Systematic Revision Of The North American Syntropine Vaejovid Scorpion Genera Balsateres, Kuarapu, And Thorellius, With Descriptions Of Three New Species González-Santillán, Edmundo Prendini, Lorenzo Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2018 2018-06-20 2018 420 1 1 , Ponce-Saavedra and Sissom 2004 [716,910,1679,1702] Arachnida Vaejovidae Vaejovis Animalia Scorpiones 6 5 Arthropoda species cisnerosi  (e.g., in southern Mexico, this would include  Vaejovis punctatusKarsch, 1879[currently  Mesomexovis punctatus(Karsch, 1879)] and its relatives); on the other hand, the reduction of the metasomal setation and the dorsoventral compression of the metasoma are similar to the conditions seen in the  intrepidusspecies group.  Soleglad and Fet (2008: 95)justified the transfer of  V. cisnerosito  Thorellius, despite the uncertainty regarding its phylogenetic placement ( Ponce-Saavedra and Sissom, 2004), and without testing that placement in a quantitative analysis, as follows: Clearly the hemispermatophore, with its well developed lamellar hook [fused margin of dorsal and ventral troughs], the mating plug with its toothed barb [spinose distal barb margin], and the multiple pairs of ventral distal spinules of the leg tarsus imply this species is a member of tribe Syntropini. The chelal and metasomal carination of this species is unique… where the former exhibits vestigial to smooth carinae and the ventral carinae of the latter are obsolete. The existence of carinae on the chelae, though smooth, and the somewhat robust chelae imply this species is a member of subtribe Thorelliina. The carapace in  T. cisnerosilacks the anterior emargination extending to the lateral ocelli as seen in  Kochiusand the placement of chelal trichobothrium Dtis well distal of the palm midpoint, indications of genus  Thorellius... Finally, of somewhat less importance, the large size of this species, its large pectinal tooth count (20–22 for males and 20–21 for females), and its geographical distribution also indicates genus  Thorellius. As discussed by González-Santillán and Prendini (2013), most of the new taxa proposed in the classification presented by Soleglad and Fet (2008)were demonstrably paraphyletic or polyphyletic when tested by a quantitative phylogenetic analysis based on morphological characters and DNA sequences from the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes ( González-Santillán and Prendini, 2015a).  Thorellius, as defined by Soleglad and Fet (2008), was consistently polyphyletic, and the group comprising  T. atrox,  T. cristimanus, and  T. intrepidusconsistently monophyletic. In consequence,  Thorelliuswas restricted to these species, and the other species transferred to different genera by González-Santillán and Prendini (2013).  Balsatereswas created to account for the phylogenetic position and unique diagnostic character combination of  V. cisnerosi, creating  B. cisnerosi, whereas  V. occidentalisand  V. subcristatuswere transferred to  Mesomexovis, creating  Mesomexovis occidentalis( Hoffmann, 1931)and  Mesomexovis subcristatus( Pocock, 1902).  Francke and Ponce-Saavedra (2010)discussed the placement of  Kuarapuin the context of Soleglad and Fet’s (2008)classification, and offered two alternatives: placement within Syntropini, based on the spinose distal barb margin of the hemimating plug of the male hemispermatophore, peg sensillae on the basal pectinal teeth of the female, and five ventral spinules on the telotarsus of leg III; or within Stahnkeini Soleglad and Fet, 2008, based on the shared serrate cutting edge of the pedipalp chela fingers and the medial position of trichobothria iband iton the pedipalp chela fixed finger. The analyses of González-Santillán and Prendini (2015a)confirmed the first hypothesis, based on the spinose distal barb margin of the hemimating plug, uniquely synapomorphic for Syntropinae, and consistently recovered  Kuarapuas the basal member the  Kochiusclade.