Review of Northwestern African Buthacus, with description of Buthacus stockmanni sp. n. from Morocco and Western Sahara (Scorpiones, Buthidae)

Abstract

EDITOR: Victor Fet, Marshall University, 'fet@marshall.edu' ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Michael E. Soleglad, 'soleglad@znet.com' Euscorpius is the first research publication completely devoted to scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Euscorpius takes advantage of the rapidly evolving medium of quick online publication, at the same time maintaining high research standards for the burgeoning field of scorpion science (scorpiology). Euscorpius is an expedient and viable medium for the publication of serious papers in scorpiology, including (but not limited to): systematics, evolution, ecology, biogeography, and general biology of scorpions. Review papers, descriptions of new taxa, faunistic surveys, lists of museum collections, and book reviews are welcome. Derivatio NominisThe name Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 refers to the most common genus of scorpions in the Mediterranean region and southern Europe (family Euscorpiidae).

Scorpions of the Horn of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part XV. Review of the genus Gint Kovařík et al., 2013, with description of three new species from Somaliland (Scorpiones, Buthidae)

“…n.. At the species level, a similar distinction in basal lobe shape was utilized to separate Mesobuthus cyprius Gantenbein et Kropf, 2000 (with a pointed lobe), from M. gibbosus (Brullé, 1832) (with a blunt lobe) (Gantenbein et al, 2000). At the generic level, we note that the hook-or scoop-shaped basal lobes found in Gint clearly differ from those of Buthacus spp., which are small, rounded knobs (Kovařík et al, 2016d;Levy et al, 1973;Levy & Amitai, 1980;Vachon, 1949Vachon, , 1952. This provides additional morphological justifi-cation for our original decision to separate these two genera .…”

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“…Character #5) is shared with a number of other psammophilous scorpions. For example, in the buthids Apistobuthus Finnegan, 1932, Buthacus Birula, 1908and Vachoniolus Levy et al, 1973 the metasoma is quite elongate and the telson vesicle is small with a long aculeus (Kovařík et al, 2016b;Lowe, 2010Navidpour & Lowe, 2009). The psammophilous vaejovid, Vejovoidus longiunguis (Williams, 1969), also has a slender metasoma and the telson is remarkably elongated.…”

Notes on the Genera Buthacus, Compsobuthus, and Lanzatus with Several Synonymies and Corrections of Published Characters (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

“…Among these, the two species Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004 andB. algerianus Lourenço, 2006 are in synonymy with B. ziegleri Lourenço, 2000(Kovařík, Lowe & Šťáhlavský, 2016b. Lourenço et al (2017) rejected the synonymy and expressed an unsupported opinion that the genus Buthacus includes "microendemic species" where different species can occur in almost every locality.…”