Research Article |
Corresponding author: Eric Ythier ( eythier@syntechresearch.com ) Academic editor: Pavel Stoev
© 2017 Eric Ythier, Wilson R. Lourenço.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Ythier E, Lourenço WR (2017) The geographical patterns of distribution of the genus Teuthraustes Simon, 1878 in Ecuador and description of three new species (Scorpiones, Chactidae). ZooKeys 721: 45-63. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.721.21529
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Three new species of scorpions belonging to the genus Teuthraustes Simon, 1878 (Scorpiones: Chactidae) are described from the Amazonian and Pacific regions of Ecuador. The new descriptions raise to four the number of Teuthraustes species in Ecuadorian Amazonia and raise to two the number of species described from the Pacific region. The total number of species of Teuthraustes is now 27, including 15 in Ecuador. The geographical distribution of the genus in Ecuador is enlarged and its pattern of distribution in the country is also commented upon.
Amazon, biodiversity, Ecuador, geographical distribution, new species, Pacific, scorpion, taxonomy, Teuthraustes
The genus Teuthraustes was created by
From the revision by Kraepelin (1911) until the monograph work of
In the present paper, three new species of Teuthraustes are described from the lowlands of Ecuador: two from the Amazon region (Orellana and Sucumbíos Provinces; raising to four the number of Teuthraustes species in Ecuadorian Amazonia) and one from the rainforests of the Pacific Coast in Esmeraldas Province, this last species being the second record of a Teuthraustes species from the Pacific coastal region. The patterns of distribution presented by the species of the genus Teuthraustes in Ecuador are also discussed. This group remains, however, typical of highland formations of South America.
The known geographical distribution of the genus Teuthraustes clearly indicates its endemic and disrupted nature. Of the 27 species known at present, nine are distributed in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. Another group of seven species has been described even more recently from a different highland site located between Brazil and Venezuela. This area clearly corresponds with the Imeri endemic centre which has been defined both for plants and for animals (
This outstanding concentration of Teuthraustes species in the Andean highlands and in the Imeri endemic centre may be similar to the ‘explosive’ pattern of speciation proposed by
Several botanists (
It is obvious that scorpion speciation and differentiation is by no means recent. As stated by
Ecological, paleoclimatic, and palynologic data (
Measurements and illustrations were made using a Wild M5 stereo-microscope with a drawing tube (camera lucida) and an ocular micrometre. Measurements follow those of
Teuthraustes adrianae González-Sponga, 1975 – Venezuela (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes akananensis González-Sponga, 1984 – Venezuela (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes amazonicus (Simon, 1880) – Peru (Loreto), Brazil (Amazonas), Colombia (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes atramentarius Simon, 1878 – Ecuador (Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Tungurahua)
Teuthraustes braziliensis Lourenço & Duhem, 2010 – Brazil (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes camposi (Mello-Leitão, 1939) – Ecuador (Cañar)
Teuthraustes carmelinae Scorza, 1954 – Venezuela (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes castiglii Rossi, 2015 – Peru (Loreto)
Teuthraustes dubius (Borelli, 1899) – Ecuador (Morona-Santiago)
Teuthraustes festae (Borelli, 1899) – Ecuador (Morona-Santiago)
Teuthraustes gervaisii (Pocock, 1893) – Ecuador (Azuay)
Teuthraustes giupponii sp. n. – Ecuador (Sucumbíos)
Teuthraustes glaber Kraepelin, 1912 – Peru (Loreto)
Teuthraustes guerdouxi Lourenço, 1995 – Colombia (Boyaca)
Teuthraustes khodayarii sp. n. – Ecuador (Orellana)
Teuthraustes kuryi sp. n. – Ecuador (Esmeraldas)
Teuthraustes lisei Lourenço, 1994 – Brazil (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes lojanus (Pocock, 1900) – Ecuador (Loja)
Teuthraustes maturaca González-Sponga, 1991 – Venezuela (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes newaribe Lourenço, Giupponi & Pedroso, 2011 – Brazil (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes oculatus Pocock, 1900 – Ecuador (Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua)
Teuthraustes ohausi Kraepelin, 1912 – Ecuador (Loja)
Teuthraustes reticulatus González-Sponga, 1991 – Venezuela (Amazonas)
Teuthraustes rosenbergi (Pocock, 1898) – Ecuador (Guayas)
Teuthraustes simonsi (Pocock, 1900) – Ecuador (Carchi)
Teuthraustes whymperi (Pocock, 1893) – Ecuador (Cotopaxi, Pichincha, Tungurahua)
Teuthraustes wittii (Kraepelin, 1896) – Ecuador (Loja)
Ecuador, Orellana Province (formerly Napo), Santa Maria de Huiririma 0°43'0"S, 75°37'0"W) VI/1976 (British expedition and local people), rainforest, under log. Pre-adult female holotype. Type material deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
The specific name honours Dr. Khosro Khodayari, founder, President and CEO of SynTech Research, Davis, California, USA, in recognition of his support for the study of scorpions.
