Parabuthus erigavoensis, Kovařík & Lowe & Elmi & Šťáhlavský, 2019

Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Elmi, Hassan Sh Abdirahman & Šťáhlavský, František, 2019, Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida Scorpiones) Part XXI Parabuthus (Buthidae) (Part II), with description of five new species from Somaliland and Ethiopia, Euscorpius 290, pp. 1-63 : 5-10

Parabuthus erigavoensis sp. n.

( Figures 5–29, 178–279, 305, Table 1) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5DC5BE1A-

9EFD-4E31-B37A-016905DFE6E9

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland, Buq vill. near Erigavo, 10°37‘25“N 47°10‘53“E, 1723 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 18SH, Fig. 28) ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL ( FKCP). Somaliland, Buq vill. near Erigavo, 10°37‘25“N 47°10‘53“E, 1723 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 18SH), 27.VIII.2018, 2♀ (holotype 1552 and paratype) 1juv. (paratype), leg. F. KovařÍk; near Erigavo, 10°38‘52“N 47°20‘25“E, 1762 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 17SJ, Fig. 29), 2.IX.2017, 2♀ 3juvs. (paratypes) , 26.VIII.2018, 3juvs. (paratypes), leg. F. KovařÍk.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after the occurrence around Erigavo city.

DIAGNOSIS. Adult females are 75–80 mm long, male unknown. Base color uniformly light yellow, carapace and tergites yellow to yellowish brown, metasoma IV–V and telson black. Pectine teeth number 31–37 in females. Stridulatory area present on dorsal surface of metasoma I–II, reduced in metasoma III, and absent in metasoma IV–V. Metasoma densely hirsute. Metasoma V length/ width ratio is 1.60–1.70 in females. Dorsal carina of metasoma IV posteriorly composed of blunt denticles, of which the posterior-most denticle is not enlarged. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 13–14 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. Fingers of pedipalp not elongated. Fingers of pedipalps of male with inner side of base smooth, no trace of tubercle. Pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 4.80–4.90 in females. Pedipalp chela smooth and patella finely granulated. Entire pedipalps hirsute with rather long setae which are longer on femur and trochanter. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with bristlecombs.

DESCRIPTION. The adult females are 75–80 mm long, adult male is unknown. The habitus is shown in Figs. 8–9. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 10–14 and 16–17. Female with basal pectinal tooth wide ( Fig. 22).

Coloration ( Figs. 8–9, 23). The base color is uniformly light yellow, carapace and tergites yellow to yellowish brown. The pedipalps and legs are yellow. The metasoma I–III is yellow, the metasoma III could be light orange or light brown ventrally, metasoma IV–V and telson are black. Carapace and tergites are yellow to yellowish brown.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 8–9, 21–22). The entire carapace is covered with large granules. Carinae are absent. The anterior margin of the carapace is almost straight, medially weakly convex, and bears 14–18 symmetrically distributed short, stout spiniform macrosetae. The tergites are granulated. Tergite VII is pentacarinate, with lateral pairs of carinae strong, serratocrenulate. The pectinal tooth count is 31–37 in females. The pectine marginal tips extend to the midpoint of the fourth sternite in the female. The pectines have three marginal lamellae and 10–13 middle lamellae. The lamellae and fulcra bear numerous dark setae. All sternites are smooth, except that there could be a stridulatory area on the third sternite but it is reduced to absent. Sternite VII bears four carinae.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 5–7). The first to fourth metasomal segments bear a total of 10 granulated carinae. The fifth segment has five carinae, and its ventral and lateral surfaces are strongly granulated. The ventral surface of metasomal segment V has several strong paired granules symmetricaly located laterally in the middle part. Dorsolateral carinae of the third and fourth segments composed of blunt denticles, of which the posterior-most denticle is not enlarged. The stridulatory area is located on the dorsal surface of the first and second segments. On the third segment it is reduced and on fourth and fifth segments the stridulatory area is absent. The entire metasoma and the telson are densely pilose with long hairs. The ventral surface of the telson is strongly granulated. The metasomal segment V length/ width ratio is 1.60–1.70 in females. The telson is rather bulbous, with the aculeus approximately the same length as the vesicle in females.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 10–20). The entire pedipalps are hirsute with rather long setae which are longer on femur and trochanter. The femur bears four carinae. The chela is smooth without carinae and the patella has carinae indicated. The patella is smooth with several solitary granules mainly internally. The movable and fixed fingers of chela bear 13– 14 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. The fingers of pedipalps with inner side of base smooth, tubercle absent. The pedipalp chela length/ width ratio is 4.80–4.9 in females.

Legs ( Figs. 24–29). Legs III and IV bear tibial spurs. Retrolateral and prolateral pedal spurs are present on all legs. All legs without distinct carinae, smooth and densely pilose. The tarsomeres bear two rows of macrosetae on the ventral surface and additional macrosetae on the other surfaces. Bristle-combs are present on all legs, although slightly reduced on the fourth leg.

Measurements. See Table 1.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish P. erigavoensis sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. P. erigavoensis sp. n. is a member of P. liosoma complex, which is characterized by non-elongated pedipalp fingers ( Figs. 274–283) and black color of metasoma IV–V ( Figs. 8–9).

COMMENTS ON LOCALITY AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality 18SH is a mountain slope in rocky semi-desert terrain at 1,723 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 28). One of the authors (FK) visited the locality in the dry season. Both specimens were collected among stones at night by UV detection together with Neobuthus erigavoensis KovařÍk et al., 2018 (type locality), Hottentotta sp. , and Pandinurus fulvipes KovařÍk et al., 2019 . At this locality, the first author recorded a maximum daytime temperature of 27 ºC, and a minimum nighttime temperature of 17 ºC. The recorded humidity was between 37% (minimum at day) and 69% (maximum at night).