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
Author
Goodman, Aaron M.
Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York; Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History; Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences
Author
Prendini, Lorenzo
Arachnology Lab and Scorpion Systematics Research Group, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History
Author
Francke, Oscar F.
Colección Nacional de Arácnidos, Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Author
Esposito, Lauren A.
Graduate School and University Center, City University of New York; Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History; Institute for Biodiversity Science and Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences
text
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
2021
2021-09-16
2021
452
1
93
journal article
2777
10.1206/0003-0090.452.1.1
01c03222-2a9d-47ec-9f63-776920b6a540
0003-0090
5825896
Centruroides yucatanensis
,
sp. nov.
Figures 2
,
4
,
7E, F
,
10E, F
,
15C
,
16C
,
17O, R
,
18O, R
,
19O, R
,
20O, R
,
21O, R
,
22O, R
,
23O, R
,
24O, R
,
25R, O
,
42
,
43
,
tables 1
,
9
,
10
Centruroides schmidti
:
Armas, 1996: 25–29
, 98, figs. 1–4 (misidentification), table I.
Centruroides sissomi
:
Vázquez, 1999: 53
, 60–62, fig. 7 (misidentification);
Armas et al., 2003: 95
(misidentification, part);
Armas, 2006: 4
, 7, fig. 5 (misidentification, part);
Teruel et al., 2015a: 8
(misidentification);
Delfín-González et al., 2017: 283, 285,
table 2
(misidentification);
Esposito and Prendini, 2019: 4
, fig. 2 (misidentification); Ponce-Saavedra and Francke, 2019: 3,
table 1
(misidentification);
Crews and Esposito, 2020: 14
, fig. 11 (misidentification).
TYPE MATERIAL
:
MEXICO
:
Quintana Roo
: Município
Benito Juárez
:
Holotype
♂
(
CNAN T01416
),
paratype
♀
(CNAN
T01417
),
2 juv. ♀
paratypes
(CNAN
T01418
,
T01419
), Puerto
Morelos
, Jardín Botánico Alfredo Barrera,
20°50′42.1″N
86°54′12.9″W
,
23 m
,
4.vii.2007
, G. Montiel, R. Paredes, M. Ramírez, D. Chibras, and G. Bonilla.
ETYMOLOGY: The species name refers to the
Yucatán
Peninsula of southeastern
Mexico
, where the species occurs.
DIAGNOSIS:
Centruroides yucatanensis
differs from the closely related species,
C. chanae
and
C. hoffmanni
, as follows. The carapace, pedipalps, tergites, and metasoma are less infuscate, creating a less mottled appearance, in
C. yucatanensis
than
C. chanae
. Less reticulate infuscation is present on the chelicerae of
C. yucatanensis
than
C. chanae
. The interocular triangle is less darkly infuscate in
C. yucatanensis
than
C. hoffmanni
. The carapace is shorter, its length and width similar, in
C. yucatanensis
(fig. 7E, F,
table 10
) but longer, its length greater than its width, in
C. hoffmanni
(fig. 7A, B,
table 10
). The carapace surfaces are more finely granular, the carinae less developed and the sulci broader and shallower in
C. yucatanensis
than
C. hoffmanni
. The pedipalp chela manus of the male is less incrassate in
C. yucatanensis
(fig. 15C) than
C. hoffmanni
(fig. 15B), with fewer spiniform granules on its prolateral surfaces than in
C. chanae
and
C. hoffmanni
(fig. 15A, B). The ventral surfaces of the telotarsi of leg I are more finely and sparsely setose in
C. yucatanensis
than
C. chanae
. The pectinal tooth count of the male is lower in
C. yucatanensis
, usually 13 or 14 (fig. 9E,
table 10
) than
C. chanae
, usually 17 (fig. 9A,
table 10
) and
C. hoffmanni
, usually 15 (fig. 9D,
table 10
), and the pectinal teeth are more ovoid. The ventrolateral and ventrosubmedian carinae of mesosomal sternite VII are vestigial, weakly granular in
C. yucatanensis
, whereas the ventrolateral carinae are distinct, granular, and the ventrosubmedian carinae weakly developed, granular in
C. chanae
, and the ventrolateral carinae granular, and the ventrosubmedian carinae weakly granular and restricted to the posterior half of the segment in
C. hoffmanni
. The ventrolateral and ventrosubmedian carinae of the metasomal segments are more pronounced in
C. yucatanensis
, being slightly serrate on segments I–IV, compared with finely granular to subserrate on I–III and obsolete, smooth on IV in
C. chanae
.
