Orthochirus gantenbeini, Kovařík & Yağmur & Fet & Hussen, 2019

Kovařík, František, Yağmur, Ersen Aydin, Fet, Victor & Hussen, Fenik Sherzad, 2019, A review of Orthochirus from Turkey, Iraq, and Iran (Khoozestan, Ilam, and Lorestan Provinces), with descriptions of three new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Euscorpius 278, pp. 1-31 : 7-12

Orthochirus gantenbeini sp. n.

( Figs. 35–36, 39–44, 49–51, 55–63, 164, 176, Table 1 )

http://zoobank. org/ urn:lsid:zoobank . org:act: 3524FB39-3BFE-4751-8E4F-6926179367A0

Orthochirus stockwelli : Navidpour et al., 2008a: 20, figs. 2, 101–102, (in part, figs. 2, 101–102).

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Iran, Khoozestan Province , Dezful District, Shahyoon village, 32°36'41"N 48°33'36"E, 527 m a.s.l. ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Iran, Khoozestan Province , Dezful District, Shahyoon village, 32°36'41"N 48°33'36"E, 527 m a.s.l. (Locality No. D-103), VI.2007, leg. Navidpour, Masihipour & Hayader, 1♂ (holotype), FKCP .

ETYMOLOGY. The species epithet is a patronym honoring our colleague and friend, Benjamin Gantenbein (Bern, Switzerland), for his great contributions to the study of scorpions of the Old World.

DIAGNOSIS. Total length of male ca 29 mm, female unknown. Trichobothrium d 2 of pedipalp femur present on dorsal surface. Median tibial spurs present on legs III and IV. Pectinal teeth number 23–24 in male. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalps with 9 rows of denticles, with internal and external denticles and 5 subterminal denticles. Dorsal carinae of pedipalp patella granulate. Metasoma and telson densely hirsute, pedipalp hirsute. Metasoma I with 10 carinae, metasoma II with 8 carinae. Metasoma IV–V ventrally punctate with ventrolateral carinae indicated; spaces among punctae smooth, without granules. Metasoma II–III ventrally and laterally smooth without granules, punctate and bumpy. Dorsal surface of metasoma I granulate, metasoma II–V smooth. Sternite VII granulate with granulate carinae present. Tarsomere I of legs with bristlecombs composed of 5–7 bristles. Ratio length/width of metasoma V in male 1.10. Ratio length/width of pedipalp patella in male 2.96.

DESCRIPTION. Total length of adult male is ca. 29 mm, female unknown. Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma, and segments of the pedipalps are given in Table 1 . For habitus see Figs. 35–36.

Coloration ( Figs. 35–36). Carapace, tergites, and metasoma are black; femur and patella of pedipalps and legs are brown to black, tibia and tarsomeres of legs and pedipalp chela are yellowish brown. The sternites are black with glabrows yellow to brown zones present in posterior margin of sternites III–VI. Telson is reddish brown.

Mesosoma and carapace ( Figs. 39–40). The mesosoma bears a median carina and is densely granulated. The carapace is densely granulated, including the middle of interocular triangle. Only anterior median carinae are indicated, which are granulated. The sternite VII is granulated and bears four granulated carinae, the other sternites are granulated except the smooth median glabrous zones. Pectinal teeth number 23–24 in male holotype.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 49–51). Whole metasoma and telson are densely hirsute. The segment I bear 10 granulated carinae. The segments II–V lacks lateral carinae, ventromedian carinae are present on metasoma I–III, ventrolateral carinae are present on metasoma I–II and absent or incomplete on metasoma III–V, dorsolateral carinae are present on all metasomal segments but can be reduced. Only metasoma I is granulated laterally and dorsally. All segments are punctate ventrally, laterally, and partly dorsally, metasoma I is less punctate. Spaces among punctae are smooth. The telson is punctate and lacks granules.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 55–63). The distance between trichobothria d 1 and d 3 on the femur of pedipalp shorter that between d 3 and d 4; trichobothrium e 1 is situated between d 3 and d 4. Trichobothrium d 2 of pedipalp femur present on dorsal surface. The femur of pedipalp bears five granulate carinae. The patella has seven granulate carinae, and the chela has smooth carinae, which may be discernible throughout the length of the fixed finger. The entire pedipalps are hirsute. The movable fingers bear 9 rows of denticles, with external and internal denticles and 5 subterminal denticles.

Legs ( Figs. 41–44). The femur bears four granulated carinae, the patella bears five carinae, and the tibia is smooth. The patella bears only a few setae. The tibia bears setae on the outer side of legs I–II. Tarsomere I of first to legs III to IV bears bristlecombs composed of 5–7 bristles, legs IV lack bristlecombs. Tersomeres I–II of all legs with two rather irregular rows of spiniform setae.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish Orthochirus gantenbeini sp. n. from all other species of the genus. Navidpour et al. (2008) formerly cited the male holotype as O. stockwelli known from Hormozgan (type locality) and Bushehr Provinces according to densely hirsute metasoma. This character differentiates the species from all other species from the region. Comparison with the true male topotype of O. stockwelli ( Figs. 37–38, 45–48, 52–54, 64–72) shows strong differences between these two species (lighter color, smooth sternites, reduced granulation and smooth anterior carinae on carapace, and a narrower metasoma in O. stockwelli ). Among the main characters, we can mention: (1) the shape of pedipalp patella and femur, which are considerably shorter and wider in O. gantenbeini sp. n. than in O. stockwelli . Ratio length/width of pedipalp patella is 2.96 in male holotype O. gantenbeini sp. n. ( Fig. 58, Table 1 ) vs. 3.2 (holotype, see Lourenço & Vachon, 1995: 304, table 1) to 3.9 ( Fig. 67, male from FKCP collection) in O. stockwelli ; (2) pedipalp patella carinae, which are developed and granulated in O. gantenbeini sp. n. ( Fig. 58) vs. smooth and incomplete in O. stockwelli ( Fig. 67).