Euscorpius scaber Birula, 1900

Fet, Victor, Soleglad, Michael E., Parmakelis, Aristeidis, Kotsakiozi, Panayiota & Stathi, Iasmi, 2013, Three more species of Euscorpius confirmed for Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Euscorpius 165, pp. 1-27 : 2-8

Euscorpius scaber Birula, 1900

( Figures 2–20; Tables 1–2)

Euscorpius scaber Birula, 1900: 18–19 .

REFERENCES:

Euscorpius scaber: Birula, 1917a: 105 , 129, 198, 211; Birula, 1917b: 167; Werner, 1938: 173; Fet, 1986: 5 (under question).

Euscorpius carpathicus s.str.: Kinzelbach, 1975: 30, 32 (in part; Thasos; Mt. Athos).

Euscorpius carpathicus scaber: Soleglad, 1976: 299 ; Fet & Soleglad, 2007: 419; Tropea & Rossi, 2012: 27, 30; Tropea et al., 2012: 75.

Euscorpius carpathicus: Kinzelbach, 1982: 61 (in part: Thasos); Fet & Sissom, 2000: 358 (in part: Mt. Athos).

Euscorpius carpathicus carpathicus: Kritscher, 1993:

384 (in part: Chalkidiki; Mt. Athos; Thasos).

Euscorpius mesotrichus: Kritscher, 1993: 386 (in part; Chalkidiki).

Euscorpius “ carpathicus ” scaber: Fet et al., 2004: 52 ;

Kaltsas et al., 2008: 234.

(yellow icon with ‘+’) and other distributions (red icons, E. scaber only) are shown. Maps on left show detail of the species’ type localities

Greece proper and the island of Crete with the ranges of the three species indicated by yellow rectangles.

Type material: Lectotype ♂ (designated here): Greece: Chalkidiki Peninsula, Mount Athos, 7 (19) May 1886, leg. A. N. Kharuzin ( ZMMSU Tb-33) ( Fet, 1986). See Fig. 2 for the labels from the type series vial ( ZMMSU Tb-33). Birula (1900: 18) mentioned only 5 specimens in ZMMSU collection, among them one ♂ with 11/11 pectinal teeth (our lectotype) and one ♀ with 8/8 teeth.

Geographic range. Greece: Mount Athos; Central Macedonia: Chalkidiki, Thessaloniki ; East Macedonia and Thrace: Thasos Island . See map in Fig. 1 .

History of Study

Syntypes of E. scaber were brought to Russia in 1886 by A.N. Kharuzin from the Greek Orthodox monastic community of Mt. Athos (Agion Oros), Chalkidiki Peninsula. Birula (1900) described a new species along with another, distinctly different species, E. koschewnikowi Birula, 1900 (see Fet & Soleglad, 2002, for a detailed redescription of the latter). Euscorpius scaber was largely forgotten in reviews until Kinzelbach (1975) listed it, under question, as a synonym of his “ E. mesotrichus ”. Fet (1986) published pectinal and trichobothrial statistics of Birula’s types from ZISP and ZMMSU but was unsure of their taxonomic status. Birula (1917a: 212) wrote “Unfortunately, we have no information whatever about the scorpion fauna on bigger islands of the northern Aegean Sea, e.g. Thasos, Lemnos…” Only many years later, Kritscher (1993) first collected a very large series on Thasos Island, listed as E. carpathicus . Here, we identify this Thasos population as E. scaber Birula, 1900 .

Fet & Sissom (2000) indicated that Fet (1986) synonymized E. scaber with E. carpathicus ; however, in fact Fet (1986) only noted that its status (species or subspecies) was still uncertain. This species immediately differs from most other forms previously included under “ carpathicu s” in a very high male pectinal teeth number and pronounced metasomal granulation and carination, all observed by Birula (1900) in his detailed original description. Birula (1900: 16; 1917a: 212), who assigned high value to metasomal carination, contrasted E. scaber with its heavy carination (“all seven carinae well deve- loped and granulated”), to E. carpathicus (sensu lato) with less pronounced carinae, and further to E. koschewnikowi , with obsolete carinae (as well as forms related to E. germanus , now subgenus Alpiscorpius ). Later ( Birula, 1917b: 167–168), he even introduced formal names for this three groups as “sections” (Sectio) of subgenus Euscorpius s.str.: Scabri, Carpathici, and Germani. These “sections”, which we today would call “complexes” or “species groups”, have not been used since, and are not available nomenclatural units under the current Code.