Moderate to small scorpion with 35.1 mm in total length. Colouration reddish brown to dark brown. Body and appendages very intensely granulated with a rather thin granulation. Pectines with 6–6 teeth in female. Fixed and movable fingers of chela with 5–5 rows of granules; extremities of fingers with 3 granules. Ventral carinae present on metasomal segments I to IV, but weak on I. Trichobothrial pattern of type C neobothriotaxic ‘majorante’.
Based on female holotype.
General colouration basically reddish brown to dark brown. Prosoma: carapace reddish brown with a few paler spots; eyes blackish. Mesosoma: tergites reddish brown, with VII slightly paler with some yellow spots; venter and sternites reddish yellow; pectines and genital operculum with the same colour as sternites. Metasoma: segments reddish brown, with darker zones over carinae; vesicle reddish yellow with the tip of the aculeus dark red. Chelicerae: reddish yellow, with some diffuse variegated brown spots; fingers dark red with teeth reddish yellow. Pedipalps: dark brown with blackish carinae; cutting edges of fingers reddish. Legs: reddish yellow to reddish brown without spots.
Prosoma: carapace intensely granulated, with a dense and thin granulation; furrows shallow; sternum pentagonal, wider than long. Mesosoma: tergites almost acarinate, with a thin and dense granulation; sternites smooth and shiny, only VII with a few granulations; spiracles oval to rounded-shaped and conspicuous; pectinal tooth count 6–6, fulcra vestigial. Metasoma: segments I to III wider than long; metasomal tegument on segments I to IV with conspicuous granulations; segment V with spinoid granulations ventrally; carinae on segments I–V strongly developed; ventral present on all segments, less marked on I; telson with strongly marked granulations, only dorsal face smooth; aculeus shorter than vesicle. Chelicerae: dentition typical of the family Chactidae (
Female holotype of T. khodayarii sp. n. Total length (in mm) including telson, 35.1. Carapace: length, 5.3; anterior width, 3.1; posterior width, 5.4. Mesosoma length 11.1. Metasomal segments. I: length, 1.9; width, 3.0; II: length, 2.0; width, 2.7; III: length, 2.2; width, 2.5; IV: length, 2.7; width, 2.3; V: length, 4.8; width, 2.2; depth, 2.0. Telson length, 5.1; vesicle: width, 2.0; depth, 1.6. Pedipalp: femur length, 3.8, width, 1.3; patella length, 3.7, width, 1.8; chela length, 8.1, width, 2.9, depth, 2.8; movable finger length, 4.6.
The species can be distinguished from the others congeners in particular from Teuthraustes atramentarius Simon, which is also distributed in Ecuador, but exclusively in the high central Andes, by the following features: (i) a thin but very intense granulation over body and appendages, particularly marked on legs (ii) ocular tubercle much less pronounced, (iii) pectines are wider, (iv) pedipalpal chela are not bulk and elongated, (v) metasomal segments I to III wider than long.
Teuthraustes khodayarii sp. n. Female holotype. A Chelicera, dorsal aspect B Disposition of the granulation over the dentate margins of pedipalp-chela movable finger C–H Trichobothrial pattern C–D Chela, dorso-external and ventral aspects E Femur, dorsal aspect F–H Patella, dorsal F external G and ventral H aspects. Scale bars 1 mm.v
Morphometric values (in mm) of female holotypes of T. khodayarii sp. n., T. giupponii sp. n., T. kuryi sp. n., and T. atramentarius Simon, 1878.
