Centruroides berstoni Goodman & Prendini & Francke & Esposito 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Goodman, Aaron M.
name: Prendini, Lorenzo
name: Francke, Oscar F.
name: Esposito, Lauren A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Scorpiones
Buthidae
Centruroides
Centruroides berstoni

description: Centruroides berstoni, sp. nov.
Figures 1B, D, 2, 4, 6C, D, 9C, D, 13B, 14B, 17H, K, 18H, K, 19H, K, 20H, K, 21H, K, 22H, K, 23H, K, 24H, K, 25H, K, 34, 35, tables 1, 5, 10
Centruroides schmidti: Sissom, 1995: 94–96; figs. 10–18, table 1 (misidentification: paratypes from Escobas, Izabal, Guatemala).
TYPE MATERIAL: GUATEMALA: Departamento Izabal: Município Livingston: Holotype ♂ (CASENT 9073325), paratype ♂ (CASENT 9073298), Río Dulce, Hotel Tijax, 15°39′51.2″N 89°00′14.6″W, 17 m, 24.ix.2019, A.M. Goodman, collected along gravel road of Hacienda Tijax Parking Lot, flanked by bamboo groves, and live fencing; 2 ♂ paratypes (CASENT 9073312, 9073326), 4 ♀ paratypes (CASENT 9073297, 9073313, 9073324, 9073368), Biotopo Chocón Machacas, 15°44′05.3″N 88°54′57.2″W, 15 m, 25.ix.2019, A.M. Goodman.
ETYMOLOGY: The species name is a patronym honoring the late Hyman Maxwell Berston, the first author’s grandfather (1930–2021), who inspired his interest in natural history during childhood visits to the California Academy of Sciences.
DIAGNOSIS: Centruroides berstoni is most closely related to C. hamadryas, from which it differs as follows. The carapace is sparsely granular, more densely so on the interocular triangle, in the female of C. berstoni but densely granular, with distinct lateral ocular carinae, in the female of C. hamadryas (fig. 6B, D). The pedipalp chela manus of the male is proportionally less incrassate in C. berstoni (figs. 13–15B) than C. hamadryas (fig. 13–15A, tables 4, 5). The retrodorsal carina of the chela manus is weakly granular and the dorsomedian carina absent in the male of C. berstoni (fig. 13B), whereas the retrodorsal carina is complete and the dorsomedian carina weakly developed and restricted to the distal half in the male of C. hamadryas (fig. 13A). The retrodorsal carina of the manus is finely granular and the prodorsal carina absent in the female of C. berstoni (fig. 14B), whereas the retrodorsal carina is complete and the prodorsal carina restricted to the distal third in the female of C. hamadryas (fig. 14A). The first leg of the male is greater than 2× the length of the carapace in C. berstoni but less than 2× its length in C. hamadryas (table 10). The dorsomedian carinae of the mesosomal tergites are weakly developed and restricted to the posterior half in C. berstoni but distinct and complete in C. hamadryas. The ventrolateral carinae of mesosomal sternite VII are weakly developed and the ventrosubmedian carinae absent in C. berstoni, whereas the ventrolateral and ventrosubmedian carinae are weakly developed to absent in C. hamadryas. The telson vesicle is sparsely setose in C. berstoni (figs. 23H, K, 24H, K, 25H, K), but densely setose in C. hamadryas (figs. 23B, E, 24B, E, 25B, E).
Additional differences between C. berstoni and other species of the clade are as follows. The ventrosubmedian and ventrolateral carinae of metasomal segments I–IV in the male are weakly developed, smooth in C. berstoni (figs. 18H, 19H) but absent in C. catemacoensis (figs. 18, 19M), well developed in C. cuauhmapan (figs. 18, 19G), weakly developed on segments I–III, absent on IV in C. hamadryas (figs. 18–19B, 21–22B), and vestigial, smooth in C. rileyi (figs. 18, 19A, 21–22A). The metasomal carinae of the female are finely granular in C. berstoni (figs. 17–22K) but well developed, granular in C. catemacoensis (figs. 17–22P). The telson vesicle is short and not posteriorly bilobed in the male of C. berstoni (figs. 23–25H), unlike in C. cuauhmapan (figs. 23–25G) and C. rileyi (figs 23–25A), and with surfaces sparsely granular in the female of C. berstoni (figs. 23–25K), but smooth in the female of C. hamadryas (figs. 23–25E) and densely granular in the female of C. catemacoensis (figs. 23–25P), C. cuauhmapan (figs. 23–25J), and C. rileyi (figs. 23–25D).
DESCRIPTION: The following description is based on the holotype male, with differences among other material noted in the section on variation.
Coloration: Base color pale yellow, with extensive infuscation, creating mottled or marbled pattern. Carapace with uniformly infuscate marbling, more densely infuscate medially. Pedipalp chela fingers and manus, dorsal and retrolateral intercarinal surfaces with moderately infuscate marbling; prolateral and ventral intercarinal surfaces mostly immaculate. Legs retrolateral surfaces with infuscate marbling; prolateral surfaces pale, immaculate. Tergites with unformly infuscate mottling, pale stripe medially, blackish spots submedially, and faint, narrow bands laterally. Sternites pale, with faintly infuscate triangular to trapezoidal marking at posterior margin of III, fading to infuscate mottling on VII. Metasomal segments uniformly, faintly marbled; segment V and telson markedly infuscate, noticeably darker than preceding segments.
Carapace: Shape trapezoidal; anterior width four-fifths of posterior width (table 5); anteromedian sulcus moderately deep, oval; posteromedian sulcus shallow anteriorly, deeper posteriorly; median ocular tubercle weakly granular; carinae moderately developed, comprising small to medium-sized granules (fig. 6C).
