Scorpio basraensis sp. n. from southern Iraq (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae)

  Scorpio basraensis sp. n. from southern Iraq (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae) Abstract A new scorpion species, Scorpio basraensis sp. n. , is described and illustrated from Basra Province, southern Iraq. Scorpio basraensis sp. n. is compared with all known species of the genus Scorpio Linnaeus, 1758 occurring in countries surrounding Iraq. The new species can be distinguished by the circular genital operculum in males and the cordiform genital operculum in females (not posteriorly elongated), a densely hirsute body, appendages and metasoma, a distinctly elongated telson vesicle, discrete granules on the external surface of the chela manus that are not flattened, and pectinal tooth counts of 11–13 in males and 9–11 in females. With the description of this species, the number of scorpion species known from Iraq increases to 22, whereas the number of recognized species in the genus Scorpio reaches 33. Yağmur, Ersen A.; Makki, Jafar A.; and Najim, Shurooq A. (2026) " Scorpio basraen...

On the specimens of Actinopus Perty, 1833 deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, with redescriptions, first description of missing sexes, and notes on other taxa (Araneae: Actinopodidae)

 


On the specimens of Actinopus Perty, 1833 deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, with redescriptions, first description of missing sexes, and notes on other taxa (Araneae: Actinopodidae)

Abstract

The specimens of Actinopus Perty, 1833 deposited at the Natural History Museum, London are catalogued. Redescriptions of Actinopus crassipes (Keyserling, 1891), A. harti Pocock, 1895, A. liodon (Ausserer, 1875), A. robustus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892), and A. wallacei F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896 are presented. A lectotype and paralectotypes are designated for A. robustus. Miglio et al. (2020) erroneously considered the type specimens of A. harti and A. liodon to be lost, and further wrongly stated A. liodon would have been deposited in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien when this was never the case. The type series of A. harti comprises of a holotype female and numerous paratypes. The male of A. harti is described for the first time. Actinopus liodon is represented in the collection by the holotype male and a non-type male, and this species, along with A. pindapoy Miglio, Pérez-Miles & Bonaldo, 2020, is synonymised with A. longipalpis C. L. Koch, 1842 syns nov. The first record of A. longipalpis from Paraguay is reported. The holotype of Actinopus luteipes (Keyserling, 1891) is illustrated, confirmed as an immature female, and is tentatively maintained as a junior synonym of A. crassipes. The male of A. trinotatus Mello-Leitão, 1938 is described for the first time. Conversely, the female of A. tetymapyta Sherwood & Pett, 2022 is described for the first time (on the basis of specimens from the Dr Bohls collection which also contains two adult males). Actinopus vilhena Miglio, Pérez-Miles & Bonaldo, 2020 is recorded from the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil for the first time. An additional female of A. princeps Chamberlin, 1917 from the previously-reported locality Parque Nacional do Itatiaia is illustrated. A new species is proposed on the basis of Bolivian material misidentified as A. wallacei by Miglio et al. (2020), and described in full accordance with Article 13.1.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999).