Barbaracurus somalicus Kovařík & Lowe & Šťáhlavský 2018, comb. n.
Creators: name: Kovařík, František
name: Lowe, Graeme
name: Šťáhlavský, František
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Scorpiones
Buthidae
Barbaracurus
Barbaracurus somalicus

description: Barbaracurus somalicus (Hirst, 1907) comb. n.
(Figures 3, 27, 34, 54–57, 74–75, 83–84, 113–146, 263–265, Table 1)
Babycurus somalicus Hirst, 1907: 208; Lamoral & Reynders, 1975: 498; Kovařík, 1998: 104; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 79; Kovařík, 2000: 255–256, figs. 10, 21, tables 1–3; Kovařík, 2003: 134.
TYPE LOCALITY AND TYPE DEPOSITORY. Somaliland, Berbera and Durbar; BMNH.
MATERIAL EXAMINED. Somaliland, Berbera and Durbar, 400 ft., leg. G. W. Bury, 1♀ (holotype), BMNH; Borama, campus Amound University, 09°56'49"N 43° 13'23"E, 1394 m a.s.l., 4-5.II.2017 (locality No. 17 SA), 1♀, 9.-13.IX.2017, (locality No. 17SR, Fig. 145), 4♂ 3♀ 4juvs. (Figs. 27, 35, 113–144, 260–261, Nos. 1308, 1309, 1332), leg. F. Kovařík, T. Mazuch & P. Just, FKCP.
DIAGNOSIS. Total length of adult males 32–36 mm, adult female 38–47 mm. Coloration yellowish brown to grey with darker markings, chelicerae yellow without or with traces of reticulation. Pedipalp chela manus much wider in male than female, chela length/width ratio 3.45 in male and 4.15 in female; proximal margins of pedipalp fingers of female almost straight (Fig. 57, 135), of male strongly undulate so as to leave a gap with fingers closed (Figs. 55, 129); dentate margin of movable finger armed with 6 rows of granules, and a short apical row of 4 denticles (Fig. 3); most proximal granule row with one external accessory granule. Pectines with 17–20 teeth in both sexes. Hemispermatophore basal lobe a weak carina (Figs. 27, 35). No sexual dimorphism in length and width of metasomal segments (Figs. 74–75); metasoma I with 10 carinae, II–IV with 8 carinae. Telson setose, bearing numerous long macrosetae and short, pointed subaculear tubercle; vesicle smooth, elongate, pyriform, telson length/depth ratio 2.75–2.89 in both sexes; aculeus slender, curved, shorter than vesicle.
NOTE. Until now, only the holotype and paratype females were known. The recent collection of both sexes of B. somalicus by one of us (F.K.) enables us to show photographs of live specimens, especially of the male, for the first time, and to characterize their sexual dimorphism.
COMMENTS ON LOCALITY AND LIFE STRATEGY. The first author (F.K.) visited the locality 17SA on 4–5 February 2017 (winter dry season). At this locality, the author recorded a daytime temperature of 24.7 ºC (4 February, 16:08 h), and nighttime temperatures of 21.4 ºC shortly after sunset, dropping to 19.3 ºC (minimum temperature on 5 February at 19:20 h). The recorded humidity was 41% on 5 February at 19:20 h. The first author (F.K.) again visited the same locality on 9–13 September 2017 (summer minor dry season, 17SR) and recorded maximum daytime temperatures of 29.1 ºC (10th September 2017) and 31.8 ºC (12 September 2017), and a minimum nighttime temperature of 19.6 ºC. The recorded humidity was between 31% (minimum at night) and 79% (maximum at day). All specimens were collected at night by ultraviolet (UV) detection near rocks. At this locality, in addition to B. somalicus, the first author also recorded Neobuthus sp., Parabuthus abyssinicus Pocock, 1901 (Buthidae) and Pandinurus kmoniceki Kovařík et al., 2017 (type locality) (Scorpionidae). Fifty metres from this rocky site is a riverbed of an occasional river (figs. 45–48 in Kovařík et al., 2017: 18) where in addition the author recorded Gint amoudensis Kovařík et al., 2018 (type locality) (Buthidae), and Pandinops pugilator (Pocock, 1900) (Scorpionidae).
description: Published as part of Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme & Šťáhlavský, František, 2018, Review of the genus Babycurus Karsch, 1886 (Arachnida, Scorpiones, Buthidae), with descriptions of Barbaracurus gen. n. and two new species from Oman and Yemen, pp. 1-41 in Euscorpius 267 on pages 25-27, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6544157