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Neotype Designation for Pectinibuthus Birulai Fet, 1984 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Turkmenistan, with Remarks on Pectine Teeth of Psammophile Scorpions

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Neotype Designation for Pectinibuthus Birulai Fet, 1984 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Turkmenistan, with Remarks on Pectine Teeth of Psammophile Scorpions Neotype designation for Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Turkmenistan, with remarks on pectine teeth of psammophile scorpions Victor Fet, František Kovařík & Graeme Lowe August 2019 — No. 286 Euscorpius Occasional Publications in Scorpiology EDITOR: Victor Fet, Marshall University, ‘[email protected]’ ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Michael E. Soleglad, ‘[email protected]’ Euscorpius is the first research publication completely devoted to scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Euscorpius takes advantage of the rapidly evolving medium of quick online publication, at the same time maintaining high research standards for the burgeoning field of scorpion science (scorpiology).Euscorpius is an expedient and viable medium for the publication of serious papers in scorpiology, including (but not limited to): systematics, evolution, ecology, biogeography, and general biology of scorpions. Review papers, descriptions of new taxa, faunistic surveys, lists of museum collections, and book reviews are welcome. Derivatio Nominis The name Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 refers to the most common genus of scorpions in the Mediterranean region and southern Europe (family Euscorpiidae). Euscorpius is located at: https://mds.marshall.edu/euscorpius/ Archive of issues 1-270 see also at: http://www.science.marshall.edu/fet/Euscorpius (Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25755-2510, USA) ICZN COMPLIANCE OF ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS: Electronic (“e-only”) publications are fully compliant with ICZN (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) (i.e. for the purposes of new names and new nomenclatural acts) when properly archived and registered. All Euscorpius issues starting from No. 156 (2013) are archived in two electronic archives: • Biotaxa, http://biotaxa.org/Euscorpius (ICZN-approved and ZooBank-enabled) • Marshall Digital Scholar, http://mds.marshall.edu/euscorpius/. (This website also archives all Euscorpius issues previously published on CD-ROMs.) Between 2000 and 2013, ICZN did not accept online texts as “published work” (Article 9.8). At this time, Euscorpius was produced in two identical versions: online (ISSN 1536-9307) and CD-ROM (ISSN 1536-9293) (laser disk) in archive-quality, read-only format. Both versions had the identical date of publication, as well as identical page and figure numbers. Only copies distributed on a CD-ROM from Euscorpius in 2001-2012 represent published work in compliance with the ICZN, i.e. for the purposes of new names and new nomenclatural acts. In September 2012, ICZN Article 8. What constitutes published work, has been amended and allowed for electronic publications, disallowing publication on optical discs. From January 2013, Euscorpius discontinued CD-ROM production; only online electronic version (ISSN 1536-9307) is published. For further details on the new ICZN amendment, see http://www.pensoft.net/journals/zookeys/article/3944/. Publication date: 30 August 2019 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1760A795-CCCA-4A57-9E48-CD7BFDC780AC Euscorpius - Occasional Publications in Scorpiology. 2019, No. 286 Neotype designation for Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Turkmenistan, with remarks on pectine teeth of psammophile scorpions Victor Fet1, František Kovařík2, 3 & Graeme Lowe4 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25755-2510, USA; email: [email protected] 2 P. O. Box 27, CZ-145 01 Praha 45, Czech Republic; http://www.scorpio.cz 3 Department of Zoology, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic 4 Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308, USA http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1760A795-CCCA-4A57-9E48-CD7BFDC780AC Summary A neotype is designated for a very rare Central Asian scorpion, Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984, the sole species of the genus Pectinibuthus Fet, 1984. It is the only currently known specimen, collected by Victor Fet in July 1985, and deposited in ZISP (St. Petersburg, Russia). The original types are considered lost. Detailed photographs of the neotype are provided, as well as comments on this unique psammophile buthid. We also discuss and compare pectinal tooth counts of psammophile scorpions relative to other scorpions. Methods, Material & Abbreviations Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984 (Figs. 1–21, 24, Table 1) Nomenclature and measurements follow Stahnke (1971), Kovařík (2009), and Kovařík & Ojanguren-Affilastro (2013), http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank. except for trichobothriotaxy (Vachon, 