalmus fitzsimonsi Hewitt, 1935 ,? 7/ 5 subad.? 5 subad. / ( AMNH), 6 subad.? 4 subad. / ( NMNW 2676), 6 juv.? 4 juv. / ( AMCC 138988), near farmhouse, 19833.1139S 17813.0879E, 3.i.2004, L. Prendini, E. Scott, T. & C. Bird, Q. & N. Martins, under calcrete stone on open sandy plain, sympatric with P. brevimanus , P. kraepelini , O. carinatus , and O. fitzsimonsi, 1343 m , 1 juv. / ( AMNH); Tsumeb, 27 mi SE [198279S 188029E], 19– 20.xii.1966, E.S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, 1400 m, 1? 2/ ( CASC). Otjiwarongo District: Waterberg, 15 mi NE [208159S 178309E], 21.xii.1966, E.S. Ross & K. Lorenzen, 1470 m, 1/ ( CASC). Waterberg Plateau Park: Bernabé de la Bat Rest Camp, below cliff face, 20830.8039S 17814.7539E, 1.i.2004, L. Prendini, E. Scott, Q. & N. Martins, collected with UV light on warm, still, humid night, half moon obscured by clouds (partly overcast), on SE slope of Waterberg, in fairly dense broadleaf woodland with Acacia , Aloe, Dicrostachys , especially just below cliff face, specimen sitting on ground between stones, midway upslope, 1440 m, sympatric with U. otjimbinguensis (in trees), U. planimanus , H. hahni , and O. carinatus , 1? ( AMNH); Waterberg Plateau, on top [208259S 178159E], ii– iii.1990, W. Versfeld, 1/ ( NMNW 2223).

DISTRIBUTION: Lisposoma josehermana is now known from 10 localities, falling within six QDS, in the Oshikoto Region ( Tsumeb District ) and the Otjozondjupa Region ( Grootfontein and Otjiwarongo districts) of northeastern Namibia ( fig. 9 ). It is recorded, for the first time, from the Waterberg Plateau and at least one specimen has been collected from within the borders of the Waterberg Plateau Park. The new record from Bernabé de la Bat Rest Camp is the southernmost record and a range extension for the species .

NATURAL HISTORY: All newly collected specimens of L. josehermana were found on and particularly at the base of steep, rocky slopes or cliff faces, in dense broadleaf woodland or thicket habitats supporting a fairly lush undergrowth of grasses and herbs (figs. 4, 5). Although they occur at similar elevations, the Mountain Savanna and Karstveld ( Giess, 1971) habitats at the two localities in the Otavi Highlands (Uisib and Varianto), where most of the specimens were collected, were noticeably more mesic than the Tree Savanna and Woodland ( Giess, 1971) habitat at the Waterberg, where only a single, much smaller adult male was collect­ ed. The geology of the two mountain ranges is also quite different: The Otavi Highlands are composed of limestone and dolomite, which is more porous than the sandstone that makes up the caprock of the Waterberg.

At Uisib, several specimens were taken from under stones during diurnal searches. In all cases, the stones under which specimens were found, were situated in the shade of large trees and usually also close to large rock outcrops (figs. 6, 7). Many of these stones contained a moderately to well­developed layer of damp humus underneath; specimens were typically found sitting on or in the humus layer. Several adult specimens were collected under large stones, embedded in a dense layer of litter, in the shade of a large Ficus tree near the entrance to Märchenhöhle (a vertical cave). The cave was entered and inspected but no specimens were collected inside it. Previous records of the species in the Märchenhöhle and nearby Kemptehöhle ( Lamoral, 1979; J. Irish, personal commun.) must represent facultative occurrences; the species exhibits no obvious troglomorphies. No specimens were collect­ ed in burrows, contrary to the claims of Lamoral (1979: 668).

Most of the specimens collected at Uisib, as well as all the specimens collected at Varianto and the Waterberg, were captured on still, moonless nights with the aid of UV light detection ( fig. 2 ). The greatest number of specimens were collected on two very humid nights (2 and 4 January, 2004), following convectional thunderstorms that occurred in the late afternoon. Many of these were sitting or walking on large rocks, boulders, or vertical rockfaces in the shade of large trees, but several were observed retreating into large crevices in rock outcrops (fig. 8), some of which were also inhabited by the liochelid, Hadogenes hahni ( Prendini, 2005b) . At Varianto, two pairs of L. josehermana were observed copulating on these rock faces and it seems probable that the specimens in question inhabited these crevices during the daytime. At Uisib, a large male ( figs. 1, 2 ) was found under a large slab of rock resting on top of a rock outcrop, a microhabitat also typically occupied by liochelid scorpions such as H. hahni . These observations provide behavioral evidence for the suggestion, based on ecomorphology, that L. josehermana is lapidicolous and not fossorial ( Prendini, 2003b). Indeed, the species may even be considered a facultative lithophile ( Prendini, 2001).

Besides H. hahni , L. josehermana was syntopic with the buthids Uroplectes otjimbinguensis and U. planimanus and the scorpionid Opistophthalmus carinatus at the Waterberg. In the Otavi Highlands, L. josehermana was recorded in sympatry with these species, and also with the buthids Parabuthus brevimanus and P. kraepelini and the scorpionid Opistophthalmus fitzsimonsi . However, it was syntopic only with H. hahni , U. planimanus , and O. carinatus . Uroplectes otjimbinguensis was found exclusively in bushes and trees, whereas O. fitzsimonsi and the Parabuthus species were collected in more exposed, open sandy areas.

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Lisposoma josehermana Lamoral, 1979, adult?, in life. 1. Natural light. 2. Ultraviolet light. Scale bar 5 10 mm.

Fig. 9. Map showing the known distributions of Lisposoma elegans Lawrence, 1928 (n) and Lisposoma josehermana Lamoral, 1979 (m) in Namibia (contour interval 600 m; major sand systems stippled).