Parabuthus gracilis Lamoral, 1979

Prendini, Lorenzo & Bird, Tharina L., 2008, Scorpions of the Brandberg Massif, Namibia: Species richness inversely correlated with altitude, African Invertebrates 49 (2), pp. 77-77 : 88

Parabuthus gracilis Lamoral, 1979

Parabuthus gracilis: Lamoral 1979: 566–571 , figs 96, 103, 104, 107–116.

Material examined: 5 ♂ ( AMNH [AH 2055–2057, 2067, 2068]), 4♀( AMNH [AH 2058–2060, 2069]), 1 subad. ♂ ( AMNH [AH 2061]), 1 subad.♀( AMNH [AH 2062]), 1 juv.♀( AMNH [AH 2063]), Brandberg, base of hill 282, opposite Orabeskopf [21°15'S: 14°38'E], 1.ii.1981, A. Harington, night collecting (cloudy sky, warm, windless) on sand dune (soft, white but sometimes gritty soil) near hill, most specimens where sand was soft, a few with burrows in dune, syntopic with P. gracilis , P.granulatus , P.kraepelini , U. planimanus and O. jenseni ; 3 ♂ ( AMCC 119231), Brandberg, plains S, opposite Orabeskopf, 21°15.48'S: 14°36.54'E, 790 m, 16.i.1998, L. Prendini & E. Scott, gritty white dune sand dune against hill and adjacent gravel flats, UV detection, syntopic with O. jenseni and O. wahlbergii ; 1♀holotype ( NMSA 10925), 8 ♂ 2♀4 juv. paratypes ( NMSA 10848), 1 ♂ paratype ( NMSA 10906), 1 ♂ paratype ( SMN 766), Messum Crater area, 21°16'S: 14°13'E, 26.iii.1976, B. Lamoral & L. Ferguson, on surface of sandy to gritty soil at night; 1 ♂ ( AMNH [AH 2164]), Messum Crater area [21°25'S: 14°13'E], 21.i.1981, A. Harington, syntopic with P. brevimanus and U. gracilior ; 1 subad. ♂ ( AMNH [AH 3386]), 2 subad.♀( AMNH [AH 3387, 3388]), Daweb (N Uis), 4 km S [21°03'S: 14°54'E], 6.ii.1981, A. Harington, on sandy and rocky areas, sympatric with L. elegans , P. granulatus , P. kraepelini , O. jenseni and O. wahlbergii ; 2 subad. ♂ ( AMNH [AH 1917, 1918]), Nai-Gap riverbed at N tip Uis Mtns [21°07'S: 14°52'E], 6.ii.1981, A. Harington, syntopic with P. brevimanus ; 1 subad. ♂ ( AMNH [AH 2167]), Uis townlands [21°15'S: 14°50'E], 2.ii.1981, A. Harington; 1 ♂ ( AMNH [AH 2089]), 2 subad. ♂ 3 subad.♀( AMNH [AH 2090]), Uis, 20 km from turnoff to Khorixas [21°02'S: 14°54'E], 6.ii.1981, A. Harington, drizzling, specimens abundant on sand and near rocky surfaces, syntopic with P. granulatus , P. kraepelini , O. jenseni and O. wahlbergii .

Ecology and distribution: This psammophilous species ( Fig. 11 ) excavates burrows in unconsolidated white sand dunes (Lamoral 1979; Prendini 2001 b, 2004) situated in dry riverbeds and against small hills ( Fig. 2 ) surrounding the Brandberg and adjacent landforms (e.g. the Messum Crater). It is endemic to Namibia (Lamoral 1979; Prendini 2004, 2005 a).

Figures

Figs 11, 12. Parabuthus adults, habitus in life: (11) P. gracilis Lamoral, 1979, female; (12) P. granulatus (Ehrenberg, 1831), male.

Fig. 2. Brandberg Massif (Namibia), granitic inselberg south, surrounded by low sand dunes, leading down to sandy plain, facing west, wet year. Dominant vegetation, Euphorbia damarana L.C. Leach and Stipagrostis sp. Dunes, habitat of Parabuthus gracilis Lamoral, 1979 and Opistophthalmus jenseni (Lamoral, 1972). Sandy plain, habitat of Parabuthus brevimanus (Thorell, 1876), Parabuthus granulatus (Ehrenberg, 1831) and Opistophthalmus wahlbergii (Thorell, 1876).