Alpiscorpius lambda, Kovařík & Štundlová & Fet & Šťáhlavský, 2019

Kovařík, František, Štundlová, Jana, Fet, Victor & Šťáhlavský, František, 2019, Seven new Alpine species of the genus Alpiscorpius Gantenbein et al., 1999, stat. n. (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Euscorpius 287, pp. 1-29 : 14-15

Alpiscorpius lambda sp. n.

( Figures 28–32, 53–58, 71, Tables 1, 2, 5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7E8284DD-

5574-4A6C-AA9C-87566FB93106

Euscorpius germanus marcuzzii: Valle et al., 1971: 96 (in part; Slovenia); Bonacina, 1980: 70 (in part; Slovenia); Fet & Sissom, 2000: 368 (in part; Slovenia); Fet, 2010: 6.

Euscorpius germanus: Gantenbein et al., 2000: 845 (in part; Slovenia: Črniče); Scherabon et al., 2000: 255 (in part; Slovenia: Črniče); Fet et al., 2001: 264 (in part); Graham et al., 2012: 42 (in part; Slovenia: Trnovo ob SOČI).

Euscorpius (Alpiscorpius) germanus Karyotypic race II (Ege 46b): ŠtundlovÁ et al., 2019: 156.

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Slovenia: Goriška , Kamno, 46.215°N 13.639°E ; NMPC.

TYPE MATERIAL ( NMPC): 12♂ 9♀. Slovenia: Goriška, Kamno , 46.215°N 13.639°E, 2♂ (holotype No. S 791, paratype No. S 792) 1♀ (paratype); Občina Kobarid I, 46.251°N 13.585°E, 2♂ (paratypes Nos. S 787, S788); Občina Kobarid II, 46.249°N 13.587°E, 2♂ (paratypes Nos. S 789, S790); Srpenica, 46.295°N 13.495°E, 2♂ (paratypes Nos. S 265, S278) 4♀ (paratypes); Trdnjava Kluže, 46.362°N 13.589°E, 1♂ (paratype No. S 266) 2♀ (paratypes). Notranjska, Veliko Ubeljsko, 45.775°N 14.069°E, 1♂ 2♀ (paratypes Nos. S 703, S784, S815); Laze I, 45.860°N 14.270°E, 1♂ (paratype No. S 692); Laze II, 45.867°N 14.259°E, 1♂ (paratype No. S 785) .

ETYMOLOGY. Di Caporiacco (1950) named three subspecies of Euscorpius germanus after the letters of the Greek alphabet alpha, beta , and gamma . We continue in this style for another cryptic species and name it lambda after Greek “λάμβδα”.

DIAGNOSIS. Alpiscorpius lambda sp. n. is a cryptic species of the “ germanus group” of the “ germanus compleX”, defined by ŠtundlovÁ et al. (2019) as “Karyotypic race II (Ege 46b)” which has 2n = 46 chromosomes. The karyotype is composed of 34 metacentric and 12 submetacentric chromosomes (fig. S1D in ŠtundlovÁ et al., 2019). The rDNA clusters are located in the subterminal region of the long arms of the metacentric chromosome pair 11 (fig. 2D and fig. S1E in ŠtundlovÁ et al., 2019). Number of pectinal teeth (Dp) in male usually 7 to 8. Number of patellar ventral trichobothria (Pv) usually 5. Reduction of patellar eXternal trichobothria from 4 to 3 present dominant in group eb a (>70% in type series) (see Figs. 53–58). No reduction in group et.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MALE HOLOTYPE. The following description is based primarily on the holotype male. Measurements of the holotype are presented in Table 1. Carapace, tergites, and pedipalps reddish-brown; carapace with some darker mottling; metasoma dark reddish-brown with dark mottling; telson, legs, and sternites dark yellow to reddish-brown; chelicerae light, slightly reticulated. Anterior edge of carapace essentially straight; smooth and lustrous, lacking any indication of carinae. There are two lateral eyes. Median eyes and tubercle are small in size. Tergites I–VII essentially smooth; tergite VII lacking lateral and median carinal pairs. Sternites III–VII smooth and lustrous; VII lacking lateral and median carinae. Stigmata are small, narrow elliptical. Metasomal segment V smooth without granulation and carinae. Vesicle of telson swollen and elongated, with short highly curved aculeus. Vesicle essentially void of granules, lustrous. Pectinal teeth number 7/8. Pedipalp carinae well-developed ( Figs. 28– 30). Trichobothrial patterns type C, neobothriotaXic: chela ventral = 4/4; patellar eb = 4/4, eb a =3/4 (see below for variability in the type series), esb = 2/2, em = 3/3, est = 3/3, et = 5/5; patellar ventral = 5/5. Tarsus of legs with single row of spinules on ventral surface.

