Compsobuthus Vachon 1949
Creators: name: Kovařík, František
name: Lowe, Graeme
name: Stockmann, Mark
name: Šťáhlavský, František
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Scorpiones
Buthidae
Compsobuthus

description: Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949
(Figures 1–224, Tables 1–4)
Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949: 93 (1952: 213); Fet & Lowe, 2000: 124 (complete reference list until 1998); KovařÍk, 2003: 88 (in part); KovařÍk, 2009: 31; KovařÍk & Ojanguren-Affilastro, 2013: 145–158, figs. 777–941; KovařÍk et al., 2016a: 1–21, figs. 1–77; KovařÍk, 2018a: 1–11, figs. 1–39, tab. 1; KovařÍk, 2018b: 4–6, figs. 1–9.
TYPE SPECIES. Buthus acutecarinatus Simon, 1882.
DIAGNOSIS. Small to medium-sized buthid scorpions, total length 20–55 mm. Carapace with distinct carinae, central lateral and posterior lateral carinae connected to form continuous linear series of granules, projecting beyond posterior margin as distinct spiniform processes. Carapace in lateral view with entire dorsal surface horizontal, 5 pairs of lateral eyes. Cheliceral fixed finger with two ventral denticles. Sternum type 1, sub-triangular. Pectines with fulcra, pectine teeth number 9–34. Hemispermatophore flagelliform, capsule in ‘3+1’-lobe configuration (‘ Buthus ’ group; KovařÍk et al., 2016a), with 3 sperm hemiduct lobes well separated from flagellum, basal lobe a well-developed acuminate hook. Tergites I–VI with three carinae projecting beyond posterior margins as distinct spiniform processes. Sternites III–VI with slit-like spiracles. Orthobothriotaxic type A. Pedipalp femur with dorsal trichobothria arranged in β -configuration. Pedipalp patella with trichobothrium d 3 internal to dorsomedian carina; chela with db basal to est, eb located on fixed finger; chela manus with Eb 1–3 triad angled proximally (δ -configuration) or almost collinear (λ -configuration). Dentate margin of pedipalp chela movable finger with distinct granules divided into 8–14 linear rows, with 4 terminal granules and one basal terminal granule. Tibial spurs present on third and fourth pairs of legs.
REMARKS ON KARYOTYPES. We analyzed karyotypes of four Compsobuthus species (Table 4). All examined specimens of C. acutecarinatus, C. arabicus, C. maindroni and C. ullrichi sp. n. possess 2n=22 (Figs. 210, 213, 216, 219, 222) and their chromosomes gradually decrease in length (Figs. 212, 215, 218, 221, 224, Table 4). This number of chromosomes was also previously found in C. eritreaensis KovařÍk, Lowe, PlÍškovÁ & ŠťÁhlavský, 2016 (KovařÍk et al., 2016a) and C. matthiesseni (Birula, 1905) (ŠťÁhlavský et al., 2014) (Table 4). This genus seems to have a conserved diploid number, similar to the genus Androctonus, which typically has 2n= 24 in all analyzed species (SadÍlek et al. 2015). The chromosomes of all examined Compsobuthus species also exhibit typical buthid features such as holocentric organization and achiasmatic meiosis in males (e. g. Mattos et al., 2013). We observed only bivalents in one male of C. acutecarinatus from the locality W of Qairoon Hairitti (Fig. 211) and in all males of C. maindroni (Fig. 220) during pachytene and postpachytene. However, we found also one quadrivalent in another two males of C. acutecarinatus from the localities Dhalkut beach and Wadi Ash Shuwaymiyyah (Fig. 214), in two males of C. arabicus from localities Jabal Bani Jabir and E of Wahiba (Fig. 217) and in the male hototype of C. ullrichi sp. n. (Fig. 223) during meiosis. Interestingly, the lengths of the chromosomes that form these multivalent associations are different among species (Figs. 215, 221, 224). This fact attests to the independent origin of these quadrivalents via reciprocal translocations that are very frequent chromosomal rearrangements within buthid scorpions (e. g. ŠťÁhlavský et al., 2014; Mattos et al., 2018).
description: Published as part of Kovařík, František, Lowe, Graeme, Stockmann, Mark & Šťáhlavský, František, 2020, Notes on Compsobuthus: redescription of C. arabicus Levy et al., 1973 from Arabia, and description of two new species from North Africa (Scorpiones: Buthidae), pp. 1-40 in Euscorpius 298 on page 3, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5741445