Heterometrus indus
| Heterometrus indus | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Drawing of a Heterometrus indus ( Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst - Natural System of Unwedded Insects , 1800) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Heterometrus indus | ||||||||||||
| ( De Geer , 1778) |
Heterometrus indus is a scorpion of the family Scorpionidae endemic to Sri Lanka .
features
Adult animals are colored reddish to greenish black over the whole body and reach a length of 90 to 130 mm. The proportions of the pedipalps show no sexual dimorphism . Their chelicerae are hairy on top and have a rounded shape. In adult animals, their length to width ratio ranges from 1.8 to 2.0. They are not keeled but completely covered with granules, which often merge into one another and thus give the impression of lines. The carapace is usually smooth and shiny, with only occasional granules around the edges. The number of comb teeth of the pectines is 11 to 15 in both sexes. The second segment of the metasoma is longer than it is wide. The fourth segment is shorter than a femur of the pedipalps, while the fifth segment is about the same length as a femur. On the telson , the poisonous bladder is in most cases longer than the sting.
distribution and habitat
In the first description and in numerous later publications, Heterometrus indus India was specified as the distribution area , and the naming goes back to this. In addition, individual authors incorrectly named Java and Mozambique as sites. Sri Lanka as an actual place of discovery was mentioned as early as 1800 by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst and in 1900 by Reginald Innes Pocock , but Indian scorpions of other species were referred to as Heterometrus indus in the specialist literature until the 21st century . The occurrence of the species is limited to Sri Lanka . It shares this distribution area with three other members of the genus Heterometrus , Heterometrus gravimanus and Heterometrus swammerdami , both of which are also found in India, and Heterometrus serratus , which is also endemic to Sri Lanka . Recent research suggests that Heterometrus indus is predominantly found in central Sri Lanka and Heterometrus serratus in the southern part of the island.
Way of life
Heterometrus indus lives as a ground dweller in the undergrowth of the tropical rainforests, but has also been found in the vicinity of settlements and in buildings. During the day the animals occasionally rest under the bark of dead wood and under stones, but like other members of the genus, Heterometrus indus probably digs short structures. After birth, the females carry dozens of young animals on their backs until after the first molt.
Systematics
Initial description
The Swedish naturalist Carl De Geer described the species as Scorpio indus in 1778 in the partial volume of his 7-volume work on insects (Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des Insectes) dedicated to scorpions and pseudoscorpions . As a type locality he only gave "India". The holotype is in the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet in Stockholm. Presumably it is a female specimen, it has now dried out and damaged.
Synonyms (chronological)
- Scorpio indicus (also Heterometrus indicus, Pandinus indicus ): in the sixth edition of his Systema naturae , published in 1748 , the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné listed three types of scorpions, whose names he derived from their presumed origin: Scorpio indicus , Scorpio africanus and Scorpio italicus . In 1754 Linné published an inventory of the natural history collection of the Swedish King Adolf Friedrich . In it four scorpions have now been described and named very briefly, Scorpio africanus , Scorpio americanus , Scorpio europaeus (with the origin "Italia") and Scorpio indicus (with the origin "Asia"). As a name published before 1758, Scorpio indicus was actually no longer available for zoological nomenclature. That changed when the German entomologist Ferdinand Karsch published an identification key for the species of the genus Pandinus in 1884 , in which Pandinus indicus was also listed. This apparently unintended publication of a valid species description made Linné's specific epithet indicus available again. In 1899 Karl Kraepelin declared the Scorpio indicus, which includes several species that have since been described, to be a synonym for these species, including Heterometrus indus .
- Scorpio afer (also Scorpio (Buthus) afer, Heterometrus afer ): In 1758, Carl von Linné described five species of scorpions in the tenth edition of his Systema naturae , for which he in turn named the origin and, in a very brief form, taxonomic characteristics. Scorpio afer from India also belonged to these five species . With his first description of Heterometrus indus , still as Scorpio indus , Carl de Geer declared Scorpio afer Linnaeus in 1778 , in 1758 a synonym for Scorpio indus . The name Scorpio afer , however, continued to be used in literature. In 1894, in his revision of the scorpions, Karl Kraepelin again synonymized it, now with Scorpio indicus .
