Heterometrus bengalensis
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Heterometrus bengalensis is an Indian Scorpio from the family of Scorpionidae .
description
Adult specimens have a length of 95 to 115 millimeters and a dark reddish brown to light brown body color. The combs of the comb organ have 14 to 17 teeth in both sexes. In the male animals, the chelae , femora and patella of the pedipalps are narrower and longer than in the females. The surfaces of the chelae are uneven, but without pronounced granules and keels. The telson is hairy and spherical, with a poisonous bladder that is longer than the sting.
distribution and habitat
The terra typica of Heterometrus bengalensis was given by Carl Ludwig Koch in his first description as "Fatherland: East India, Bengal". Since then, numerous synonyms of the species have been described, some with very different indications of origin. Again and again, inaccurately, Myanmar and even Madagascar were included . Specimens definitely identified as Heterometrus bengalensis come from the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha . The Czech arachnologist František Kovařík thinks it is possible that the species occurs in other Indian states and in Bangladesh . Older distribution indications including Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh , Assam , Meghalaya and Maharashtra are possibly based on confusion with other species of the genus Heterometrus and need to be checked.
Heterometrus bengalensis lives in dry wasteland, preferably on the edges of ditches, on which dense vegetation with shrubs provides shade and cover.
Way of life
Heterometrus bengalensis digs living tubes, which can be recognized from the outside by their characteristic crescent-shaped opening five to ten centimeters wide and one to four centimeters high and open into a chamber. During heavy rains, the crescent-shaped appearance of the entrance may be temporarily lost, but it will soon reappear when the drought sets in and the scorpion has moved through it a few times. The buildings are inhabited by a single animal. In rare cases they contain a couple or a mother with its young.
In the buildings there are often remains of the exoskeletons of insects , millipedes and arachnids , and rarely egg shells from lizards and other animals that the scorpions eat. Heterometrus bengalensis leaves its burrow during the night to hunt, but often stays in its apartment for several nights after a meal.
Systematics
Initial description
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The first description was made by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1841 in the ninth volume of his work The Arachnids after a collection copy.
etymology
The species name refers to the geographical region Bengal as the place of origin of the species.
Type material
Carl Ludwig Koch left a series of seven syntypes in the collection of the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin .
In his revision of the genus Heterometrus published in 1981, HWC Couzijn identified two of these specimens as paratypes of Heterometrus (Chersonesometrus) fastigiosus and designated a museum specimen from the collection of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris as the neotype of Heterometrus bengalensis .
In his 2004 revision, František Kovařík called Couzijn's changes “completely incomprehensible” and determined a lectotype for the species from Koch's series of syntypes in order to abolish the definition of a neotype made by Couzijn and the definition of type specimens, which is mandatory in the zoological nomenclature fulfill. In addition, Kovařík declared the remaining six Kochs specimens to be paralectotypes.
Synonyms (chronological)
- Buthus bengalensis Koch , 1841: under this name the species was described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1841.
- Palamnaeus costimanus glaucus Thorell , 1876b: Tamerlan Thorell described this new subspecies of Palamnaeus costimanus in his Études scorpiololiques in 1876 with the indication of origin of the East Indies and Bengal. In 1981, HWC Couzijn synonymized this subspecies with Heterometrus (Heterometrus) bengalensis .
- Palamnaeus bengalensis Simon , 1884: Eugène Simon placed Buthus bengalensis in the genus Palamnaeus in 1884 and gave "Burma" as the place of origin, today's Myanmar. The basis for this decision was the examination of specimens that actually belonged to the species Heterometrus thorellii described later by Pocock . In addition, the genus Palamnaeus had already been declared a synonym for Heterometrus by Ferdinand Karsch in 1879 .
- Scorpio bengalensis Pocock , 1893: towards the end of the 19th century, Pocock and Karl Kraepelin named the species Scorpio bengalensis. A few years later Kraepelin placed them in the genus Heterometrus.
- Heterometrus (Scorpio) bengalensis Kraepelin , 1901: Kraepelin used this designation in 1901 in a catalog of the scorpions in the collections of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris .
- Heterometrus (Heterometrus) bengalensis Couzijn , 1981: As part of his comprehensive revision of the genus Heterometrus , HWC Couzijn described four subgenera, including Heterometrus (Heterometrus) . These were discarded by František Kovařík in 2004 because Couzijn had not given any diagnostic features to delimit the subgenera, and Kovařík was of the opinion that the genus could at best be further subdivided by informal species groups.
- Heterometrus (Chersonesometrus) fastigiosus Couzijn , 1981: This new species was described by Couzin on the basis of museum specimens from the 19th century. These included two of the seven specimens identified by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1841 as syntypes of Heterometrus bengalensis , which Couzijn described elsewhere as missing in World War II. In 2004, Kovařík declared these changes invalid, especially since he found and examined the allegedly lost syntypes in the collection of the Berlin Museum of Natural History . He synonymized Heterometrus fastigiosus with Heterometrus bengalensis.
Medical importance
Poisoning is common, especially in summer and during the monsoons from May to October. Locally, the stitches cause severe burning pain that can last for minutes to hours, and edema . Systemic reactions such as hypotension , bradypnea , restlessness, dizziness and vomiting, abdominal pain, severe thirst, headache, fever, chills and shock are more severe . There have been few reports of deaths involving children and infants. Treatment is limited to relieving symptoms.
toxicology
Since no antivenins against scorpion poisons are available in India , naturopathy plays an important role in the treatment of stings, even from dangerous species. In animal experiments , the poison of Heterometrus bengalensis was neutralized by root extracts of Aristolochia indica , Hemidesmus indicus and Pluchea indica .
The protein bengalin contained in the poison of Heterometrus bengalensis has been shown in laboratory tests to be growth-inhibiting, cytotoxic , apoptotic and to trigger autophagocytosis against various leukemia cell lines.
Bengaline injected intraperitoneally caused bone tissue to be rebuilt in animal experiments in female laboratory rats in which osteoporosis had been caused .
literature
- HWC Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus. In: Zoologische Verhandelingen 1981, Volume 184, No. 1, pp. 1–196 (also dissertation, University of Leiden 1981), here pp. 151–153, online PDF , 18.6 MB.
- Antony Gomes and Aparna Gomes: Scorpion Venom Research Around the World: Heterometrus Species. In: Ponnampalam Gopalakrishnakone et al. (Ed.): Scorpion Venoms. Springer, Dordrecht 2015, pp. 351–368, doi : 10.1007 / 978-94-007-6647-1_9-1 .
- Madhu Sudan Kanungo : The ecology and behavior of the scorpion Palamnaeus bengalensis C. Koch. In: Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 1954, Volume 52, Nos. 2-3, pp. 536-539, digitized .
- František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, with descriptions of seven new species (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae). In: Euscorpius , 2004, No. 15, pp. 1-60, online PDF , 6.3 MB.
- BK Tikader and DB Bastawade: Scorpions (Scorpionida: Arachnida). The Fauna of India, Vol. 3. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta 1983, pp. 614-619, Online PDF , 30 MB.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus, p. 9.
- ↑ a b c Carl Ludwig Koch: The arachnids. Ninth volume. CH Zeh´sche Buchhandlung, Nuremberg 1841–1842, pp. 3–6, plate 290, digitized .
- ↑ a b c d Henricus Wilhelmus Cornelis Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus, pp. 117-120.
- ↑ a b c František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus, pp. 7–9.
- ↑ a b Madhu Sudan Kanungo: The ecology and behavior of the scorpion Palamnaeus bengalensis C. Koch, pp. 536-537.
- ↑ a b Madhu Sudan Kanungo: The ecology and behavior of the scorpion Palamnaeus bengalensis C. Koch, p. 537.
- ↑ Henricus Wilhelmus Cornelis Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus, p. 120.
- ↑ a b Henricus Wilhelmus Cornelis Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus, pp. 140-142.
- ^ Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell: Études Scorpiologiques. In: Atti della Societá Italiana di Scienze Naturali 1876, Volume 19, pp. 75-272, here pp. 219-221, digitized .