T. khodayarii | T. giupponii | T. kuryi | T. atramentarius | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total length | 35.1 | 52.1 | 60.4 | 48.9 |
Carapace: | ||||
length | 5.3 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 7.1 |
anterior width | 3.1 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.3 |
posterior width | 5.4 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 7.3 |
Mesosoma length | 11.1 | 15.5 | 16.2 | 14.8 |
Metasoma length | 18.7 | 29.1 | 36.2 | 27.0 |
Metasomal segment I: | ||||
length | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
width | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 3.8 |
Metasomal segment II: | ||||
length | 2.0 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.1 |
width | 2.7 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.5 |
Metasomal segment III: | ||||
length | 2.2 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.3 |
width | 2.5 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
Metasomal segment IV: | ||||
length | 2.7 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.0 |
width | 2.3 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Metasomal segment V: | ||||
length | 4.8 | 7.3 | 9.4 | 6.7 |
width | 2.2 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
depth | 2.0 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 2.8 |
Telson: | ||||
length | 5.1 | 7.6 | 8.9 | 7.2 |
width | 2.0 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
depth | 1.6 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 2.9 |
Pedipalp: | ||||
femur length | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 4.8 |
femur width | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
patella length | 3.7 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 5.3 |
patella width | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
chela length | 8.1 | 11.2 | 11.1 | 10.7 |
chela width | 2.9 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 3.7 |
chela depth | 2.8 | 5.3 | 7.2 | 5.6 |
Movable finger length | 4.6 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
Ecuador, Sucumbíos Province (formerly Napo), Dureno/Cuyabeno, near lake Cuyabeno, Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (0°07'00"S, 75°50'00"W) VI/1976 (British expedition and local people), rain-forest, under stone. Female holotype. Type material deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
The specific name honours Dr. Alessandro Ponce de Leão Giupponi, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, for his contributions to the study of scorpions.
Moderate scorpions with 52.1 mm in total length. Colouration reddish to reddish yellow. Body and appendages weakly granulated, with minute punctation. Pectines small with 6–6 teeth in female. Fixed and movable fingers of chela with 5–5 rows of granules. Ventral carinae present on metasomal segments I to IV but inconspicuous on I. Trichobothrial pattern of type C neobothriotaxic ‘majorante’.
Based on female holotype.
General colouration basically reddish to reddish yellow. Prosoma: carapace reddish; eyes blackish. Mesosoma: tergites reddish yellow, paler than carapace, with confluent yellowish strips; venter and sternites reddish yellow to yellow; pectines, genital operculum, and sternites yellow. Metasoma: segments reddish, with darker zones over carinae; vesicle reddish yellow with the tip of the aculeus dark red. Chelicerae: yellow, with some diffuse variegated reddish spots at the base of fingers; fingers reddish yellow; teeth reddish. Pedipalps: dark reddish; carinae blackish. Legs: reddish yellow with pale spots.
Prosoma: carapace acarinate, with dense minute granulations; lateral edges smooth; furrows shallow; sternum pentagonal, wider than long. Mesosoma: tergites acarinate, with a few granulations and some punctations; sternites, smooth and shiny; spiracles oval to rounded-shaped and conspicuous; VII acarinate with a few granules; pectinal tooth count 6–6, fulcra inconspicuous. Metasoma: segments I and II wider than long; metasomal tegument on segments I to IV with strong granulations; segment V with some spinoid granulations ventrally; carinae on segments I–V strongly developed; ventral present on segments I to IV; telson with a few ventral granulations, other faces almost smooth; aculeus shorter than vesicle. Chelicerae: dentition typical of the family Chactidae (
Female holotype of T. giupponii sp. n. Total length (in mm) including the telson, 52.1. Carapace: length, 7.5; anterior width, 4.3; posterior width, 8.0. Mesosoma length 15.5. Metasomal segments. I: length, 3.0; width, 4.0; II: length, 3.3; width, 3.6; III: length, 3.6; width, 3.6; IV: length, 4.3; width, 3.4; V: length, 7.3; width, 3.1; depth, 2.7. Telson length, 7.6; vesicle: width, 3.5; depth, 2.8. Pedipalp: femur length, 4.7, width, 2.1; patella length, 5.6, width, 2.5; chela length, 11.2, width, 4.0, depth, 5.3; movable finger length, 6.3.
The new species can be distinguished from other the congeners in particular from Teuthraustes oculatus Pocock, which is also distributed in Ecuador, but in the high central Andes, by the following features: (i) paler general colouration, reddish to reddish yellow, (ii) tergites and pedipalps weakly granulate to smooth, (iii) carapace with some thin granulations (iv) lateral eyes small and apart from each other, (v) anterior edge of carapace not straight, lobate, (vi) ventral carinae on metasomal segment I inconspicuous.