- Scorpio indus (also Palamnaeus indus ): this combination given by De Geer in his description in 1778 became obsolete when Kraepelin placed the species in the genus Heterometrus . In 1900 by Pocock published arachnid volume of the Fauna of India , Pocock placed Scorpio indus in the genus Palamnaeus , which at that time was already a synonym of Heterometrus .
- Scorpio ceylonicus (also Pandinus ceylonicus, Palamnaeus ceylonicus ): the name was first given by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in his Natural History of Scorpions , published in 1800 , the fourth and last volume of the natural system of wingless insects . Several authors of the 19th century used the name that refers to the actual origin, which Kraepelin made a synonym for Heterometrus indus in 1899 .
- Buthus megacephalus (also Pandinus megacephalus, Scorpio megacephalus ): Between 1831 and 1847 Carl Wilhelm Hahn and Carl Ludwig Koch published their 16-volume work The Arachniden in 94 deliveries. Among the numerous species described for the first time in the third volume of 1836 was Buthus megacephalus , which was synonymous with Heterometrus indus by Tamerlan Thorell in 1876 . Nevertheless, the name Scorpio megacephalus was still used by Pocock in a publication on Indian scorpions in 1893.
- Buthus caesar (also Pandinus caesar, Scorpio caesar, Heterometrus caesar, Palamnaeus caesar ): The species was described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1841 and already in 1872 by Simon declared a synonym for Heterometrus afer . This name was also used until the middle of the 20th century, whereby the supposed species was placed in different genera.
- Scorpio crassimanus : This short-lived synonym was described by Léon Becker in 1880 and already synonymous with Scorpio ceylonicus by Karl Kraepelin in 1899 and with Heterometrus indus by HWC Couzijn in 1981 .
- Heterometrus (Heterometrus) spinifer solitarius : This subspecies of Heterometrus spinifer described by Couzijn in 1981 was discovered by František Kovařík et al. Declared a synonym for Heterometrus indus in 2016 .
Heterometrus serratus was described by Pocock in 1900 as Palamnaeus serratus . It was considered valid by various authors and was finally placed in the genus Heterometrus . Since the revision of Couzijn in 1981, the species has been considered a synonym for Heterometrus indus . With the help of specimens found during an expedition in 2015, Heterometrus serratus was confirmed as the second species of the genus Heterometrus endemic to Sri Lanka.
Revisions
The scorpion called Scorpio indus by De Geer in 1778 was placed in the genus Heterometrus by Karl Kraepelin in 1899 . The Dutch arachnologist HWC Couzijn described the new subgenus Srilankametrus Couzijn, 1981, for the genus Heterometrus as part of his revision , in which he also included Heterometrus indus . The subgenera described by Couzijn in 1978 and 1981 were synonymous with Heterometrus in 2004 by František Kovařík .
Subspecies
HWC Couzijn described in 1981 two subspecies, Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) indus indus as nominate and Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) indus laevitensus Couzijn, 1981. František Kovařík said in his revision of 2004, the subspecies Heterometrus (Srilankametrus) indus laevitensus a synonym of Heterometrus gravimanus (Pocock, 1894).
literature
- Victor Fet: Family SCORPIONIDAE Latreille, 1802. In: Victor Fet et al .: Catalog of the scorpions of the world (1758-1998). The New York Entomological Society, New York 2000, pp. 427-486, download links .
- 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 .
- František Kovařík et al .: Scorpions of Sri Lanka (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Chaerilidae, Scorpionidae) with description of four new species of the genera Charmus Karsch, 1879 and Reddyanus Vachon, 1972, stat. n. In: Euscorpius , 2016, No. 220, pp. 1–133, online PDF .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ František Kovařík: Scorpions of Sri Lanka, pp. 104-106.
- ↑ a b c Carl de Geer: Cinquième mémoire. Des scorpions et des faux-scorpions. In: the same: Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire des Insectes. Tomé 7. Pierre Hesselberg, Stockholm 1778, pp. 325–357, here p. 341.
- ↑ Einar Lönnberg: Scorpioner and Pedipalper i Upsala universitets zoologiska museum. In: Entomologisk Tidskrift 1897, Volume 18, pp. 175–192, digitized version (entire volume).
- ↑ P. Pavesi: Sugli aracnidi raccolti a Giava dal dr. Penzig nel 1895-96. In: Bollettino Scientifico 1898, Volume 20, No. 3, pp. 93-96, digitized version (entire volume).
