Thaicharmus indicus Kovařík, 2013

Kovařík, František, 2013, A review of Thaicharmus Kovařík, 1995, with description of Thaicharmus indicus sp. n. from India (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 175, pp. 1-9 : 1-8

Thaicharmus indicus Kovařík , sp. n.

( Figs. 1–14, 25–30) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4B53DD

8B-353D-4F2E-A33B-9EFDFB7FDB21

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY . India, Goa State , near Chaudi; the author´s collection ( FKCP) .

TYPE MATERIAL. India, Goa State , near Chaudi, XI. 2012, 1♂ (paratype) 1♀ (holotype), leg . V. Fura , ( FKCP).

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the country of occurrence.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length 28.5–34 mm. Sexual dimorphism manifested in narrower male segments of metasoma and pedipalps. Mesosoma black with brown ornament, metasoma and femur of pedipalp black, chela of pedipalp and telson reddish brown, tibia of legs yellowish brown. Chelicerae yellow, with black reticulation. Carapace without carinae. Metasoma, telson and pedipalps densely hirsute, hairs shorter on pedipalp than on metasoma. First and second metasomal segments almost smooth and punctate, fourth and fifth metasomal segments and telson densely granulated. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalps bear 10 rows of granules, with internal accessory granules and six distal granules of which three are smaller and form an apical row. Manus to movable finger length ratio 0.7–0.75. Pectinal teeth number 15 in female. Sternites without carinae.

DESCRIPTION. The adult male is 28.5 mm long, the adult female is 34 mm long. For habitus see Figs. 1–4. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 9–12. Sexual dimorphism is manifested mainly in narrower male segments of metasoma and pedipalps. Other sexual differences are noted below.

COLORATION. The base color is black. The mesosoma is black with brown ornament. The femur of pedipalp is black, the patella of pedipalp is variably brownish black, and the chela is reddish brown. The telson is reddish black. The chelicerae are yellow, with black reticulation which is more defined in the anterior part. The legs are black, only the tibiae are yellowish brown.

CARAPACE. The carapace of female lacks carinae and is smooth, but in the anterior/lateral part it has two larger, symmetrically situated elevated areas by a median groove densely granulated ( Fig. 13). Sparsely granulated is also an area around the median eyes. The male has almost entire carapace densely granulated and its posterior part is bumpy. Present are three well developed and two reduced lateral eyes. The anterior edge exhibits a broad, subtle indentation with a conspicuous epistome medially.

MESOSOMA. The mesosoma bears one carina and is almost smooth in the female, and is densely granulated in the male. The pectinal tooth count is 15 in the female, in the male the pectines are damaged. The marginal tips of pectines extend to three quarters of sternite III in the female. The pectines bear three marginal lamellae and seven middle lamellae. Each lamella bears several white setae, three to five on each fulcrum. Sternites III–VII are smooth, without carinae. Stigmata are short and oval.

METASOMA AND TELSON. The segments of metasoma have only two dorsal carinae, which are well developed and granulated. The first and second segments are almost smooth and punctate; the third segment is also granulated, more so in the male; and the fourth and fifth segments and the telson are densely granulated. Also the dorsal surfaces of all metasomal segments are granulated in both sexes – less so on the first segment. The entire metasoma and the telson are densely hirsute, less so on the first metasomal segment. The vesicle of telson is somewhat bulbous, with a short and highly curved aculeus. A short, non-granulated but distinct subaculear tooth is present on the posterior aspect of the vesicle.

LEGS. Both pedal spurs are present, and a long tibial spur is present on the third and fourth legs. The tarsus has scattered setae on the ventral surface. The coxae are not elongated.

PEDIPALPS. The dorsointernal carina of femur is granulated, the ventrointernal carinae are serrate, and the surface is densely granulated. The femur has internal carinae only indicated, and the entire surface is granulated and punctate. The chela lacks carinae, is punctate, and its internal surface is sparsely granulated. All pedipalps are densely hirsute, but the hairs are shorter than on the metasoma. The movable and fixed fingers of pedipalps bear 10 rows of granules, with internal accessory granules and six distal granules of which three are smaller and form an apical row.

MEASUREMENTS IN MM. Male paratype. Total length 28.5; carapace length 3.5, width 3.4; metasoma and telson length 17.7; first metasomal segment length 2.2, width 1.9; second metasomal segment length 2.6, width 1.8; third metasomal segment length 2.7, width 1.8; fourth metasomal segment length 2.9, width 1.8; fifth metasomal segment length 3.7, width 1.9; telson length 3.6; telson width 1.7; pedipalp femur length 2.6, width 0.9; pedipalp patella length 3.1, width 1.1; chela length 4.6; manus length 2.1; manus width 1; movable finger length 2.8.

Female holotype. Total length 34; carapace length 3.4, width 3.5; metasoma and telson length 18.85; first metasomal segment length 2.3, width 2.4; second metasomal segment length 2.6, width 2.3; third metasomal segment length 2.7, width 2.3; fourth metasomal segment length 3.1, width 1.8; fifth metasomal segment length 3.95, width 2.4; telson length 4.2; telson width 2.2; pedipalp femur length 2.8, width 1.1; pedipalp patella length 3.5, width 1.4; chela length 5.2; manus length 2.25; manus width 1.3; movable finger length 3.2.

COMMENTS. Regrettably, the male paratype died during transport and was partially destroyed ( Figs. 1–2), so that only the metasoma and pedipalps could be preserved ( Figs. 7–12). However, the collector Vladimír Fura photographed the male while still alive at the type locality ( Figs. 27–29).