Ecuador, Esmeraldas Province (N00.88883, W078.53732), 873 m, in zone where rainforest was recently destroyed, under log, 17/III/2011 (A. Chagas, A. Giupponi, A. Kury, M. Vega). Female holotype and female paratype. Holotype deposited in the Museo de Zoologia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Quito, Ecuador; paratype deposited in the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Specific name honours Prof. Adriano B. Kury, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for his important contribution to the study of arachnids.
Moderate to large scorpions with 60–61 mm in total length. Colouration dark brown to blackish. Body and appendages strongly granulated. Pectines with 7–7 teeth in females. Pedipalps bulk with short fingers; fixed and movable fingers of chela with 5–6 rows of granules. Metasoma long and strong; ventral carinae strongly marked on metasomal segments I to IV. Trichobothrial pattern of type C neobothriotaxic ‘majorante’.
Based on female holotype and female paratype.
General colouration basically dark brown to blackish. Prosoma: carapace dark brown; eyes blackish. Mesosoma: tergites reddish brown to dark brown, slightly paler than carapace; venter and sternites reddish brown to dark brown; pectines and genital operculum yellow. Metasoma: segments blackish brown, with darker zones over carinae; vesicle reddish brown with the base of the aculeus reddish yellow. Chelicerae: reddish yellow, with some diffuse variegated reddish spots at the base of the fingers; fingers dark reddish. Pedipalps dark brown to blackish; carinae blackish. Legs dark brown to blackish.
Prosoma: carapace almost acarinate, but with dense strongly marked granulations on the entire surface, except on the zone of furrows; furrows deep; sternum pentagonal, wider than long. Mesosoma: tergites intensely granulated but less marked than carapace; sternites, smooth and shiny; spiracles oval-shaped and conspicuous; VII acarinate with granulations; pectinal tooth count 7–7 in both females, holotype and paratype, fulcra vestigial. Metasoma: segments I and II wider than long; metasomal tegument on segments I to IV strongly granulated including dorsal aspect; segment V with some spinoid granulations ventrally; carinae on segments I–V strongly developed; ventral present on all segments; telson strongly granulated; aculeus shorter than vesicle. Chelicerae: dentition typical of the family Chactidae (
Female holotype of T. kuryi sp. n. Total length (in mm) including the telson, 60.4. Carapace: length, 8.0; anterior width, 4.8; posterior width, 8.6. Mesosoma length, 16.2. Metasomal segments. I: length, 3.6; width, 4.9; II: length, 4.1; width, 4.6; III: length, 4.6; width, 4.5; IV: length, 5.6; width, 4.3; V: length, 9.4; width, 4.2; depth, 3.6. Telson length, 8.9; vesicle: width, 4.3; depth, 3.6. Pedipalp: femur length, 5.7, width, 2.4; patella length, 6.1, width, 2.8; chela length, 11.1, width, 5.1, depth, 7.2; movable finger length, 5.9.
The new species can be distinguished from the others congeners in particular from Teuthraustes atramentarius Simon, which is also distributed in Ecuador, but exclusively in the high central Andes, by the following features: (i) carapace, tergites, pedipalps, metasoma, and telson strongly granulated, (ii) metasomal segments I to V long and strong with well-marked ventral carinae, (iii) pedipalps bulk with short fingers on chela, (iv) ventral aspect with a darker pigmentation, reddish brown to dark brown.
Teuthraustes kuryi sp. n. Female holotype. A Chelicera, dorsal aspect B Disposition of the granulation over the dentate margins of pedipalp-chela movable finger C–H Trichobothrial pattern C–D Chela, dorso-external and ventral aspects E Femur, dorsal aspect F–H Patella, dorsal F external G and ventral H aspects. Scale bars 1 mm.
The female holotype of Teuthraustes atramentarius was studied and its morphometric values (in mm) are presented in Table
We are most grateful to Adriano Kury (Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Alessandro Giupponi (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) for the loan of part of the studied material and for the information and photos from their field work. We are also grateful to two anonymous referees and linguistic editor for useful comments and suggestions, as well as to Elise-Anne Leguin (MNHN, Paris, France) for her support with the preparation of the photos.