Scorpio gregorii

Monod, Lionel, Duperre, Nadine & Harms, Danilo, 2019, An annotated catalogue of the scorpion types (Arachnida, Scorpiones) held in the Zoological Museum Hamburg. Part I: Parvorder Iurida Soleglad & Fet, 2003, Evolutionary Systematics 3 (2), pp. 109-200 : 109

Scorpio gregorii Fig. 55 A–B

Scorpio gregorii Pocock, 1896: 432-435, pl. XVIII, fig. 3, 3a

Current combination.

Pandinurus gregoryi (Pocock, 1896)

Syntype.

1 ♀ ( ZMH-A0000941), [Kenya], [Taita Taveta], S. W. Tzavo [Tsavo] [2°59 ’52” S, 38°27 ’30” E], [04-05.1893], John Walter Gregory leg., BMNH don., ded. 06.1897.

Remarks.

Pocock (1896) listed a female from «Kinani», a female from "Tanganyko (confluence of the Athi River)", and six specimens (two males, three females and a juvenile) from Tzavo. The present specimen is part of the material collected in Tzavo and was donated by the BMNH, the other specimens remain in London.

Remarks on collector.

John Walter Gregory (1864-1932) was a British geologist and explorer who studied glacial geology and geography and geology of Australia and East Africa. He led the first scientific expedition to Mount Kenya in 1902-3 ( Gregory 1896). The crew reached the foothills of the mountain from the coast to Lake Baringo in the Rift Valley, and managed to ascend as far as the glaciers area at around 4730 m. When traveling from Mombasa to Machakos, Gregory stopped at Tzavo station sometime between April and May 1893. There he collected most of the type material ( Gregory 1896: 74): "In company with the Goanese commandant I spent a pleasant afternoon catching lizard and scorpions, and digging up the skulls of some Wa-kamba who had been killed by the Masai".

Figures

Figure 55. Scorpio gregoryi Pocock, 1896 [= Pandinurus gregoryi (Pocock, 1896)], female syntype (A-B). Scorpio pallidus Kraepelin, 1894 [= Pandinurus pallidus (Kraepelin, 1894)], 1 subadult male syntype (C-D): A, C dorsal aspect of habitus B, D ventral aspect of habitus. Scale bars: 10 mm.