Rec. zool. Surv. : Vol. 117(2)/140-145, 2017 ISSN (Online) : (Applied for) DOI: 10.26515/rzsi/v117/i2/2017/118006 ISSN (Print) : 0375-1511 Scorpion fauna (Arachnida: Scorpiones) of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, with an illustrated key to the families and genera

K. Aswathi1,2 and P. M. Sureshan2 1University of Calicut, P O Malappuram (District), Malappuram, Kerala – 673635, India; [email protected] 2Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Jafarkhan Colony, P. O. Eranhipalam, Kozhikode, Kerala – 673006, India; [email protected]

Abstract Systematic account on 6 species of scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) under 5 genera and 3 families from the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala is provided with an illustrated key to the families and genera occurring in the area.

Keywords: Arachnida, Scorpiones, Systematic account, Key, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala

Introduction Scorpions are fascinating group of arachnids widely shadow region of Southern Western Ghats, which receives one of the animal groups which attract public interest major part of rain received here is in north-east monsoon owing to their fearsome appearance, toxicity and painful during October-December and is in the range of 300- is lethal to man, such species are rare in India. When compared to the other parts of India, scorpion fauna of the sanctuary includes dry deciduous forests followed by Kerala is poorly studied. As per the latest checklist by thorny scrub forests, which occupy 15% of the forest area, Bastawade et al. (2012), 19 species of scorpions under lie in the lower attitudes. Apart from these, the riparian 8 genera and 3 families are reported from Kerala. By forests, sholas and grass lands are also found in the area the description of a new species from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary recently by Aswathi et al. (2015) the number study includes 6 species of scorpions under 5 genera of known taxa from Kerala has been raised to 22 species belonging to 3 families. An illustrated key to the families under 9 genera belonging to 3 families. and genera of the scorpions of the area is also provided. scorpions made from the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Materials and Methods covering total area 90.44 km2 with an elevation of 2,372 m, which is an important conservation area in Kerala. collected from the sanctuary during the recent years and Kanthalloor Panchayaths of Taluk in the and those deposited in the faunal holdings of Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Kozhikode, Eravikulam National Park of Kerala in the south, Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu in the north rocks, rock crevices and under logs and preserved in

* Author for correspondence Article Received on: 13.01.2016 Accepted on: 03.07.2017 Scorpion fauna (Arachnida: Scorpiones) of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala with an illustrated key to the families and genera

− Entire body smooth or granulate, but not punctuate;

with long aculeus ……...... ….Heterometrus Ehrenberg used in this paper follows Stahnke (1970). Taxonomic Account Key to the Species of Scorpions of Chinnar Wildlife Class: ARACHNIDA Sanctuary, Kerala Order: SCORPIONES 1. Moderate in size, slender pedipalp with narrow chela; 6-14 rows of granules with cutting edges present on Family: BUTHIDAE 1. Lychas tricarinatus (Simon, 1884) (Figure 1) number of teeths (about 20-34). Trichobothrial type ‘A’ ……………………………………….….Family Buthidae 1884. Isometrus tricarinatus Simon: Ann. Mus. Civ Stor. Natr - Moderate to large in size; pedipalp not slender, with Genova: 47. wider chela; with or without rows of granules lack cutting 1900. Lychas tricarinatus: Pocock, Fauna Brit. India, Arachn. : 40.

with minimum to maximum of 5-22 number of teeths. Trichobothrial type ‘C’ …………………………………. 2

body; metasoma thin and weak .……………… …………………..…….…………...…Family Liochelidae

strong…..…………………………...Family Scorpionidae

Key to the Genera of Scorpions of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala Figure 1. Lychas tricarinatus. 1. Tibial spur present on legs III- IV ……………...... 2 − Tibial spur absent on legs III- IV………..…………..4 Material examined: 1♀, India: Kerala: Idukki, Chinnar 2. Sternum sub-pentagonal; apical button absent on sternum; dorsal trichobothria on femur of pedipalp m), 19.xi.1996, P. M. Sureshan, Reg. No.ZSI/WGRC/IR/ INV/5018. ...………...... …….……...…...... Buthoscorpio Werner Diagnosis: Total length 44-54.7 mm. Entire surface of − Sternum triangular; apical button present on sternum; carapace and mesosomaltergites coarsely granular; three dorsal trichobothria on femur of pedipalp arranged carinae present on mesosomal tergites II-VI, no carinae on tergite I. Metasomal segments I-IIwith 10 keels and ……………….……………….…………………….....….3 III-IV with 8 keels, but sometimes the III segments may 3. Vesicle of telson bulbous; subaculear tubercle not very have 10 keels; Pectinal teeth number 20-26 in both sexes. distinct; legs with no variegation …...... … Trichobothria eb and esb seen closer to the base of the ……………………………………Hottentotta Birula − Vesicle of telson not bulbous; subaculear tubercle on latero-median portion externally. For trichobothrial very distinct; legs variegated with black .…………… pattern see Tikader and Bastawade 1983: 76p. ……………………………...…………..Lychas C.L.Koch Distribution: India: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, 4. Entire body smooth and punctuate without any Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. granules; pyriform vesicle with short aculeus ………… Remarks ………..……………..……………..…...Iomachus Pocock under boulders in the thorny scrub forests, not making holes.

