Iuridae
| Iuridae | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Iuridae | ||||||||||||
| Thorell , 1876 |
The Iuridae are in Turkey and in Greece occurring family of scorpions with only two genera . With a length of up to 10 centimeters, Iurus dufoureius is the largest scorpion in Europe.
features
The Iuridae have preserved very original features of the scorpions. The arrangement of the trichobothria on the legs and the number of teeth on the scissors are so similar in the two genera of the family that in 1981 they were separated from two other families and placed in their own family. The genus Iurus is a large, robust scorpion from dark brown to black in color. The genus Calchas is of medium size, 2–5 centimeters long, light brown to chestnut brown.
distribution and habitat
The species of this scorpion family are found not only on mainland Greece, but also on Crete and the Aegean islands . In Turkey they are restricted to relatively small, widely separated areas. In the south, their distribution area extends to the Turkish-Syrian border and northern Iraq . The biogeographical distribution of the two genera of the Iuridae has raised many questions since their discovery. The spread on the Greek islands and the disjoint occurrences on the mainland reflect the phylogenetic diversification of these groups since the Miocene . The Iuridae are therefore often the subject of phylogeographic research.
Although the Iuridae mainly live on rocky coasts and in the mountains, they cannot do without moisture. They are therefore often found near rivers or waterfalls. They seek protection from the heat under large stones, ledges, niches, but above all in deep natural holes. They are therefore difficult to find. Little is known about their way of life either.
Systematics
The family Iuridae was only created in 1981 as a spin-off of the genus Calchas from the family Chactidae and four other genera from the family Vaejovidae . It comprised the genera:
- Jurus Thorell, 1876
- Calchas Birula, 1899
- Caraboctonus Pocock, 1893
- Hadruroides Pocock, 1893
- Hadrurus Thorell, 1876
The latter three genera were separated into a separate family Caraboctonidae in 2003 . Only the following species remained:
- Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899
- Iurus dufoureius (Brullé, 1832)
Subspecies
Iurus dufoureius is divided into two subspecies, Iurus dufoureius dufoureius and Iurus dufoureius asiaticus . These subspecies have lived in the northeastern Mediterranean region in what is now southern Greece and southwestern Turkey since the Miocene . Due to the tectonic processes that led to the formation of the Aegean island world, various populations of Iurus dufoureius dufoureius were isolated on the islands. The division into the two subspecies and the radiation of the populations of Iurus dufoureius asiaticus can be traced back to older paleogeographical events.
New species
As a rare relic form, Calchas nordmanni also has a special phylogenetic value. The genus Calchas was initially only known from northeastern Turkey and has remained monotypical (with only one species) since its description. In 1980, Ragnar Kinzelbach discovered specimens of this scorpion in southern and southeastern Turkey, and later finds were made on the two Greek islands of Samos and Megisti .
The finds, including the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna , were examined and in 2009 the genus Calchas was revised. Fet, Soleglad and Kovarik described the clade occurring in southern Turkey and on the two Greek islands as a new species of Calchas gruberi .
The population found in south-eastern Turkey to northern Iraq and possibly in Syria was also raised to the species rank as Calchas birulai .
The third species of the genus is the Calchas nordmanni, which is native to northeast Turkey and described by Alexei Birula in 1899 . The genus Calchas is named after the seer Kalchas , who advised the Greek military leaders before Troy . The archaeological sites of Troy are like the distribution area of Calchas nordmanni in the north of Turkey.
Iuridae and humans
The two species of this family are kept relatively rarely as terrarium animals . The poison of the animals is largely harmless, and they only sting if they are strongly provoked.
literature
- Ragnar Kinzelbach: The scorpions of the Aegean. Contributions to systematics, phylogeny and biogeography. Zoological Yearbook (Department for Systematics), 102, pp. 12–50, 1975
- Oscar F. Francke: Taxonomic and zoogeographic observations on Iurus Thorell (Scorpiones, Iuridae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 5, 5, pp. 221-224, 1981
- E. Kritscher: A contribution to the spread of scorpions in the eastern Mediterranean. Annals of the Natural History Museum Vienna, 94/95, pp. 377–391, 1993
Web links
- Iuridae at The Scorpion Files (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Oscar F. Francke and Michael E. Soleglad: The family Iuridae Thorell (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Journal of Arachnology, 9, pp. 233–258, 1981 Online (PDF; 1.5 MB)
- ↑ Michael E. Soleglad and Victor Fet: High-level systematics and phylogeny of the extant scorpions (Scorpiones: Orthosterni). Euscorpius, 11 pp. 1-175, 2003
- ↑ A. Parmakelis, I. Stathi, L. Spanos, C. Louis and M. Mylonas: Phylogeography of Iurus dufoureius (Brullé, 1832) (Scorpiones, Iuridae) . Journal of Biogeography, 33, 2, pp. 251-260, 2006
- ^ Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad, F. Kovarik: Etudes on Iurids, II. Revision of the genus Calchas Birula, 1899, with the description of two new species (Scorpiones: Iuridae). Euscorpius, 82, pp. 1-72, 2009