A team of researchers from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas has discovered an intriguing new scorpion in Death Valley National Park.
The new scorpion species Wernerius inyoensis (Michael Webber et al / ZooKeys / Pensoft Publishers)
The study, published in the journal ZooKeys, describes the new species Wernerius inyoensis, named after the Inyo Mountains where it was found.
The species was discovered during field surveys funded by the National Park Service as part of efforts to develop better inventories for all organisms occurring within the parks.
“We almost overlooked this one during the survey” said Matthew Graham, a PhD candidate at the University of Nevada and a co-author on the study.
“Only a single male individual was found, but the physical uniqueness was enough to identify it as a new species”, said Michael Webber, a co-author on the study and a PhD candidate from the University of Nevada.
W. inyoensis is small, only 16 mm in length, and appears to be closely related to two other species found over 400 kilometers away at Joshua Tree National Park and along the lower Colorado River. This group of scorpions is most easily identified by the presence of a conspicuous spine at the base of the stinger, the function of which, if any, is unknown.
The previously known species are also rarely observed in the wild, and this elusive nature has led to speculation that these scorpions occur at very low densities or have only sporadic surface activity.
However, the rocky terrain in which the previous species were found and the discovery of the new species at the base of a talus slope, hint at the possibility that these scorpions are subterrestrial, spending their lives deep in rock crevices or in the interstitial spaces among piles of loose rock.
“In North America, inventories for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians are pretty well developed, and we have a good handle on higher-order plants, but for many groups of smaller organisms taxonomic inventories will no doubt lead to numerous new discoveries” concluded Dr. Jef Jaeger, a research assistant professor at the University of Nevada, who initiated and oversaw the scorpion surveys.