VARIABILITY. We scored standard phenotypic markers for 14 type specimens (12♂ 2♀), with the following variation observed:

Dp in males (n=12): 0/7 (1), 2/7 (1), 6/5 (1), 6/6 (3), 7/6 (1), 7/7 (14), 8/7 (1); in total. 6 in 16.67% (4); 7 in 33.33% (8), 8 in 45.83% (11), and 9 in 4.17% (1); mean = 7.38, SD = 0.82.

Dp in females (n=2): 6/5, 6/6.

Pv (n=14): 4/5 (1), 5/5 (13); in total, 4 in 3.57% (1), and 5 in 96.43% (14); mean = 4.96, SD = 0.19.

et (n=14): 4/4 (14); in total, 4 in 100% (28).

eb a (n=14): 3/?(1), 3/3 (7), 3/4 (1), 4/3 (3), 4/4 (2); in total, 3 in 70.37% (19) and 4 in 29.63% (8); mean = 3.30, SD = 0.47.

DISTRIBUTION. Slovenia (Goriška, Notranjska: Fig. 71),? Italy.

NOTES. Slovenian populations of “ Euscorpius germanus ” listed by Fet et al. (2001) could refer to both A. kappa sp. n. and A. lambda sp. n.; the latter appears to have a wider range in western Slovenia and represents the westernmost species of the “ germanus compleX”. This species is likely also found in northeastern Italy (Gorizia; Bonacina, 1980).

Gantenbein et al. (2000) published a 16S mtDNA sequence of a population of “ Euscorpius germanus ” from Črniče ( Slovenia: Goriška), which closely matches those of Ege 46b (= A. lambda sp. n.) obtained independently by ŠtundlovÁ et al. (2019).

Graham et al. (2012) published a CoxI mtDNA sequence for a population of “ Euscorpius (Alpiscorpius) germanus ” from Trnovo ob Soči ( Slovenia, Goriška, Soča Valley), which closely matches those of Ege 46b (= A. lambda sp. n.) obtained independently by ŠtundlovÁ et al. (2019).

Populations of Alpiscorpius in Italy are known for the variability of the eb a trichobothrial group which fluctuates between 4 and 3 (see the discussion of Euscorpius germanus marcuzzii above). The same variation is also observed in A. lambda sp. n., a new Slovenian species of the “ germanus group”. We scored a sample from the type series of A. lambda sp. n. (27 pedipalps; see above), which had eb a = 3 in 19 cases (70.37%), and eb a = 4 in 8 cases (29.63%). We also scored eb a for additional (non-type) 23 specimens from Slovenia (12 from Črniče and 11 from Planinsko Polje). The Črniče population (Goriška region, near Nova Gorica, 45.91°N, 13.77°E) is confirmed via DNA sequence as A. lambda sp. n. (see Note 2 above). In Črniče, incidence of eb a =3 was only 25 %, and it was present only in asymmetric (eb a =3/4) individuals. Planinsko Polje is the famous karst area in the Notranjska region, which includes Laze, the locality of some of our paratypes. In Planinsko Polje, incidence of eb a =3 was 90.9 %, and, conversely, eb a =4 was present only in asymmetric (eb a =3/4) specimens. Therefore, both this phenotypic trait and its asymmetric eXpression eXhibit high intraspecific variation. This pattern of phenotypic variation (which appears to be an ancestral polymorphism in the genus, especially common in the “ germanus compleX”) was already well-documented by Bonacina (1980) who scored as many as 320 specimens from Slovenia (possibly A. lambda sp. n. and A. kappa sp. n.). Bonacina (1980) reported eb a = 3 specimens (as E. g. marcuzzii ) from Cerknica, Polhov Gradec, Trenta, Kobarid, and Laze [both Kobarid and Laze are among our A. lambda sp. n. localities]. In Bonacina’s samples, 33% of 21 individuals from Polhov Gradec (46.06°N, 14.31°E) were asymmetric, and were interpreted as “hybrids between E. g. marcuzzii and E. g. germanus ”; see Discussion below on trichobothrial asymmetry and its possible importance as a phenotypic marker.