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2. Lychas laevifrons (Pocock) (Figure 2) 3. Buthoscorpio chinnarensis Aswathi, Sureshan and 1891. Isometrus shoplandi: Pocock, J. Linn. Soc. (Zool). : 434 (in Lourenco (Figure 3 and 4) part) 2015. Buthoscorpio chinnarensis Aswathi, Sureshan and Lourenco: 1897. Archisometrus laevifrons Pocock, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.: Taprobanica, 7(4): 213-218. 113. 1900. Lychas laevifrons: Pocock, Fauna Brit. India, Arachn.: 41.

Figure 3. Buthoscorpio chinnarensis. Figure 2. Lychas laevifrons. Material examined: 2♀, India: Kerala: Idukki,

Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC//IR/INV 5016; 1♂, 2♀, Churulipatty

Aswathi. K, Reg.No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV 4585; 1♂, m), 12.ix.2015, P.M. Sureshan, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/ INV 4818; 1♂, Alampatty, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary

P.M. Sureshan, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV/4767. Diagnosis: Total length 41-69 mm. Entire body coarsely Figure 4. Buthoscorpio chinnarensis (Habitus). granular; mesosomal tergites II-VI with tricarinae, but Material examined: 1♂ holotype: India: Kerala: female in having longer metasoma and a deep cut in the Idukki: Chinnar WLS, Churulipatty tribal colony (Lat. segments I-III with 10 keels, segment IV with 8 keels and P. M.Sureshan, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV/3603; 2♀ segment V with 5 keels. Telson, golden brown with thin paratypes, same data as that of holotype, Reg. No. ZSI/ vesicle possess brown bands ventrally, subaculear tubercle WGRC/IR/INV/3604. present. Pectinal teeth number 22-25. Legs variegated Diagnosis: Total length 30-41mm. Scattered granulation yellow and black. For trichobothrial pattern see Tikader on lateral portions of carapace; median eyes situated in the and Bastawade1983: 83p. ratio 1: 2; basal portion of the femur possess prominent Distribution: India: Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, tubercles; mesosomal tergites III-V with dorsal carinae; Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal. Elsewhere: metasomal segments I-IV wider than long, segment V Africa and Oceania. longer than wide; subaculear tubercle absent on telson; Remarks Pectinal teeth number 14-16 in males and 17-17 in Kerala, collected under boulders in the thorny forests, not females. For trichobothrial pattern see Aswathi et al 2015: making holes. plate 3

Vol 117(2) | 2017 | www.recordsofzsi.com Zoological Survey of India 142 Scorpion fauna (Arachnida: Scorpiones) of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala with an illustrated key to the families and genera

Distribution: India: Kerala. Remarks Remarks from the Champakkad region of the Sanctuary and observed that they were found under rocks, not make glossy black colour and folding the tail over the mesosoma holes. and found under boulders in the thorny scrub forests, not making holes. Family: LIOCHELIDAE 5. Iomachus laeviceps (Pocock) (Figure 6) 4. Hottentotta rugiscutis (Pocock) (Figure 5) 1893. Iomachus laeviceps:Pocock, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc.: 300. 1897. Buthus rugiscutisPocock, Annals and Magazine of Natural 1968. Iomachus laeviceps:Sreenivasa Reddy, Bull. Mus. natn. Hist. History: 106. Nat., Paris, 2e ser: 1066. 1998. Hottentotta (Hottentotta) rugiscutis: Kovařík Stíri [Scorpiones]: 110. 1999. Hottentotta rugiscutis: Kovařík, Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae: 291 (in part).

Figure 6. Iomachus laeviceps.

