New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt

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  New locality records and future habitat suitability of Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt Abstract This study reports new locality records from Iran and a climate-based habitat suitability assessment for Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in the Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan arid belt. We document new specimens from Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, with an updated distribution map and illustrations, and we model the species' potential distribution across south-eastern Iran and adjacent parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Habitat suitability was associated mainly with precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, and slope. In an arid setting these rainfall variables are unlikely to indicate a need for moist habitat; they more plausibly track seasonal productivity and the terrain features that provide shelter. Present-day suitable areas...

Systematic revision of Dongmoa Roewer (Arachnida: Opiliones: Podoctidae), with reassignment of two Chinese species from Bonea and description of a new species from Vietnam

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Systematic revision of Dongmoa Roewer (Arachnida: Opiliones: Podoctidae), with reassignment of two Chinese species from Bonea and description of a new species from Vietnam

ABSTRACT

A new species of the genus Dongmoa Roewer is described from Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, with its intricate external morphology examined using micro-CT scanning. Until now, Dongmoa included only two species, one from northern Vietnam and another from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Here, we provide a revised diagnosis of the genus, with detailed comparisons to the closely related genera Bonea and Erecanana. In addition, two species from Hainan Island, China, previously assigned to Bonea, are transferred to Dongmoa, increasing the total number of recognised species in the genus to five. This study represents the first modern systematic treatment of Dongmoa, substantially refining the traditional Roewerian framework and enabling a clearer delimitation of species distributed across Indochina and Japan. Moreover, the recognition of a previously overlooked but variable morphological structure, here called the insula lunata, highlights its potential relevance for taxonomy within Podoctidae, providing the basis for future phylogenetic studies.

Kury, A. B., Machado, G., & Pham, D. S. (2026). Systematic revision of Dongmoa Roewer (Arachnida: Opiliones: Podoctidae), with reassignment of two Chinese species from Bonea and description of a new species from Vietnam. Journal of Natural History, 60(17–20), 1005–1024. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2026.2650134