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

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  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...

First comprehensive description of the endemic Croatian polytrichous scorpion Euscorpius lagostae Di Caporiacco, 1950 (Scorpiones, Euscorpiidae)

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First comprehensive description of the endemic Croatian polytrichous scorpion Euscorpius lagostae Di Caporiacco, 1950 (Scorpiones, Euscorpiidae)

Abstract

Euscorpius lagostae Di Caporiacco, 1950, a poorly studied endemic species belonging to the Euscorpius hadzii Di Caporiacco, 1950 species complex, is redescribed with the first morphological illustrations and confirmed by molecular phylogenetic analysis based on broader sampling. New distribution records of E. lagostae from the western part of the Pelješac Peninsula, and Hvar Island are presented, and the first ecological insights into this neglected species are provided. This study represents the first step toward resolving the taxonomic status of the genetically closest taxa distributed along the coastal area from the Neretva River mouth to Montenegro, including the southeastern coast of the Pelješac Peninsula, Lokrum and Mljet Islands, and southern Herzegovina. Newly collected samples near Višegrad in the northeastern Dinarides (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and near the Adriatic coast, close to the Neretva River mouth (Croatia), revealed deeply divergent genetic lineages basal to the E. lagostae group.

Vignoli, V., Podnar, M., Kulijer, D. & Tvrtković, N. (2026). First comprehensive description of the endemic Croatian polytrichous scorpion Euscorpius lagostae Di Caporiacco, 1950 (Scorpiones, Euscorpiidae). Natura Croatica, 35 (2), 0-0. https://doi.org/10.20302/NC.2026.35.24