The ventrosubmedian carinae of segments I and II are absent in
C. yucatanensis
(figs. 18O, R, 19O, R, 20O, R, 21O, R, 22O, R), absent or obsolete in
C. chanae
(figs. 18I, L, 19I, L, 20I, L, 21I, L, 22I, L), and very pronounced in
C. hoffmanni
(figs. 18C, F, 19C, F, 20C, F, 21C, F, 22C, F).
TABLE
10
Diagnostic ratios (mean/median/mode) for species of the arboreal Neotropical “
thorelli
”
clade of
Centruroides
Marx, 1890
, bark scorpions
Leg I length: carapace length |
Metasoma V length: mesosoma length |
Metasoma V length: carapace length |
Centruroides berstoni
,
sp. nov.
|
1.9/1.9/1.9 |
2.5/2.4/2.0 |
1.6/1.6/1.9 |
Centruroides catemacoensis
,
sp. nov.
|
1.9/1.9/1.9 |
2.3/2.2/2.2 |
1.5/1.5/1.7 |
Centruroides chanae
,
sp. nov.
|
1.9/1.9/1.9 |
3.0/3.1/3.1 |
1.7/1.8/1.8 |
Centruroides cuauhmapan
,
sp. nov.
|
1.8/2.1/1.9 |
2.2/2.1/1.8 |
1.5/2.1/1.7 |
Centruroides hamadryas
,
sp. nov.
|
1.8/1.9/1.8 |
1.8/2.8/2.8 |
1.6/1.7/1.8 |
Centruroides hoffmanni
Armas, 1996
|
1.8/1.8/1.8 |
2.3/2.4/1.7 |
1.6/1.7/1.3 |
Centruroides rileyi
Sissom, 1995
|
1.9/1.9/1.9 |
2.2/2.1/2.1 |
1.5/1.5/1.2 |
Centruroides schmidti
Sissom, 1995
|
2.0/1.9/1.9 |
2.2/2.2/2.8 |
1.5/1.4/1.9 |
Centruroides yucatanensis
,
sp. nov.
|
1.8/1.8/1.8 |
2.1/2.1/2.0 |
1.5/1.4/1.3 |
DESCRIPTION: The following description is based on the
holotype
male, with differences among other material noted in the section on variation.
Coloration:
Base color 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 with faintly infuscate marbling. 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 10
); anteromedian sulcus moderately deep, oval; posteromedian sulcus shallow anteriorly, deep posteriorly; median ocular tubercle weakly granular; carinae moderately developed, comprising small to medium-sized granules; lateral ocular and posterosubmedian carinae weakly developed; intercarinal surfaces finely and evenly granular (fig. 10E).
Pedipalps:
Orthobothriotaxic,
Type
A; femur dorsal trichobothria with α configuration; pedipalp chela fixed finger, trichobothrium
db
situated slightly distal to
et.
Femoral carinae strongly developed, serrate; 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 dorsomedian and retrodorsal carinae complete, granular; prodorsal carina absent. 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.
. mm 5 = bars Scale. aspect Ventral.
B
. aspect Dorsal.
A
. habitus,) 01407 T CNAN (
♂
,. nov. sp,
chanae
Centruroides
. 40 FIGURE
FIGURE 41.
Centruroides chanae
,
sp. nov.
, ♀ (CNAN T01405), habitus.
A.
Dorsal aspect.
B.
Ventral aspect. Scale bars = 5 mm.
Legs:
Leg I length 1.78× greater than carapace length (
table 10
). Telotarsi ventral surfaces sparsely covered with short setae; ungues markedly curved.
Pectines:
Pectinal plate 1.61× wider than long; posterior margin distinctly rounded; pectinal tooth count 13/14 (
♂
) (fig. 8D,
table 10
).
Mesosoma:
Tergites width similar to carapace posterior width; I and II slightly narrower (
table 10
). Pretergites surfaces smooth to finely granular. Posttergites surfaces weakly granular; I–VI with dorsomedian carinae absent on I and II, vestigial, granular on III–VI; VII surface weakly granular, dorsomedian carina vestigial, granular, dorsosubmedian and dorsolateral carinae smooth. Sternites III–VI, surfaces smooth; VII surface smooth, ventrolateral and ventrosubmedian carinae smooth.
FIGURE 42.
Centruroides yucatanensis
,
sp. nov.
, ♂ (CNAN T01416), habitus.
A.
Dorsal aspect.
B.
Ventral aspect. Scale bars = 10 mm.
FIGURE 43.
Centruroides yucatanensis
,
sp. nov.
, ♀ (CNAN T01417), habitus.
A.
Dorsal aspect.
B.
Ventral aspect. Scale bars = 10 mm.