- ^ A b Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst: Natural history of the scorpions. Natural system of winged insects, fourth issue. Lange, Berlin 1800, pp. 83-84, panel V digitized .
- ↑ a b c Reginald Innes Pocock: Arachnida. In: WT Blanford (Ed.): The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Taylor & Francis, London 1900, digitized .
- ^ A b František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, p. 20.
- ^ František Kovařík: Scorpions of Sri Lanka, p. 10.
- ^ A b František Kovařík: Scorpions of Sri Lanka, pp. 5, 110-111.
- ↑ František Kovařík: Scorpions of Sri Lanka, pp. 118-119 (captions).
- ↑ Lorenzo Prendini, Timothy M. Crowe and Ward C. Wheeler: Systematics and biogeography of the family Scorpionidae (Chelicerata: Scorpiones) with a discussion on phylogenetic methods. In: Invertebrate Systematics 2003, Volume 17, No. 2, pp. 185-259, doi : 10.1071 / IS02016 , here p. 222.
- ↑ František Kovařík: Scorpions of Sri Lanka, p. 102 (picture evidence).
- ↑ a b c d e František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, p. 17.
- ^ A b Victor Fet: Family SCORPIONIDAE Latreille, 1802, pp. 446-448.
- ^ Carl von Linné: Systema Naturae, sistens regna tria naturae, in classes et ordines, genera et species, redacta tabulisque aeneis illustrata. Editio seta, emendata et aucta. Kiesewetter, Stockholm 1748, p. 68.
- ↑ Carl von Linné: SRM Museum Adolphi Friderici regis (...) in quo animalia rariora imprimis et exotica: quadrupedia, aves, amphibia, pisces, insecta, vermes describuntur et determinantur, latine et svetice cum iconibus. Holmiae, Stockholm 1754, p. 84.
- ↑ Ferdinand Karsch: About some new and less known arthropods in the Bremen Museum. In: Treatises of the Natural Science Association in Bremen 1884, Volume 9, No. 1, pp. 65–71, here pp. 68–69 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ; also digitized ).
- ↑ Victor Fet: Family Scorpionidae Latreille, 1802 S. 445th
- ↑ a b c d e 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. 113–114, digitized .
- ↑ Carl von Linné: Scorpio. In: the same: Systema naturae. Tomus I, Editio Decima, Reformata. Holmiae, Stockholm 1758, pp. 624-625, digitized version (full volume).
- ^ Karl Kraepelin: Revision of the scorpions. II. Scorpionidae and Bothriuridae. In: Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten 1893, Volume 11 (published 1894), pp. 1–248, digitized version (entire volume), here p. 53.
- ↑ Carl Ludwig Koch: The arachnids. Third volume. Fifth issue. CH Zeh'sche Buchhandlung, Nuremberg 1836, pp. 73–78, plate XCVII digitized (entire volume).
- ↑ Tamerlan Thorell: Études Scorpiologiques. In: Atti della Societá Italiana di Scienze Naturali 1876, Volume 19, pp. 75-272, 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, digitized .
- ↑ Carl Ludwig Koch: The arachnids. Ninth volume. First issue. CH Zeh'sche Buchhandlung, Nuremberg 1841, pp. 6–9, digitized version (entire volume).
- ^ Eugène Simon: Études sur les Scorpions. Revision of the Heterometrus du groupe de l'H. afer, L. In: Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée 1872, Volume 23, No. 2, pp. 51-59, digitized ; Volume 23, No. 3, pp. 97-101, digitized .
- ^ Léon Becker: Études sur les scorpions. In: Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 1880, Volume 25, pp. 134–145, digitized version (entire volume).
- ↑ a b c H. WC 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. 120–125, online PDF , 18.6 MB.
- ^ František Kovařík: Scorpions of Sri Lanka, pp. 106-107.
- ↑ Haruo Takashima: 東 亜 地域 に 於 け る 全蠍 目 ( English: Scorpions of Eastern Asia). In: Acta Arachnologica, Tokyo 1945, Volume 9, Nos. 3-4, Pages 68-106, Online PDF .
- ↑ BK Tikader and DB Bastawade: Scorpions (Scorpionida: Arachnida). The Fauna of India, Vol. 3. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta 1983, Online PDF , 30 MB.
- ^ A b František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, p. 1.