Heterometrus petersii
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Heterometrus petersii |
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| ( Thorell , 1876) |
Heterometrus petersii is a scorpion of the family Scorpionidae widespreadin Southeast Asia .
description
Heterometrus petersii is a 90 to 125 millimeter long scorpion with a black base color. The chelae and the telson are reddish-brown. The chelae are rounded, with a length to width ratio of 2 to 2.2 to 1 in both sexes. Their upper side is mostly smooth with only a few keels on the edges. The proportions of the limbs of the pedipalps show no sexual dimorphism , the movable fingers of the chelae show more pronounced teeth on the gripping surfaces in male animals. The carapace has a smooth and shiny surface in the middle, the edges are granulated. The combs of the comb organ have 15 to 19 teeth in both sexes. The telson is hairy and elongated, with a poisonous bladder longer than the venomous sting .
The species is similar in its morphology to the black Laos scorpion ( Heterometrus laoticus . Heterometrus petersii ) can be recognized by the different teeth of the chelae in males and females; this difference is missing in the black Laos scorpion.
distribution and habitat
The Terra typica of Heterometrus petersii is given as Cochinchina , which includes parts of eastern Cambodia and the south of Vietnam .
Cambodia, Laos , Vietnam and the Philippines are specified as the distribution area. Find reports from Malaysia and Thailand are doubtful and could be based on confusion with the black Laos scorpion or with Heterometrus spinifer . Finds from the 1930s for the Chinese island of Hainan and from the 1940s for Manchukuo were already doubted at that time, no collection copies have survived and the geographical location rules out these finds.
Systematics
Initial description
The first description was made by Tamerlan Thorell in 1876 after a male scorpion. In the first description, Thorell only listed features of the scorpion in a few lines, but it still complies with the rules of zoological nomenclature .
subspecies
- Heterometrus petersii luzonensis Couzijn , 1981 : this subspecies was described by Couzijn in 1981 after two adult female specimens from Mount Makiling on the Philippine island of Luzon . The subspecies was synonymous with Heterometrus cyaneus in 2002 by the Czech arachnologist František Kovařík .
- Heterometrus (Heterometrus) petersii mindanaensis Couzijn , 1981 : Couzijn described this subspecies in 1981 after a single male specimen whose type locality he specified as the Philippine island of Mindanao .
Type material
The holotype is in the collection of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris . Couzijn had defined a male holotype for this subspecies in 1981 when describing Heterometrus petersii mindanaensis . This type can also be found in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris.
etymology
In the first description of Heterometrus petersii , Thorell made no information about the etymology of the species name. In the introduction, however, he repeatedly referred to the work published in 1861 on a new division of scorpions by the German naturalist and zoologist Wilhelm Peters . There is no doubt that the species name should honor Peters.
Synonyms and misspellings (chronological)
- Heterometrus megacephalus Simon , 1872 : the name was already used by Eugène Simon in 1872, four years before the first description, for Heterometrus petersii , which he incorrectly identified as Buthus macrocephalus , described by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1836 and - supposedly - placed in the genus Heterometrus .
- Palamnaeus petersii Thorell , 1876 : the name was given by Tamerlan Thorell in his first description. The genus Palamnaeus was synonymous with Heterometrus by Ferdinand Karsch in 1879 .
- Palamnaeus silenus Simon , 1884 : In 1884, Eugène Simon admitted his misidentification of the scorpion, known in 1872 as Heterometrus megacephalus . He pointed out for the scorpion he described that it differed in various characteristics from Palamnaeus petersii . Therefore he suggested the name Palamnaeus silenus for this species . Palamnaeus silenus was synonymous with Heterometrus (Heterometrus) petersii petersii by Couzijn in 1981 .
- Palamnaeus spinifer Pocock , 1892 (partially): Pocock was of the opinion that Palamnaeus petersii was a synonym for Palamnaeus spinifer . However, his proposal did not find recognition in the professional world.
- Scorpio longimanus silenus Kraepelin , 1894 : Karl Kraepelin synonymized a number of species with Scorpio longimanus in 1894 . He made Palamnaeus petersii a synonym for Scorpio longimanus silenus .
- Heterometrus longimanus petersi Kraepelin , 1905 : Kraepelin stated in 1904 that the name longimanus silenus should be correctly called longimanus petersi .
- Heterometrus (Heterometrus) petersii petersii Couzijn , 1981 : HWC Couzijn described the subgenus Heterometrus in 1981 , in which he also placed Heterometrus petersii . All subgenera described by Couzijn were abolished in 2004 by František Kovařík in his revision of the genus Heterometrus .
toxicology
DNA analysis of the venom glands of Heterometrus petersii was able to isolate a gene that causes the synthesis of the amphipathic α-helical peptide Hp1090 . In the laboratory, Hp1090 has been shown to be virucidal against the hepatitis C virus in vitro . The substance attacked the virus envelope and prevented infections with the virus. The researchers involved expressed the hope that Hp1090 could provide a therapeutic approach for the treatment of infections with the hepatitis C virus.
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. 149–151, online PDF , 18.6 MB.
- 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.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus, p. 33.
- ↑ a b František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus, p. 32.
- ↑ a b c H. WC Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus, pp. 97-99.
- ↑ a b c Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell: On the classification of Scorpions. In: Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1876, Series 4, Volume 17, No. 97, pp. 1-15, here p. 13, digitized .
- ^ A b 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, here p. 437, download links .
- ^ HWC Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus, p. 99.
- ^ František Kovařík: A checklist of scorpions (Arachnida) in the collection of the Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. In: Serket 2002, Volume 8, No. 1, pp. 1–23, here pp. 3 and 17, digitized .
- ↑ Gérard Dupré: Dictionary of scientific scorpion names. In: Arachnides. Bulletin de Terrariophile et de Recherche 2016, Supplement to No. 78, p. 49, Online PDF , 560 kB.
- ^ 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 1871–1872, Volume 23, No. 2, pp. 51–59, digitized ; Volume 23, No. 3, pp. 97-101, here p. 97, digitized .
- ^ Ferdinand Karsch: Scorpionological contributions. I. In: Mitteilungen des Münchener Entomologische Verein 1879, Volume 3, No. 1, pp. 6–22, here p. 20, 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 p. 361 (footnote), digitized .
- ↑ a b H. WC Couzijn: Revision of the genus Heterometrus, pp. 96–97.
- ^ 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. 40-43, digitized .
- ^ Karl Kraepelin: Revision of the scorpions. II. Scorpionidae and Bothriuridae. In: Messages from the Natural History Museum in Hamburg. 1893, Volume 11 (published 1894), pp. 1–248, here pp. 34–42, digitized .
- ^ Karl Kraepelin: On the nomenclature of the scorpions and pedipalpi. In: Zoologischer Anzeiger 1904, Volume 28, No. 6, pp. 195-204, here p. 199, digitized version .
- ^ František Kovařík: A review of the genus Heterometrus, p. 4.
- ↑ Ran Yan et al .: A new natural ?-helical peptide from the venom of the scorpion Heterometrus petersii kills HCV . In: Peptides 2011, Volume 32, No. 1, pp. 11-19, doi : 10.1016 / j.peptides.2010.10.008 .