As already mentioned, our species delimitation approaches using sequence data (Parmakelis et al., in press) validated E. scaber as a distinct evolutionary entity, which is here further confirmed by morphological description.

Diagnosis. Small (below 30 mm), brown in color species; legs and chelicerae lighter; slight variegated patterns on carapace. Species heavily granulated (hence the name “ scaber ”, scabrous). Pronounced metasomal cari- nae, most with some granulation, including the single ventromedian carinae on segments II–IV. Strong scalloping on male chela. Pedipalp patellar external trichobothria numbers: eb = 4, eba = 4, esb = 2, em = 4, est = 4 and et = 5–6 (usually 6); ventral aspect of patella 8. Pectinal tooth counts: females 7–8 (usually 8), males 10–11; the latter is an unusually high number for subgenus Euscorpius s.str.

MALE. The following description is based on the lectotype male from Mt. Athos, Greece. Measurements of the lectotype , two paralectotypes, and a specimen from Thasos are presented in Table 2. See Figures 3–6 for dorsal and ventral views of the male lectotype and two female paralectotypes.

COLORATION. Carapace, chelae, and patellae dark brown; femur, tergites, metasoma, and telson brown; legs and chelicerae light brown; leg coxae and sternum dark brown; genital operculum, pectines, basal piece, and sternites yellow. Slight variegated patterns on carapace.

CARAPACE ( Fig. 7, paralectotype female). Anterior edge slightly convex with a very narrow slight median indentation; slight granulation on lateral edges below lateral eyes, otherwise, smooth and lustrous, lacking any indication of carinae. There are two lateral eyes. Median eyes and tubercle are small to medium in size, positioned slightly anterior of middle with the following length and width ratios: 0.423 (anterior edge to medium tubercle middle / carapace length) and 0.167 (width of median tubercle including eyes / width of carapace at that point).

MESOSOMA. 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 very small, narrow elliptical.

METASOMA ( Fig. 12, paralectotype female). Segment I slightly wider than long in ratio 0.967. Segments I–IV: dorsal carinae are granulate; dorsolateral carinae weak to obsolete with slight granulation proximally on I–III, smooth proximally on IV; lateral carinae obsolete; ventrolateral carinae slightly granulated; single ventromedian carina obsolete on I, slightly visible and smooth on II, irregularly granulated on III, and granulated on IV. Segment V: dorsolateral carinae rounded and granulate; lateral carinae obsolete, ventrolateral and ventromedian carinae crenulate to serrulate. Anal arch with 15 small granules. Intercarinal areas generally smooth except for the ventral surface of segment V which is covered with scattered granules.

TELSON ( Fig. 15, paralectotype female Fig. 8). Vesicle swollen and elongated, with short highly curved aculeus. Vesicle essentially void of granules, very lustrous. Vesicular tabs smooth.

PECTINES ( Fig. 17, paralectotype female Fig. 13). Medium-developed segments exhibiting length / width ratio 2.047 (length taken at anterior lamellae / width at widest point including teeth). Sclerite construction complex, three anterior lamellae and 6/7 middle lamellae; fulcra of medium development. Teeth number 11/11. Sensory areas developed along distal aspect on all teeth, including basal tooth. Basal piece large, with subtle shallow indentation along anterior edge, length / width ratio 0.500.

GENITAL OPERCULUM ( Fig. 17, paralectotype female Fig. 13). Sclerites triangular, separated for the entire length. Genital papillae present, protruding significantly between the sclerites (see discussion on female below).

STERNUM ( Fig. 17, paralectotype female Fig. 13). Type 2, posterior emargination present, modestlydefined convex lateral lobes, apex visible but not conspicuous; slightly longer than wide.

CHELICERAE ( Fig. 14 paralectotype female). Following description is based on paralectotype female. Movable finger dorsal edge with two small subdistal (sd) denticles; ventral edge smooth; serrula not visible. Ventral distal denticle (vd) conspicuously longer than dorsal (dd). Fixed finger with four denticles, median (m) and basal (b) denticles conjoined on common trunk; no ventral accessory denticles present.

