Opistophthalmus lamorali
| Opistophthalmus lamorali | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Opistophthalmus lamorali | ||||||||||||
| Prendini , 2000 |
Opistophthalmus lamorali is in Namibia endemic occurring Scorpio from the family Scorpionidae .
features
Opistophthalmus lamorali is a medium-sized scorpion 65 to 85 millimeters in length and a flat physique compared to many other species of the genus Opistophthalmus . It has an olive brown color in various tones, the tergites , sternites and the segments of the metasoma are dark gray to black. Scorpions from the northwestern part of the range have a significantly lighter color. The tergites of the mesosoma as well as the first and occasionally the second metasomal segment of the male scorpion have a very fine and even grain of the surface, which gives them a matt impression. The sternites of the mesosoma and the undersides of the first three metasomal segments have an irregular surface. The tergites and sternites of female scorpions are smooth and shiny.
The median ocelles are slightly larger than the lateral ones. They are shifted slightly backwards on the carapace , the ratio of the distance to the front edge of the carapace to its total length is about 0.54. At the front edge of the carapace there is a small round indentation from which a furrow runs back in the middle. This divides behind the ocelles and forms an approximately isosceles triangle with a short furrow running parallel to the rear edge of the carapace. A furrow runs from the fork branches at right angles to the lateral edge of the carapace. With the exception of the area around the median ocelles, the carapace of male scorpions has a uniformly granular surface. In female scorpions, the carapace is almost completely smooth, with only a slight grain in the front area.
The comb organs have 25 to 28 teeth in male scorpions and 15 to 17 teeth in females. The genital perculum is transversely oval in male scorpions and approximately heart-shaped in females. The observation of the comb organs and the genital percula enables the sexes to be differentiated even in juvenile and subadult scorpions.
The outside of the chelae and the patella of the pedipalps are almost smooth, the inside has a slightly grainy surface. The patellas have a pronounced process at the distal end.
The telson is elongated in both sexes.
Opistophthalmus lamorali shows a distinct sexual dimorphism . In addition to the features already listed, male scorpions appear much slimmer with the same length, their pedipalps are significantly longer and narrower. The male scorpions have a more flattened body.
The morphology of Opistophthalmus lamorali and a DNA analysis carried out indicate a close relationship with Opistophthalmus cavimanus . It differs from this species in its dark color, Opistophthalmus cavimanus has a yellow- orange to red-brown color. In addition to the median ocelles shifted slightly backwards and the smooth surface of the carapace of Opistophthalmus lamorali in the area of the ocelles, there are numerous other differences in morphological details.
distribution and habitat
The terra typica of Opistophthalmus lamorali is the Ugab river in the constituency of Omaruru in the Namibian region of Erongo , which only carries water temporarily . The type location is north of the Brandberg massif . Searches in the 1990s brought numerous other finds in the area of the Brandberg massif ( 21 ° 0 ′ 0 ″ S , 14 ° 34 ′ 48 ″ E ). Opistophthalmus lamorali is endemic to the Namibian constituencies of Omaruru in the Erongo region and Khorixas in the Kunene region . All sites are located between the Uis settlement to the southwest and the Huab dry river northwest of the Brandberg massif. The species was found on rocky plateaus in the surrounding lowlands, on the massif itself only in two gorges on its western edge. The distribution area of Opistophthalmus lamorali borders parapatricly on that of Opistophthalmus cavimanus , which occurs further north.
Way of life
Opistophthalmus lamorali belongs to the lithophilic species of the genus Opistophthalmus . They dig their short living tubes under stones in hard, dried-out clay soil, usually only reaching depths of less than ten centimeters. Adult male scorpions often dig out shallow cavities under rocks that are only temporarily used. With its flattened body and the median ocelles shifted backwards on the carapace, the species shows a clear adaptation to this way of life.
Systematics
As early as 1934, the South African arachnologist John Hewitt described the subspecies Opistophthalmus undulatus ugabensis according to a male and a female syntype . In the 1950s, the arachnologist Reginald Frederick Lawrence recognized that the male specimen was a new species, he labeled four other collection specimens of this species with the note "n. sp. ”for“ new species ”. However, he did not make an initial description, but referred to the taxon in later publications as Opistophthalmus cavimanus ugabensis . Opistophthalmus undulatus was synonymous with Opistophthalmus schultzei in 1979 by Bruno H. Lamoral . Lamoral also found that the syntypes of Opistophthalmus undulatus ugabensis belong to different species and determined the female specimen to be the lectotype of Opistophthalmus ugabensis Hewitt , 1934 . He wrongly identified the male syntype as Opistophthalmus cavimanus .
Initial description
The first description of Opistophthalmus lamorali was made in 2000 by the American US arachnologists Lorenzo Prendini in a book chapter on the biodiversity of scorpions of the Brandberg Massif .
Type material
Prendini identified the male syntype of Opistophthalmus undulatus ugabensis Hewitt , 1934 , which in the meantime had been wrongly determined by Lamoral as Opistophthalmus cavimanus , as a new species with this specimen as a holotype . The holotype is in the Albany Museum in Makhanda . The examination of several museum collections resulted in further finds of wrongly identified specimens from the area around the type location. From this inventory and from finds during targeted searches in the area of the type location, Prendini named about 50 paratypes, which are in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, in the Namibian National Museum in Windhoek, in the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town, in Ditsong National Museum of Natural History in Pretoria, the Albany Museum in Grahamstown, the Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, and the collection of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
etymology
The species name lamorali honors the South African arachnologist Bruno H. Lamoral for his services to the systematics of the South African and especially the Namibian scorpions.
literature
- Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) . In: Ashley H. Kirk-Spriggs and Eugène Marais (eds.): Dâures - Biodiversity of the Brandberg Massif, Namibia (= Cimbebasia Memoir. SWA research No. 9) , Solitaire Press, Windhoek 2000, pp. 109–120, ISBN 0-86976-560-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) , p. 112.
- ↑ a b c Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) , p. 114.
- ↑ a b c d e f Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) , p. 116.
- ↑ a b c Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) , p. 117.
- ↑ a b c Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) , p. 110.
- ^ John Hewitt : On several Solifuges, Scorpions and a trapdoor Spider from South West Africa . In: Annals of the Transvaal Museum 1934, Volume 15, No. 3, pp. 401–412, here pp. 408–410, accessed on January 11, 2018.
- ^ Reginald Frederick Lawrence: A new genus of psammophile scorpion and new species of Opisthophthalmus from the Namib Desert . In: Scientific Papers of the Namib Desert Research Station 1969, Volume 4, No. 48, pp. 105-115, here p. 115, online PDF , 2.8 MB.
- ↑ a b Lorenzo Prendini: Chelicerata (Scorpiones) , p. 111.
- ↑ Gérard Dupré: Dictionary of scientific scorpion names. In: Arachnides. Bulletin de Terrariophilie et de Recherche 2016, Supplément au n ° 78, p. 34, online PDF , 560 kB.