Opistophthalmus lornae
| Opistophthalmus lornae | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Opistophthalmus lornae | ||||||||||||
| Lamoral , 1979 |
Opistophthalmus lornae is in Namibia endemic occurring Scorpio from the family Scorpionidae .
features
Opistophthalmus lornae is a small scorpion about 50 millimeters long. It has a yellow-orange to yellow-brown color in various tones, the tergites have red, reticulated markings on the front edge. The legs and the telson are yellow-orange, the comb organs light yellow-orange.
The median pair of ocelles is clearly behind the center of the carapace , the length of the carapace is about 1.75 to 1.80 times the distance between the ocelles and the front edge. The median ocelles are large, with a diameter about two and a half times the diameter of the lateral ocelles. The distance between the two median ocelles is only about one diameter. The sternum is approximately pentagonal and slightly longer than it is wide. The comb organs in male scorpions have 5 to 9 teeth. The poison sting is long and only slightly curved. The ratio of the lengths of the movable fingers of the chelae to the length of the back of the hand is about 1.13 to 1.
The entire surface of the carapace is slightly granulated, the area around the median ocelles only minimal. The dorsal surface of the first metasomal segment and the lateral and ventral sides of the fifth segment are dense and evenly grained. The telson is moderately granulated ventrally. The upper and outer sides of the chelae and tibiae as well as the upper sides of the femora of the pedipalps have a strong and evenly granular surface.
Since no female scorpions have been described, no statement can be made about a possible sexual dimorphism .
distribution and habitat
The terra typica of Opistophthalmus lornae is located in Ortmansbaum, about 50 kilometers south of Karasburg in the Namibian region of ǁKaras ( 28 ° 18 ′ 0 ″ S , 18 ° 42 ′ 0 ″ E ). A second location is a little further north. A very limited distribution area in Namibia south of the 27th parallel is assumed for the species.
Way of life
All specimens of Opistophthalmus lornae found were found resting on dunes or on sandy surfaces during the night. The floor was not very hard, but no living tubes could be found. It is therefore uncertain whether the sites are also the places where the species builds its buildings. The species lives sympatric with Opistophthalmus pygmaeus .
Systematics
Opistophthalmus lornae belongs to the group around the species Opistophthalmus fitzsimonsi and Opistophthalmus intercedens .
Initial description
The first description of Opistophthalmus lornae was made in 1979 by the South African arachnologists Bruno H. Lamoral in an extensive monograph of scorpions Namibia, published in the Annals of the Natal Museum (now the African Invertebrates ).
Type material
The type material consists of an adult male holotype and six male paratypes. The holotype and four paratypes are in the collection of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg . One male paratype is deposited in the collection of the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History in Pretoria and one in the Namibian National Museum in Windhoek.
etymology
The species name lornae honors Lorna Ferguson , the longtime director of the municipal art museum Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg , which under her direction has become one of the leading museums in South Africa.
literature
- Bruno H. Lamoral: The scorpions of Namibia (Arachnida: Scorpionida) . In: Annals of the Natal Museum 1979, Volume 23, No. 3, pp. 497-784, here pp. 729-733, ISSN 0304-0798 , online .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Bruno H. Lamoral: The scorpions of Namibia (Arachnida: Scorpionida) , p. 730.
- ↑ a b c d Bruno H. Lamoral: The scorpions of Namibia (Arachnida: Scorpionida) , pp. 731-733.
- ↑ a b c d Bruno H. Lamoral: The scorpions of Namibia (Arachnida: Scorpionida) , p. 729.
- ↑ a b Bruno H. Lamoral: The scorpions of Namibia (Arachnida: Scorpionida) , p. 745.
- ↑ Gérard Dupré: Dictionary of scientific scorpion names. In: Arachnides. Bulletin de Terrariophilie et de Recherche 2016, Supplément au n ° 78, p. 36, online PDF , 560 kB.