Pedipalps: Orthobothriotaxic, Type A; femur dorsal trichobothria with α configuration; pedipalp chela fixed finger, trichobothrium db situated slightly distal to et. Femoral carinae serrate; retromedian carinae comprising spiniform granules; dorsal intercarinal surface moderately granular; prolateral intercarinal surface with series of large spiniform granules. Patella carinae strongly developed, granular; prolateral intercarinal surface with five or six large, subspiniform granules. Chela manus prodorsal and dorsomedian carinae absent; retrodorsal carina weakly developed, granular. Fixed finger, median denticle row comprising eight oblique subrows, each flanked by pro- and retrolateral supernumerary denticles. Movable finger, median denticle row with short terminal row comprising four denticles preceded by eight oblique subrows, each flanked by pro- and retrolateral supernumerary denticles.
Legs: Leg I length 2× carapace length (table 10). Telotarsi ventral surfaces densely covered with short setae; ungues markedly curved.
Pectines: Pectinal plate 1.65× wider than long; posterior margin distinctly rounded; pectinal tooth count 16/15 (♂) (fig. 9C, table 5).
Mesosoma: Tergites width similar to carapace posterior width; I and II slightly narrower (table 5). Pretergites surfaces smooth to finely granular. Posttergites surfaces weakly granular; I–VI with dorsomedian carinae weakly granular, restricted to posterior half of each segment; VII surface weakly granular, dorsomedian carinae moderately granular, dorsosubmedian carinae weakly granular, dorsolateral carinae absent. Sternites III–VI, surfaces smooth; VII surface smooth, ventrolateral carinae reduced to few granules.
Metasoma: Metasoma length 3.23× mesosoma length (table 10). Segments longer than wide; increasing in length posteriorly, segment V 2× length of I; carinae weakly developed, smooth on segments I–IV (figs. 17–21H), absent or obsolete on V (figs. 20–22H); intercarinal surfaces sparsely granular.
Telson: Vesicle elongate, ovoid; ventral surface shallowly convex; subaculear tubercle narrow and angular in lateral aspect, directed toward midpoint of aculeus. Aculeus angled ventrally at slightly less than 90° (figs. 23–25H).
Variation: Base color varies from pale yellow to light orange with considerable variation in infuscation of the carapace and mesosoma, despite localities being less than 50 km apart. Adult males and females differ as follows. The mesosoma is proportionally longer and slenderer, the metasoma up to 3× longer, with segment V markedly longer, and the telson more elongate, with the vesicle more rounded and bilobed posteriorly, in males (figs. 20H, K, 21H, K, 22H, K, table 5). The tegument is more densely infuscate, the pectinal plate produced into a rounded lobe posteriorly, which is punctate and slightly infuscate, and the telson shorter and narrower with the vesicle surfaces less granular, in females (figs. 9C, D, 23H, K, 24H, K, 25H, K, 34–35A, B).
DISTRIBUTION: Centruroides berstoni is endemic to the Izabal Department of Guatemala and has been recorded from several localities around Morales and Río Dulce (figs. 1B, D, 4).
ECOLOGY: The localities at which C. berstoni was recorded range in altitude from 15–17 m and occur in a region of humid tropical lowland rainforest. Specimens were collected at night with UV light detection, mostly on trees, sitting on bark or branches, and large shoots of bamboo. The habitat and habitus are consistent with the arboreal, corticolous ecomorphotype (Prendini, 2001a).
REMARKS: The paratype female of C. schmidti, from Morales, Guatemala, was misidentified by Sissom (1995). Differences between the paratype and other females that species, evident from the illustrations (Sissom, 1995: 94–95 figs. 16–18), include faint reticulate infuscation on the chelicerae, less infuscation of the carapace and tergites, less granulation and setation of the metasomal segments, and a bilobed telson vesicle.
MATERIAL EXAMINED: GUATEMALA: Departamento Izabal: Município Livingston: Biotopo Chocón Machacas, 15°44′05.3″N 88°54′57.2″W, 15 m, 25.ix.2019, A.M. Goodman, 8 ♂, 1 ♀, 1 juv. ♂ (CASENT 9073271); Río Dulce, Hotel Tijax, 15°40′12.2″N 89°00′27″W, 49 m, 8.vii.2006, J. Huff, C. Víquez, and D. Ortíz, collected along trails through old secondary growth tropical forest using UV at night, 1 ♂ (AMNH [LP 5984]), 15°39′51.2″N 89°00′14.6″W, 17 m, 24.ix.2019, A.M. Goodman, collected along gravel road of Hacienda Tijax Parking Lot, flanked by bamboo groves and live fencing, 1 ♂ (CASENT 9073272), 15°44′05.3″N 88°54′57.2″W, 15 m, 25.ix.2019, A.M. Goodman, 8 ♂, 1 ♀, 1 juv. ♂ (CASENT 9073271). Município Morales: Morales, Finca Fiymeza, Sendero Anfibio, 15°24′24.1″N 88°41′46.8″W, 595 m, 17.viii.2017, D. Barrales and R. Monjaraz, 1 juv. ♀ (CNAN SC3968).
description: Published as part of Goodman, Aaron M., Prendini, Lorenzo, Francke, Oscar F. & Esposito, Lauren A., 2021, Systematic Revision Of The Arboreal Neotropical " Thorellii " Clade Of Centruroides Marx, 1890, Bark Scorpions (Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837) With Descriptions Of Six New Species, pp. 1-93 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2021 (452) on pages 8-13, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.452.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5825896