Centruroides Hasethi Pocock, a Junior Synonym of Centruroides Testaceus (Degeer) (Scorpiones, Buthidae) PDF
Preview Centruroides Hasethi Pocock, a Junior Synonym of Centruroides Testaceus (Degeer) (Scorpiones, Buthidae)
1991. The Journal ofArachnology 19:70-71 RESEARCH NOTE CENTRUROIDES HASETHI POCOCK, A JUNIOR SYNONYM OF CENTRUROIDES TESTACEUS (DEGEER) (SCORPIONES, BUTHIDAE) DeGeer (1778) described Scorpio testaceus islands,C. hasethihasbeenconsideredpolytypic, from specimens collected in “Amerique” and, with two distinct subspecies: C. hasethi hasethi since that time, no one has been able to assign Pocock from Curagao and Bonaire, and C. has- acorrectlocalitytothattaxon.Thisspecies, now ethi arubensis (Bakker) from Aruba. Bakker considereda valid memberofthegenus Centru- (1963) distinguished the two subspecies by the roides, was redescribed by Sissom and Francke following characters (based on comparisons be- (1983). Those authors discounted previous re- tweenthepopulationsofC. hasethihasethifrom cords ofC. testaceus as being based upon misi- Curagao and C. hasethi arubensis from Aruba). dentifications, including long-accepted records (1) in C. /z. hasethi, males have 27-29 pectinal fromMontserratandHispaniola(Haiti).Because teethandfemales25-27teeth; in C. h. arubensis, the two syntypes ofC. testaceusrepresented dif- males have 23-25 teeth and females 21-23; (2) mm ferentspecies,thelectotypedesignatedbySissom C. h. hasethirange up to 75 in body length, mm andFranckeremainedtheonlyknownspecimen whereas C. h. arubensis reach only 55 in ofC. testaceus. length;(3)C. h.hasethihaveproportionatelylon- While sortingthrough undetermined scorpion ger metasomal segments; and (4) C. h. hasethi materialfromtheFieldMuseumofNaturalHis- have proportionately longer pedipalpal femora tory, Chicago, I had the opportunityto examine and patellae. Interestingly, according to mea- a specimen ofCentruroides hasethi hasethi Po- surementsandratiospublishedbyBakker(1963), cock from the island ofCuragao. I was imme- themorphometriesoftheBonairepopulationare diately struck by the resemblance ofthe speci- in somecases intermediatebetween those ofthe menfromCuragaotothelectotypeofC. testaceus populations of Curagao and Aruba, suggesting and borrowed the types of C. testaceus and C. thatfurtherstudyofthetaxonomicstatusofeach hasethifrom theirrespectivedepositories. Com- population may be warranted. Based on the ob- parisonofthetypespecimensconfirmedmysus- servations above and on direct comparisons of picionsthatC. testaceusandC. hasethiwerecon- type specimens, there is no doubt that C. testa- specific. ceus and C. hasethi hasethi belong to the same Sissom and Francke (1983) mistakenly iden- taxon. Further, because of the morphometric tified the lectotype of C. testaceus as a female similarities with specimens from Curagao, it is because its metasomal segments are not as long probable that the lectotype ofC. testaceus orig- and slenderas those ofmales ofmost species of inated from thatisland, and I herebyrestrictthe Centruroides (including the male syntype of type locality of C. testaceus to Curagao, Neth- Scorpio testaceus accompanying the lectotype). erlandsAntilles. Pendingfurtherinvestigationof Unfortunately,thelectotypewaspinnedanddried the variousisland populations, arubensisiscon- and could not be sexed by the presence or ab- sidered a subspecies ofC. testaceus. sence ofgenital papillae. As a result, our mor- As a consequence ofthe above observations, phometric comparisons with C. hasethi were the following synonymiesare proposed: Centru- based on females ofthat species. It is now clear roides hasethi Pocock, 1893 = Centruroides tes- thatthelectotypeofC. testaceusisindeedamale, taceus (DeGeer, 1778); C. hasethi hasethi Po- and its morphometries and meristics are virtu- cock, 1893 = C. testaceus testaceus (DeGeer ally identical with those ofmale C. hasethifrom 1778); and C. hasethi arubensis (Bakker, 1963) Curagao (Bakker 1963). = C. testaceus arubensis (Bakker, 1963). Since Bakker’s (1963) study of the Centru- The author is grateful to T. Kronestedt (Na- roides populations ofCuragao and neighboring turhistoriskaRiksmuseet, Stockholm) forallow- RESEARCH NOTE 71 ingmetoreexaminethelectotypeofC. testaceus\ DeGeer,C. 1778.MemoirespourserviraI’histoiredes P. D. Hillyard (British Museum ofNatural His- Insectes. Stockholm, 7:337-349. tory, London) for allowing me to examine the Sissom, W. D. & O. F. Francke. 