Heterometrus beccaloniae, Kovařík, 2004

Kovařík, František, 2004, A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, with descriptions of seven new species (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae), Euscorpius 15 (15), pp. 1-60 : 4-7

Heterometrus beccaloniae sp. n.

( Fig. 9)

TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE REPOSITORY. India, Tamil Nadu, Javadu Hills, Vellore Dist., Kavalore ; FKCP.

TYPE MATERIAL. India, Tamil Nadu, Javadu Hills, Vellore Dist., Kavalore , 2000 ft. TRSN coll., V.2003, 1♀ (holotype) ; Tamil Nadu, Nilgiri hills, Mudumalai n. p., 6.V.2000, 1im.7juvs. (paratypes), leg. J. Rolčík.

ETYMOLOGY. Named after Janet Beccaloni of the Natural History Museum, London, in appreciation of her kind help.

DIAGNOSIS. Adult female holotype 115 mm long. Color uniformly black, only telson reddish yellow. Pectinal teeth number 14–16. Chela of pedipalp length to width ratio 2.38 (holotype). Dorsal surface of manus granulate and/or tuberculate, with carinae. Patella of pedipalp granulate, without pronounced internal tubercle and with five carinae. Femur of pedipalp unusually wide, granulated and convex. Carapace with smooth disc and granulose margins. Mesosoma smooth. Telson hirsute, bulbous (in adults), vesicle longer than aculeus. Genital operculum large, in female about as wide as or slightly wider than long.

DESCRIPTION: The adult female holotype is 115 mm long. Measurements of the carapace, telson, segments of the metasoma and segments of the pedipalps, and numbers of pectinal teeth are given in Table 1. The male is unknown.

COLORATION: The color is uniformly black, only the telson is reddish yellow (adults) or yellow (juveniles). Sternites and pectens are lighter-colored (brownish).

MESOSOMA AND CARAPACE: The mesosoma lacks carinae, is smooth, and the carapace is either entirely granulate or with the disc smooth. Sternites are smooth, entirely without granules, only the seventh sternite may bear four smooth carinae. Pectinal teeth number 14–16.

METASOMA AND TELSON: The metasoma is smooth. The first to fourth segments bear eight smooth carinae. The fifth segment bears seven carinae. The ventral carinae of this segment consist of pointed granules, whereas the dorsal carinae are smooth. The telson is bulbous and hirsute, dorsally without granules and ventrally with four rows of granules. The vesicle is longer than the aculeus, in the adult female bulbous and in the juveniles elongate. PEDIPALPS: The femur has three granulose carinae and its dorsal surface is convex and granulate. The patella is granulose, ventrally tuberculate, with five granulate carinae, and on the internal surface with scattered pointed minute granules that do not form a conspicuous internal tubercle. The dorsal surface of the manus is granulate or tuberculate, with six carinae, which are in part smooth and in part granulate. The chela is sparsely hirsute and its external surface is granulate and tuberculate, with two granulate carinae and a smooth space between them. The movable finger bears six straight rows of granules and internal and external granules.

LEGS: The legs bear solitary long and short setae. The third and fourth leg spine formula is 5–6:6–7.

AFFINITIES. The described features distinguish H. beccaloniae sp. n. from all other species of the genus.

They are recounted in the key below. H. beccaloniae sp. n. is close to H. wroughtoni ( Pocock, 1899) but has a less lobiform, more granulose and more tuberculate chela. H. beccaloniae sp. n. is unique in the genus in having a very wide femur of pedipalp, which is convex and only twice longer than wide.