PEDIPALPS ( Fig. 16, paralectotype female Figs. 9–11). Well-developed chelae, moderately carinated, strong scalloping on chelal fingers. Femur: Dorsointernal dorsoexternal, and ventrointernal carinae serrated, ventroexternal rounded, nearly obsolete. Dorsal surface covered with medium-size granules, ventral surface granulate on proximal 2/3, internal and external surfaces rough with rows of 6 to 7 and 13 serrated granules, respectively. Patella: Dorsointernal and ventrointernal carinae serrated, dorsoexternal rounded and granulated, ventroexternal granulated, and externomedian carina obsolete. Dorsal and ventral surfaces covered with medium-sized granules; external surface covered with large granules; internal surface smooth with welldeveloped DPS and near obsolete VPS. Chelal carinae: Complies with the “10-carinae configuration”. Digital (D1) carina strong, slight traces of low-profile granulation; sub-digital (D2) essentially obsolete, represented by 2 small granules; dorsosecondary (D3) obsolete, area quite flat; dorsomarginal (D4) rounded, with medium-sized granules; dorsointernal (D5) highly rounded and covered with granules; ventroexternal (V1) strong, slight traces of low-profile granulation, curving to external condyle of movable finger; ventromedian (V2) obsolete; ventrointernal (V3) strong, but very rounded and smooth; external (E) irregularly developed with coarse granulation. Chelal finger dentition (paralectotype female Fig. 11): Median denticle (MD) row groups in straight line; 6/6 ID s fixed finger and 7/7 on movable finger; 6/6 OD s on fixed and movable fingers; 4/4 and 4/4 IAD s on fixed and movable fingers, respectively. Trichobothrial patterns (paralectotype female Fig. 19): Type C, neobothriotaxic: chela ventral = 4/4; patellar eb = 4/4, eba =4/4, esb = 2/2; em = 4/4, est = 4/4, et = 6/6; patellar ventral = 9/9.

LEGS ( Fig. 18). Both pedal spurs present on all legs, lacking spinelets; tibial spurs absent. Tarsus with delicate single row of spinules on ventral surface, terminating distally with two closely grouped spinules. Unguicular spine well-developed and pointed.

HEMISPERMATOPHORE ( FIG. 20). Hemispermatophore typical of subgenus. Well-developed truncal flexure, lamina with a conspicuous basal constriction, terminus highly tapered, curving towards the external edge. Median projection with both primary and secondary acuminate processes. Primary acuminate process, a complex structure, has three irregular shaped lobes visible from the internoventral perspective and appears flat from a strict dorsal view. The secondary process is simple and reduced to a single pointed spine. The internal lobe exhibits seven irregularly sized tines in its crown.

Sexual dimorphism. The adult female exhibits a subtle proximal gap and movable finger lobe on the chela, whereas they are well developed in the male; the genital operculum sclerites in the female are connected along the middle, not separated as in the male; genital papillae are absent in the female, present in the male. The pectinal tooth counts are smaller in the female, 6–10 (7.85) as compared to 9–13 (10.53) in the male, a 34.1 % difference in the means (see Table 1). The telson vesicle in the female is not as swollen as it is in the male; the telson length compared to its depth is 3.182 in the female and 2.607 in the male, exhibiting a 22 % difference. The chelal palm in the female is not as swollen as it is in the male, the chelal length compared to its width and depth is 2.965 and 2.601 in the female, and 2.636 and 2.390 in the male, a 12.5 % and 12.2 % difference, respectively. Finally, the carapace is relatively longer in the female, dominating in all possible morphometric ratios when compared to 23 other morphometrics, the largest difference, when the carapace is compared to the vesicle depth, exhibited a 41.8 % mean value difference.

