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

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  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...

Discovering unknown Madagascar biodiversity: integrative taxonomy of raft spiders (Pisauridae: Dolomedes)

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Discovering unknown Madagascar biodiversity: integrative taxonomy of raft spiders (Pisauridae: Dolomedes)

Abstract



Madagascar is a global biodiversity hotspot, but its biodiversity continues to be underestimated and understudied. Of raft spiders, genus Dolomedes Latreille, 1804, literature only reports two species on Madagascar. Our single expedition to humid forests of eastern and northern Madagascar, however, yielded a series of Dolomedes exemplars representing both sexes of five morphospecies. To avoid only using morphological diagnostics, we devised and tested an integrative taxonomic model for Dolomedes based on the unified species concept. The model first determines morphospecies within a morphometrics framework, then tests their validity via species delimitation using COI. It then incorporates habitat preferences, geological barriers, and dispersal related traits to form hypotheses about gene flow limitations. Our results reveal four new Dolomedes species that we describe from both sexes as Dolomedes gregoric sp. nov., D. bedjanic sp. nov., D. hydatostella sp. nov., and D. rotundus sp. nov. The range of D. kalanoro Silva & Griswold, 2013, now also known from both sexes, is expanded to eastern Madagascar. By increasing the known raft spider diversity from one valid species to five, our results merely scratch the surface of the true Dolomedes species diversity on Madagascar. Our integrative taxonomic model provides the framework for future revisions of raft spiders anywhere.

Yu K, Kuntner M. 2024. Discovering unknown Madagascar biodiversity: integrative taxonomy of raft spiders (Pisauridae: Dolomedes) PeerJ 12:e16781