1983. Redescription holotype of C. hasethi] and D. A. Summers, J. ofCentruroidestestaceus(DeGeer)anddescription Ashe, andR. F. Inger(FieldMuseum ofNatural of a new species from the Lesser Antilles (Scor- History,Chicago)forallowingmeaccesstotheir piones: Buthidae). Occas. Papers Mus. TexasTech Univ., 88:1-13. undetermined scorpion material. LITERATURECITED W.DavidSissom: Department ofBiology, Elon Bakker,M.A. 1963.Anewsubspeciesofthescorpion College, Elon College, North Carolina 27244 USA. Rhopalurus hasethi. Studies on the Fauna ofCu- rasao and Other Caribbean Islands, No. 70:102- 117. Manuscript receivedJuly 1990, revisedOctober 1990. 1991. TheJournal ofArachnology 19:71-72 BOOK REVIEW Polis,GaryA. 1990.TheBiologyofScorpions. theCarboniferous(atleast 13superfamiliescom- Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. pared to the modem three). We are reminded 587 pp. (Price $85.00.) that the 1400 species surviving today are re- markablysimilartotheirPaleozoicancestorsal- The editor ofthis volume, Gary Polis, and a though mere remnants ofwhat once was. There determinedcrewofninecontributorshavecom- are useful keys to modem families, subfamilies piled an impressive assemblage offact and eso- andgenera,withcleardrawingsofdiagnosticfea- terica about world scorpions; 485 pages oftext tures used to distinguish them. inallandcoveringmorphology, systematics,pa- The middle third ofthis book is dedicated to leontology, biogeography, population biology, life history (Polis and Sissom), behavior (War- ecology, behavior, environmental physiology, burg and Polis), ecology (Polis) and predator- neurobiology, venom toxicology, and even my- prey relations (McCormick and Polis) of scor- thology.Thecomprehensivenessofcoverageand pions. Here we learn just how little is known theterse,highlyreadablestyleofthebooksuggest about such basic characteristics as embryology whatmightbeitshiddenpurpose—theattraction (perhapsadozenworksinall,themostcomplete of young scientists into an open field of over- published before 1900), post-natal growth and looked research. The first two chapters, a full sexual development (some live 25 years). Most third ofthe book, give excellent preparation for scorpionslive in deserts ortemperate regions of literature reading and research on scorpions. the world as solitary, cannibalistic burrowers. There are diagrammatic summaries of basic Given the impracticalities ofworking in deserts anatomy(Hjelle)andgroupsystematics,withlu- at night, one is sympathetic to Polis’s assertion cid descriptions ofbiogeography and paleontol- that “ecology is the least known aspect ofscor- ogy (Sissom). The epic restudy ofthe scorpion pion biology,” and is deservingofmuch greater fossil record by Kjellesvig-Waering (published attention. Here Polis has been a vanguard, uti- 1986) is carefully summarized so that even a lizing portable UV lights (scorpion cuticle fluo- physiologistcanfollowtheemergenceofthegroup resces under UV) to make broad-ranging obser- from gill-breathing descendants ofa eurypterid vationsofnaturalhabits,populationbiologyand line (Silurian aquatic forms), through the ap- community stmcture. Many unanswered ques- pearanceofterrestrialfauna(probablyupperDe- tions arise in these pages, especially concerning vonian)andtheirpeakinspeciesdiversityduring tropicalscorpions,whicharevirtuallyunstudied.
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