1974). Biometric org:act:009DDF1F-25D2-4B9C-9A0B-100E1618C7EF data on pectinal tooth count and adult carapace length were compiled mostly by data mining taxonomic literature, although Pectinibuthus birulai Fet in Orlov & Vasilyev, 1984: 15, fig. a few measurements were taken directly from unpublished 8; Fet, 1987: 443–446, figs. 1–5; Fet, 1988: 24–28, figs. 1–7; specimens in the authors collections. If adult carapace lengths Fet, 1989: 118–119; Fet, 1994: 531; Fet, 1997: 247; Fet, of several specimens were published, we calculated the mean Polis & Sissom, 1998: 612; Fet & Lowe, 2000: 213 (full list value for our analyses. Plotting and statistical analyses were of references before 1998); Capes & Fet, 2001: 300; Fet, performed in Origin 7.0 (http://www.originlab.xom) Capes & Sissom, 2001: 185; Soleglad & Fet, 2005: 13. and MaxStat 3.60 (http://www.maxstat.de). Specimen depositories: ZISP, Zoological Institute, Russian Type material (lost; see Comments): Holotype: ♂ (ZISP Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; ZMMSU, 1795), Turkmenistan: Lebap Velayati (former Chardzhou Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Region), Repetek Nature Reserve, leg. A. Yu. Tsellarius. Moscow, Russia. Paratypes (3♀): 2♀ (ZISP 1796), same locality, 23 April 1974, leg. V. I. Kuznetsov; 1♀ (ZISP 1797), same locality, Systematics 16 June 1974, leg. V. I. Kuznetsov. Family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Neotype (designated here): juvenile ♂ (ZISP 1796), Genus Pectinibuthus Fet, 1984 Turkmenistan: Lebap Velayati (former Chardzhou Region), Repetek Natural Reserve, 21 July 1985, leg. V. Fet. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank. org:act:3B645472-F2F2-462E-8844-A0DACE767568 Neotype Designation. In accord with the ICZN Article 75.3, we declare that there is an exceptional need to designate the Pectinibuthus Fet in Orlov & Vasilyev, 1984: 9. neotype of Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984 with the express purpose of clarifying the taxonomic status and identity of this Type species: Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984, by monotypy. species. No other specimen is known to us to exist of this sole species of a monotypic psammophile genus, while the study Distribution. Turkmenistan: East Karakum desert. 2 Euscorpius - 2019, No. 286 Figures 1–3: Pectinibuthus birulai, neotype juvenile, dorsal (1) and ventral (2) views and original label (3). Scale bar = 10 mm (1–2). of Turkmenistan psammophile buthids has been considerably that maintains a research scorpion collection, with advanced in the last decade, including DNA phylogeny data proper facilities for preserving name-bearing types, and that (Graham et al., 2012; Fet et al., 2018). We have strong reasons makes them accessible for study. for believing that the holotype male of Pectinibuthus birulai Fet, 1984 (ZISP 1795) is lost along with the rest of the type Diagnosis (see also Fet, 1987). Adult size medium for the series (three paratype females, ZISP 1796–1797). We have family (the only known adult male 56 mm long). Cheliceral taken steps to trace these specimens by personally examining dentition modified from most common buthid pattern the ZISP scorpion collection in St. Petersburg (F.K. and (Vachon, 1963): both fixed and movable finger ventrally Ersen Aydin Yağmur, 2019, see Kovařík et al., 2019) with with a single denticle. Pedipalps very slender, with chelae the help of Dr. Viktor Krivokhatsky who is a curator of this narrower than patella; trichobothrial pattern orthobothriotaxic collection. The neotype is consistent with what is known of A–β, patellar trichobothrium d3 located between dorsomedian the former name-bearing type from the original description, and dorsointernal carinae, Eb1-Eb2-Eb3 collinear (λ); fingers and comes from the original type locality, Repetek Nature without lobe/ notch combination, with 9–10 principal rows of Reserve in East Karakum, Turkmenistan. The neotype is the denticles (division of basal-most rows usually poorly property of ZISP, which is a venerable scientific institution defined), all arranged in a straight line, external accessory Fet, Kovařík & Lowe: Pectinibuthus birulai 3 denticles entirely absent, internal accessory denticles absent juvenile specimen (our current neotype), collected by himself from basal-most rows, movable finger with 1–2 accessory (V. F.) in Repetek on 21 July 1985. Fet (1989) labeled this denticles basal to the terminal denticle. Carapace essentially specimen as ZM–Tb–357, which indicated his intention to without carinae, with anterior margin almost straight; median deposit this scorpion to ZMMSU (Moscow). This, however, eyes very large and raised, five pairs of much smaller was never done since V.F. emigrated to the USA in March lateral eyes (three same-sized and aligned along each 1988. The absence of any P. birulai specimens in ZMMSU anterolateral corner, plus two tiny and offset above the was confirmed for us by Dr. Kirill Mikhailov (ZMMSU) in former). Tergites I–VI vestigial to obsoletely tricarinate. 2019. The label of the current juvenile male neotype (in Sternum
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