- ^ Eugène Simon: Arachnides recueillis en Birmanie par M. le chevalier JB Comotto, et appartenant au Musée civique d'histoire naturelle de Gènes. In: Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, 1884, Volume 20, pp. 325–372, here pp. 360–362, digitized .
- ^ Reginald Innes Pocock: Descriptions of two new genera of scorpions, with notes upon some species of Palamnaeus. In: Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1892, Series 6, Volume 9, pp. 38-49 and Plate III, here pp. 39-43, digitized .
- ^ Ferdinand Karsch: Scorpionological contributions. I. In: Mitteilungen des Münchener Entomologische Verein 1879, Volume 3, No. 1, pp. 6–22, here p. 20, digitized .
- ^ Reginald Innes Pocock: A small contribution to our knowledge of the scorpions of India. In: Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1894, Volume 6, No. 13, pp. 72-84, digitized .
- ^ Reginald Innes Pocock: Report upon a small collection of scorpions sent to the British Museum by Mr. Edgar Thurston, of the Government Central Museum, Madras. In: Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 1893, Volume 7, No. 3, pp. 295-312, here p. 310, digitized .
- ^ Karl Kraepelin: Revision of the scorpions. II. Scorpionidae and Bothriuridae. In: Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten 1893, Volume 11 (published 1894), pp. 1–248, here pp. 28–29, 51–53, digitized version (entire volume).
- ^ Karl Kraepelin: Scorpiones and Pedipalpi. In: Friedrich Dahl (Ed.): The animal kingdom. A compilation and identification of the recent animal forms. Published by the German Zoological Society. 8. Delivery. Arachnoid. Friedländer and Son, Berlin 1899, pp. 114–115, digitized
- ^ Karl Kraepelin: Catalog des Scorpions des collections du Muséum d`Histoire Naturelle de Paris. In: Bulletin du Muséum d'histoire naturelle 1901, Volume 7, pp. 265-274, digitized .
- ↑ František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus, pp. 2-4.
- ↑ Wolfgang Bücherl and Eleanor E. Buckley (eds.): Venomous Animals and their Venoms, vol. 3. Venomous invertebrates. Academic Press, New York 1971, p. 342, ISBN 978-0-12-138903-1 .
- ^ Antony Gomes and Aparna Gomes: Scorpion Venom Research Around the World: Heterometrus Species, pp. 351-352.
- ^ Antony Gomes and Aparna Gomes: Scorpion Venom Research Around the World: Heterometrus Species, pp. 354-357.
- ↑ Rinku Das, Sourav Ghosh and Antony Gomes: Indian Black Scorpion (Heterometrus bengalensis) Venom Action Neutralization by Indian Medicinal Plants in Experimental Animals. In: Journal of Toxins 2016, Volume 3, No. 2, Article 7, Online .
- ↑ Shubho Das Gupta et al .: Indian black scorpion (Heterometrus bengalensis Koch) venom induced antiproliferative and apoptogenic activity against human leukemic cell lines U937 and K562. In: Leukemia Research 2007, Volume 31, pp. 817-825, doi : 10.1016 / j.leukres.2006.06.004 .
- ↑ Shubho Das Gupta et al .: Bengalin initiates autophagic cell death through ERK-MAPK pathway following suppression of apoptosis in human leukemic U937 cells. In: Life Sciences 2013, Volume 93, pp. 271-276, doi : 10.1016 / j.lfs.2013.06.022 .
- ↑ Antony Gomes et al .: Experimental osteoporosis induced in female albino rats and its antagonism by Indian black scorpion (Heterometrus bengalensis CLKoch) venom. In: Toxicon 2009, Volume 53, pp. 60-68, doi : 10.1016 / j.toxicon.2008.10.011 .
- ↑ Subhash Haldar et al .: A high molecular weight protein Bengalin from the Indian black scorpion (Heterometrus bengalensis CL Koch) venom having antiosteoporosis activity in female albino rats. In: Toxicon 2010, Volume 55, pp. 455-461, doi : 10.1016 / j.toxicon.2009.09.013 .
