Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius)

Posted by
  Venom Mass Fingerprints for Species Delimitation, Reloaded: A Test Case with Italian Scorpions (Euscorpius) Abstract Scorpion venoms are complex mixtures of bioactive compounds including proteins, peptides and enzymes. Although venoms exhibit substantial intraspecific variation, some compounds appear to be species-specific, highlighting their potential as chemotaxonomic markers. Venom mass fingerprints (MFPs) derived from Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been proposed as a means of delimiting species. However, their utility for species delimitation has rarely been evaluated against independent sources of taxonomic evidence. In the present study, the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based venom peptide barcoding (mass ranges of m/z 800‒4500 and m/z 3000‒10,000) was assessed in 52 populations of eight Italian species of the scorpion genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, representing different levels of evolutionary divergenc...

Revision of the genus Leiurus in Jordan, with a description of a new species and a new record (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Posted by

 


Revision of the genus Leiurus in Jordan, with a description of a new species and a new record (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Abstract

Several new populations of Leiurus were studied from various habitats in Jordan, including specimens previously identified as Leiurus quinquestriatus (Ehrenberg, 1828) and Leiurus hebraeus (Birula, 1908). A new species, Leiurus aylaensis sp. n. is described from Aqaba in southern Jordan, and Leiurus abdullahbayrami Yağmur, Koç & Kunt, 2009 is recorded in Jordan for the first time, extending its geographical range from Türkiye, Syria and Lebanon to the south. A detailed illustration of Leiurus hebraeus (Birula, 1908) and Leiurus jordanensis Lourenço, Modrý & Amr, 2002 are also provided. Biological and geographical notes are also provided.

Abu Afifeh, B., Al–Saraireh, . M. and Amr, Z. (2025) “Revision of the genus <em>Leiurus</em> in Jordan, with a description of a new species and a new record (Scorpiones: Buthidae)”, Ecologica Montenegrina, 86, pp. 81–118. doi: 10.37828/em.2025.86.4. 

https://www.biotaxa.org/em/article/view/87016