Material examined: 3♀, 1♂, 22 juveniles, India: Kerala:

Figure 5. Hottentotta rugiscutis. Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV 5017; 4♀, Chempakkad Material examined: 1♀, INDIA: KERALA: IDUKKI, K.G. Emiliyamma, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV 3941; E, Alt.371 m), 19.xi.1996, Collr. P.M. Sureshan, Reg. No. 3♀, Churulipatty (Lat. 10.353’N, Long.77.198’E, Alt.553.5 ZSI/ WGRC/ IR/INV/3250. m), 21.ix.2014, K. G. Emiliyamma, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/ Diagnosis: Total length 30-60 mm. Entire body coarsely IR/INV3942; 1♀ granular and sparsely hirsute, but the pedipalp are densely Alt.877.4 m), 12.ix.2015, P. M. Sureshan, Reg.No.ZSI/ hirsute with short hairs; chelicera yellow with reticulation WGRC/IR/INV/4768; 2♂ present in females, males may with poorly developed reticulation. Manus of pedipalp of male is broader than No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV/4817. female. Inferior metasomal carinae black; mesosomal Diagnosis tergite granular with two pairs of granular carinae. Vesicle globular with weak subaculear tubercle and granulation present at the anterior margin of the carapace; anterior present. Trichobothria db situated between et and est or eye situated in the ratio 1: 1.5; dorsally body dark brown at the same level as est. Pectinal teeth number 21-24 in except the legs with clear yellow; mesosomaltergites males and 18-21 in females. Trichobothrial pattern see with a median longitudinal elevation; metasoma slender. Tikader and Bastawade 1983:228p. Telson vesicle pyriform with short aculeus. Pectinal teeth Distribution: India: Andhra Pradesh, Jharkand, Karnataka, number 5-6.Trichobothrial pattern see Tikader and Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Tamil Bastawade 1983:493p. Nadu and West Bengal. Distribution: India: Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

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Remarks: Mostly occupy in rock crevices but segment V of metasoma longer than femur of pedipalp; telson vesicle longer than aculeus; median eyes situated they were not fossorial in habit. Collected from the thorny anteriorly in the ratio 1: 1.5; chela length to width ratio scrub forests of Churulipatty and Champakkad regions of 1.7. Pectinal teeth number 16-22. For trichobothrial the Sanctuary. pattern see Tikader and Bastawade 1983: 571p. Distribution: India: Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Family: SCORPIONIDAE Remarks 6. (Pocock) (Figure 7) make holes under rocks but occasionally found under 1900. Pocock, rocks. Collected from the Champakkad part of the Fauna Brit. India, Arachn.: 87. Sanctuary. 2004. : Kovarik, Euscorpius: 13 Summary Taxonomic studies on the scorpion collections made from the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala reveals the presence of 6 species belonging to 5 genera under 3

are mainly found in the sanctuary and among them species Iomachus laeviceps, Lychas tricarinatus and Lychas laevifrons are Buthoscorpio chinnarensis and Hottentotta rugiscutis are reported only from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary till date. was also reported from the foothills of Western Ghats in Palakkad district Figure 7. of Kerala and Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu is the type locality Iomachus Material examined: 1♂ (young one), INDIA: KERALA: laeviceps is so far restricted in places of Palakkad district and southwards in Kerala.

Sureshan, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV 4243; 1♂ Adult, Acknowledgements

), 21.ix.2014, K. G. Emiliyamma, Reg. No. ZSI/WGRC/ We are grateful to Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director, IR/INV 3940; 1♀ Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for providing facilities and encouragement. AK is grateful to Department of No. ZSI/WGRC/IR/INV/4244. Science and Technology, Govt. of India for awarding Diagnosis: Adult 87-141mm long; body uniformly Inspire Fellowship for pursuing Ph D. We are also thankful brown; legs clear yellow; manus of pedipalp yellow with blunt golden brown granules; carapace sparsely of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala for granting the granulated; patella of pedipalp without internal tubercle; permission for faunistic surveys and specimen collection

References Aswathi, K., P. M. Sureshan & W. R. Lourenco, 2015. A new scorpion of the genus Buthoscorpio Werner, 1936 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Kerala, India, Taprobanica. 7(4): 213-218. Zoological Survey in India, 4(6): 1-16.

Genera and Species. Ann. Mag. Natur. Hist. 6: 303-331. Pocock, R. I. 1897. Descriptions of some new species of scorpions from India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 11: 102- 117.

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Pocock, R. I. 1900. Arachnida. Published under the authority of the Secretary of State for India in Council. London: W.T. blandford, xii, 279 pp. Simon, E.1884. ArachnidesrecueillisenBirmanie par M. le Chevalier J. B. Comottoetappartenent au MuséeCiviqued’HistoireNaturelle de Génes. Annali del Museo Civico di StoriaNaturale di Genova, 20: 1–48. Stahnke, H. L. 1970. Scorpion nomenclature and mensuration. – Entomological News, 81: 297- 316. Philadelphia. Sureshan, P.M., D.B. Bastawde and C. Radhakrishnan, 2007b. Taxonomic studies on a collection of scorpions (Scorpiones: Arachnida) from Western Ghats in Kerala, India with two new distribution records. Zoo’s print journal, 22(12): 2903-2908. Tikader, B.K. & D.B. Bastawade. 1983. (Edited by the Director). Cal- cutta: Zoological Survey of India, 671pp.

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