Parabuthus kabateki, 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 : 25-32

Parabuthus kabateki sp. n.

( Figs. 105–136, 150–155, 161–164, 268, 293–298, 305, Tables 2, 4, 5) http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E270E2B2-

2826-4ED7-8B9E-1287FDDACB18

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. Somaliland, Shanshade vill., 08°39‘35“N 45°55‘49“E, 790 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 18SJ, Figs. 163–164) ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. Somaliland, Shanshade vill., 08°39‘35“N 45°55‘49“E, 790 m a.s.l. (Locality No. 18SJ), 29-31. VIII.2018, 7♂3♂ juvs. 3♀ juvs. (holotype and paratypes, 1549, 1550), leg. F. KovařÍk et al . ( FKCP; hemispermatophores GLPC).

ETYMOLOGY. The name honors Czech entomologist and friend Petr KabÁtek who visited the type locality with us and helped to collect scorpions. However, when he collected an adult male paratype of this species by hand he was stung on a finger that was paralyzed for two days. Thanks to his enthusiasm in the field, we know about the capability of this scorpion to cause painful envenomation.

DIAGNOSIS. Adult males from 75 mm to 85 mm long, adult female unknown. Base color yellow to brown, tergites brown, metasoma I yellow, orange, brown or black, metasoma II orange to black, metasoma III yellow, metasoma IV black, and metasoma V yellow with black pattern mainly on dorsal surface. Telson black. Pectine teeth number 42–48 in males and 40–43 in females. Stridulatory area present on dorsal surface of metasoma I–II, reduced or absent in metasoma III, and absent in metasoma IV–V. Metasoma hirsute. Metasoma V length/ width ratio is 1.58–1.67 in males. Dorsal carina of metasomal segment IV composed posteriorly of stronger non-pointed granules in males. Movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12–13 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. Manus of pedipalp of male broad, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 2.90–3.25 in males. Pedipalp chela smooth and patella finely granulated. Tarsomere I of legs I–III with bristle-combs.

DESCRIPTION. The adults are 75–85 mm long. The habitus is shown in Figs. 105–106. For position and distribution of trichobothria of pedipalps see Figs. 126–130, 132–133. Sexual dimorphism: adult males with pedipalp chela broader. Female with basal middle lamella wide ( Fig. 117) and smaller number of pectine teeth.

Coloration ( Figs. 105–106). The base color is variable yellow to brown. The pedipalp chela in males is yellow. The metasoma I is yellow, orange, brown or black, metasoma II is orange to black, metasoma III is yellow, metasoma IV is black, and metasoma V is yellow with black pattern mainly on dorsal surface. Telson is black. Carapace and tergites can be yellowish brown or almost black.

Carapace and mesosoma ( Figs. 105–106, 114–117). The entire carapace is covered with large granules, more in males. 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, more so in males. Tergite VII is pentacarinate, with lateral pairs of carinae strong, serratocrenulate. The pectinal tooth count is 42–48 (1x42, 2x43, 3x 44, 4x45, 5x46, 2x47, 1x48) in males and 40–43 (3x40, 1x41, 1x42, 1x43) in females. The pectine marginal tips extend to the end of the fourth sternite in the male and to a quarter of the fourth sternite in the female. The pectines have three marginal lamellae and 11–13 middle lamellae. The lamellae and fulcra bear numerous dark setae. All sternites are smooth, except that there is a stridulatory area on the third sternite that is more visible in the male. Sternite VII bears four carinae that are more visible in the male.

Metasoma and telson ( Figs. 107–113). 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 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 terminate in stronger 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 in both sexes. On the third segment it is reduced or absent and on fourth and fifth segments the stridulatory area is absent. The entire metasoma and telson are pilose with long hairs. The ventral surface of the telson is strongly granulated. The metasomal segment V length/ width ratio is 1.58–1.67 in males. The telson is rather bulbous, with the aculeus approximately the same length as the vesicle in males and little bit shorter in female juvenile.

Pedipalps ( Figs. 124–136). The pedipalps are hirsute with shorter setae on the chela and patella, and longer setae on the femur, and trochanter. The femur bears four carinae. The patella and chela lack carinae. The chela is smooth without carinae and the patella is finely granulated with carinae indicated. The movable and fixed fingers of pedipalp bear 12– 13 rows of granules, all with external and internal accessory granules. The fingers of the pedipalp of male with inner side of base smooth, tubercle absent. The manus of the pedipalp of male broad, pedipalp chela length/ width ratio 2.90–3.25.

Legs ( Figs. 118–121). Legs III and IV bear tibial spurs. Retrolateral and prolateral pedal spurs are present on all legs. All legs without distinct carinae and smooth. The tarsomeres bear two rows of macrosetae on the ventral surface and additional macrosetae on the other surfaces. The bristlecombs are present on all legs, although slightly reduced on the fourth leg.

Hemispermatophore ( Figs. 150–155). Flagelliform, elongate and slender, trunk ca. 10 times length of capsule region. Flagellum emanating from posterior lobe of capsule; pars recta narrow, hyaline, 0.9× length of capsule; pars reflecta hyaline in proximal 1/3 of length, becoming thicker, opaque white in distal 2/3 of length, in total ca. 5.5× length of capsule. Capsule region with 3 lobes: broad posterior lobe with angulate apical margin and strong anterior carina; small anterior lobe with narrowed apical tip; and robust basal lobe with sharp pointed tip. Similar morphology was found for 3 other hemispermatophores (including left and right) from this species (locality 18SJ, Sc1549, 1550). Hemispermatophore is similar to that reported for other Parabuthus species ( KovařÍk et al., 2016).

Measurements. See Table 2.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish P. kabateki sp. n. from all other species of the genus. They are recounted in the key below. P. kabateki sp. n. is a member of the P. heterurus complex, which is characterized by both nonelongated pedipalp fingers ( Figs. 266–273) and a combination of metasoma IV black and metasoma V yellow ( Figs. 107– 113). P. kabateki sp. n. is more variable in color than other species of the complex, and the black metasoma II is a striking color combination not found in any other Parabuthus species.

COMMENTS ON LOCALITIES AND LIFE STRATEGY. The type locality, 18SJ is red sandy semidesert ( Figs. 163–164 and figs. 60–61 in KovařÍk et Lowe, 2019). The types of P. kabateki sp. n. were discovered at night during collecting by UV detection together with Gint banfasae KovařÍk et Lowe, 2019 (type locality), Hottentotta sp. , Lanzatus somalilandus KovařÍk et Lowe, 2016 , and Parabuthus mazuchi sp. n. The first author (F. K.) visited the locality on 29–31 August 2018 and recorded maximum daytime temperatures of 40 ºC and a minimum nighttime temperature of 23 ºC. The recorded humidity was between 24% (minimum at day) and 65% (maximum at night).

Lowe (2018) suggested that the contrasting dark black pigmentation of metasoma IV–V and telson of some buthids may be protective in guiding diurnal vertebrate predators towards the more heavily armored, venomous posterior end of the scorpion. This biphasic color pattern is characteristic of the P. liosoma complex. The multiphasic color patterns of P. heterurus complex, with alternating light and dark metasomal segments, could serve a similar purpose. However, another possibility is that such conspicuous patterns are aposematic, i.e. they warn potential predators to avoid contact with a venomous animal. Regular bright and dark banding patterns have of course evolved in many other venomous or toxic animals, e.g. elapid snakes (coral snakes, kraits, sea snakes, etc.), dendrobatic frogs, Heloderma , lepidopterous larvae ( Tyria jacobaeae , Danaus spp. , etc.), Diplopoda, Chilopoda and many aculeate Hymenoptera.