Heterometrus mysorensis, Kovařík, 2004

Kovařík, František, 2004, A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, with descriptions of seven new species (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae), Euscorpius 15 (15), pp. 1-60 : 29

Heterometrus mysorensis sp. n.

( Fig. 21 )

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. India, Mysore , Maddur env., cca 900 m ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. India, Mysore , Maddur env., ca. 900 m, 1983, 1♂ (holotype), collector unknown, FKCP .

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the state of occurrence.

DIAGNOSIS. Adult male 118 mm long. Female unknown. Color uniformly reddish brown, only telson and leg tarsomeres reddish yellow. Pectinal teeth number 16 and 17. Male assumed to have femur, patella and chela of pedipalp longer than female. Chela slightly lobed and strongly hirsute, its length to width ratio 2.8. Dorsal surface of pedipalp manus bears rounded granules of varying size that form elevated rows. Patella of pedipalp without conspicuous internal tubercle. Disc of carapace smooth and glossy, margins finely granulose and anteriorly slightly tuberculate. Telson hirsute, with vesicle as long as aculeus.

DESCRIPTION: The male holotype is an adult 118 mm long. Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and segments of the pedipalps, and numbers of pectinal teeth are given in Table 1. Sexual dimorphism is presumably expressed in the length of the femur, patella and chela of pedipalp, and probably also in the width of the chela. Although the female is not known, morphology of other species makes this assumption fairly safe.

COLORATION: The color is uniformly reddish brown, only the telson and leg tarsomeres are reddish yellow. Also the sternites are lighter colored, and the pectens are yellow.

MESOSOMA AND CARAPACE: The mesosoma lacks a carina. Both the mesosoma and carapace are smooth except for minute granules on the margins and low tubercles on the anterior part of the carapace. The sternites are smooth, entirely without granules. The pectinal teeth number 16 and 17.

METASOMA AND TELSON: The metasoma is smooth and hirsute. The first to fourth segments bear eight carinae, of which the ventral are smooth and the dorsal consist of minute, rounded granules. The fifth segment bears five complete carinae and two additional lateral carinae developed only in the anterior half. The three ventral carinae of this segment consist of pointed granules and the spaces between them are finely granulate. The dorsal carinae consist only of minute, rounded granules. The telson is hirsute, dorsally without granules, and ventrally with four rows of granules. The vesicle is as long as the aculeus.

PEDIPALPS: The femur has granulose carinae and its dorsal surface is slightly granulated. The patella is smooth, dorsally and externally slightly tuberculate, with four smooth carinae and on the internal surface with scattered pointed granules substituting for two additional carinae; they do not form a conspicuous internal tubercle otherwise characteristic for the genus. The chela is slightly lobed and strongly hirsute. The dorsal side of the manus bears rounded granules of varying size, which do not cover the entire surface and form elevated rows. The external surface of the chela is smooth, with two long carinae. The movable fingers bear six straight rows of granules without internal and external granules.

LEGS: The legs bear solitary long and short setae. The third and fourth leg spine formula is 5–6:6–7.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish H. mysorensis sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. H. mysorensis sp. n. is close to H. phipsoni , but has conspicuous rows of granules (carinae) on the chela and only slightly tuberculate patella of pedipalp, whereas in H. phipsoni the chela is strongly granulose.

Figures

Figure 21: Heterometrus mysorensis, sp. nov., dorsal view, male holotype.