Variation. In addition to the type material of E. scaber , we examined 14 specimens mostly from Chalkidiki Peninsula, and a very large series from Thasos Island (120 specimens, most collected by E. Kritscher in summer 1975). Pectinаl teeth number in males usually varied between 10 (52.8 %) and 11 (37.7 %), with distribution 9 (1), 10 (28), 11 (20), 12 (3), 13 (1) [n=53], mean 10.53, SD = 0.72. Pectinаl teeth number in females was usually 8 (71.7.0%), with distribution 6 (4), 7 (40), 8 (152), 9 (14), 10 (2) [n = 212], mean 7.85, SD = 0.61. Number of ventral patellar trichobothria (Pv) was usually 8 (87.2 %), with distribution 7 (20), 8 (238), 9 (10), 10 (5) [n = 273], mean 7.96, SD = 0.33. Number of external terminal patellar trichobothria (et) was usually 6 (84.0%), with distribution 4 (1), 5 (37), 6 (216), 7 (2), 8 (1) [n = 257], mean 5.86, SD = 0.41.

Material examined. GREECE. Mount Athos (Agion Oros): 1 ♂ (lectotype, designated here), 7 (19) May 1886, leg. A. N. Kharuzin ( ZMMSU Tb-33) ; paralectotypes, same label as lectotype, 1 ♀ ( ZISP 1034 ) , 1 ♂ im., 1 ♀, 4 ♀ im. ( ZMMSU Tb-33) ; 27 June 1936, leg. D. Papazov, 2 ♂ ( NMNHS 324 ) , 2 ♀ ( NMNHS 325 ) , 1 ♀ im., 4 im. ( NMNHS 323 ) ; Karyes (“ Karye), 24 July 1976, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♀ ( NHMW 15980 ); Koutloumousiou Monastery (“ M. Koultumuosiv ”), 24 July 1976, leg. E. Kritscher, 3 ♀ ( NHMW 15981 /1-3) . Central Macedonia: Chalkidiki Peninsula, Kassandra , 7 August 1988, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♀ sbad. ( NHMW 15.978 ) ; Chalkidiki Peninsula , 5 km W of Marmaras, 14 July 1976, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♂ im., 1 ♀ ( NHMW 15.979 /1-2) ; Chalkidiki Peninsula, Ierissos , 15 July 1976, leg. E. Kritscher, 2 ♂ ( NHMW 16.033 /1-2) ; Thessaloniki, Rentina , 21 August 2009, leg. F. Šťáhlavský, 1 ♀ ( VFPC) . East Macedonia and Thrace: Thasos Island: Thasos , 19 May 1999, leg. M. E. Braunwalder, 1 ♀ ( VFPC) , 2 ♀ ( NHMC 10.617 , 8.1.1.70) ; Thasos, Agios Panteleimon , 872 m, 7 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 5 ♂, 51 ♀ ( NHMW 16.012 /1-54, 16.013/1-2) ; Thasos, Kallirachi , 15 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 2 ♀ im. ( NHMW 16.018 /1-2) ; Thasos, Limenaria , 21 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♂, 1 ♂ sbad. ( NHMW 16.023 /1-2) ; Thasos , 3 km S of Makriammos, 20 July 1975, E. Kritscher, 1 ♀ im. ( NHMW 16.021 ) ; Thasos, Maries , 9 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 2 ♂ sbad., 5 ♀ ( NHMW 16.017 /1-7) ; Thasos, Panagia , 24 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ im. ( NHMW 16.025 /1-2) ; Thasos, Potamia , 23 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♀ ( NHMW 16.024 ) ; Thasos, Rachoni , 6 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♀ sbad. ( NHMW 16.011 ) ; Thasos, Limenas (= Thasos town ), 2 May 1942, leg. B. Petrov, 3 ♀ ( NMNHS 322 ) ; Thasos, Thasos town , 6 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♂ im. ( NHMW 16.010.4) ; Thasos, Thasos town , 13 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 1 ♂ im. ( NHMW 16.017 ) ; Thasos, Thasos town , 17 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 4 ♀ ( NHMW 16.020 /1-4) ; Thasos, Theologos , 16 July 1975, leg. E. Kritscher, 4 ♀ ( NHMW 16.019 /1-2, 16.022/1-2) ; Thasos , N of Skala Sotiras, pine forest, 40°43′18″N, 24°33′42″E, 12 May 2005, leg. V. Fet & S. Fet, 6 ♂, 23 ♀ ( VFPC) ; Thasos, Sotiras , pasture, 13 May 2005, leg. S. Fet, 3 ♀ ( VFPC) .