Morphological Study and Parametric Values of Mesobuthus phillipsii (Pocock, 1889) (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Iran, Autumn 2023

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Morphological Study and Parametric Values of Mesobuthus phillipsii (Pocock, 1889) (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Iran, Autumn 2023

Abstract


Background and Objective: The family Buthidae is the largest scorpion family, which, in addition tohaving a wide distribution worldwide, includes the most dangerous species. Scorpions of the genus Mesobu-thus belong to the family Buthidae and are distributed throughout all regions of Iran, being the dominantspecies in most provinces.The present study was conducted in autumn 2023 to investigate the morphometriccharacteristics of Mesobuthus phillipsii in Rudan County, southern Iran.

Methods: A total of 40 adult male and female M. phillipsii scorpions (20 males and 20 females) were col-lected around the clock from the plain and mountainous areas. Then, the most important morphometric indi-ces were measured using a graduated caliper. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using Excel. TheMann-Whitney test was used to compare the quantitative variable between the two groups (male and female).A P-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Findings: More than half of the morphometric indices were significantly different between male and fe-male M. phillipsii scorpions. The sizes of various body parts were larger in female scorpions compared totheir male counterparts (except for the length and number of teeth of the pectin organ). The number of pectinteeth was (20±1.41) in females and (25±0.06) in males. The number of pectin teeth, as one of the importantsensory organs in scorpions, is used to distinguish between sexes and to identify species.

Conclusion: This study, focused on examining the morphometric traits of the scorpion species M. phil-lipsii, revealed that females exhibited higher average values for most measured morphometric characteristicscompared to males, except for the number of pectin teeth, which did not differ significantly between thesexes.

F. Kamali, H. Kassiri*, A. Kasiri, A. Kasiri, R. Kasiri, M. Lotfi and S. M. Hosseininejad, "Morphological Study and Parametric Values of Mesobuthus phillipsii(Pocock, 1889) (Arachnida: Scorpiones: Buthidae) from Iran, Atumn 2023," Jundishapur Journal of Health Sciences, 17 4 (This issue is currently in preparation) (2025): 1-9, doi: 10.22118/jjhs.2025.231433