Metasoma:
Metasoma length 2.45× mesosoma length (
table 10
). Segments longer than wide; increasing in length posteriorly, segment V 2× length of I; ventral carinae vestigial, weakly granular on segments I–IV, other carinae absent or obsolete; lateral intercarinal surfaces sparsely granular on segments I–III, other surfaces smooth (figs. 17–22O).
Telson:
Vesicle elongate, ovoid; ventral surface shallowly convex; ventromedian carina granular, terminating at subaculear tubercle; subaculear tubercle narrow and angular in lateral aspect, directed toward midpoint of aculeus. Aculeus angled ventrally at slightly less than 90° (fig. 25O, R).
Variation:
Base coloration varies from light yellow to orange. Adult males and females differ as follows. The pedipalp chela manus is incrassate, with the prodorsal carina spinose, the mesosoma proportionally longer and slenderer, the metasoma 2× longer, with segment V markedly longer (1.86× carapace length), and the telson more elongate, with the vesicle more rounded and bilobed posteriorly, in males (figs. 23O, R, 24O, R, 25O, R,
table 10
). The tegument is more densely infuscate, the prodorsal carina of the pedipalp chela manus finely granular, the pectinal plate produced into a rounded lobe posteriorly, which is punctate and slightly infuscate, metasomal segment V shorter (1.3× carapace length) and the telson shorter and narrower, with the vesicle surfaces less granular, in females (figs. 10E, F, 15–16C, 17O, R, 18O, R, 19O, R, 20O, R, 21O, R, 22O, R, 23O, R, 24O, R, 25O, R,
table 10
). The pectinal tooth count is similar in both sexes (
table 9
).
DISTRIBUTION:
Centruroides yucatanensis
is endemic to the
Yucatán
Peninsula. Although presently known from only three localities, two in the state of
Yucatán
in the north of the peninsula, and a third on the western coast, in the state of
Quintana Roo
, the distribution of this species was probably more extensive before much of its habitat was destroyed for agriculture and rangeland (fig. 4).
ECOLOGY: The localities at which
C. yucatanensis
has been recorded range in altitude from
23–
38 m
. The habitat at these localities varies from low or medium semideciduous broadleaf forest to tall, moist evergreen broadleaf forest, often with a dense understory. Much of the original habitat has been cleared for agriculture and rangeland across the
Yucatán
Península, and this species appears to be confined to remnant patches of forest. The habitat and habitus are consistent with the arboreal, corticolous ecomorphotype (
Prendini, 2001a
).
REMARKS:
Armas (1996)
identified 11 individuals from the Jardín Botánico Alfredo Barrera, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, as
C. schmidti
. Meristic data recorded by
Armas (1996)
for an adult male and
three females
differed greatly from comparative data for the
holotype
of
C. schmidti
collected at Lake Tickamaya,
Honduras
(
Sissom, 1995
).
Armas (1996)
also described
C. sissomi
, and assigned it to the
thorellii
group due to its small size. Illustrations and photographs of the
holotype
female of
C. sissomi
in the original description indicate that the pectinal plate is not lobed, and subsequent photographs of the
holotype
by
Armas (2006)
indicate a densely granular tegument, characters inconsistent with the “
thorellii
” clade. Material examined during the present study confirmed the presence of two sympatric species of
Centruroides
in the Jardín Botánico Alfredo Barrera, Puerto Morelos. One species, determined to be conspecific with the material previously misidentified as
C. schmidti
by
Armas (1996)
, based on meristic data, is a hitherto undescribed species, described herein as
C. yucatanensis
. The other is presumed to be
C. sissomi
, based on the fact that the pectinal plate is not lobed and the tegument is densely granular, as well as its dark orange coloration and larger size (
40 mm
). Other records of
C. schmidti
and/or
C. sissomi
from the Yucatán Península (
Vázquez, 1999
;
Teruel et al., 2015a
;
Ponce-Saavedra and Francke, 2019
) are misidentifications of
C. yucatanensis
.
MATERIAL
EXAMINED:
MEXICO
:
Quintana Roo
: Município Benito Juárez: Puerto
Morelos
, Jardín Botánico Alfredo Barrera,
20°50′42.1″N
86°54′12.9″W
,
38 m
,
4.vii.2007
, G. Montiel, R. Paredes, M. Ramírez, D. Chibras, and G. Bonilla,
1 ♂
(AMNH [LP 7597]),
2 juv. ♂
(CNAN SC3984).
Yucatán
: Município Felipe Carrillo Puerto: Cenote Chac-ha,
3.5 km
N and
3 km
E of Kalacmul,
20°04′40.3″N
88°08′27.9″W
,
23 m
,
9.vii.2007
, R. Paredes, D. Chibras, and G. Montiel,
1 ♀
(CNAN SC4004).