Biologists reporting in the open-access journal Zookeys have identified a new scorpion species from the extraordinarily biodiversity rich region of the Ecuadorian Andes.
Tityus crassicauda, male (Wilson Lourenço / Eric Ythier)
The new species, named Tityus crassicauda, is distinguished by reddish brown overall coloration, broken by peculiar decoration of 3 longitudinal brown stripes, separated by yellow zones. It is classed as medium sized, but still around the impressive 2 inches (5 cm) in length.
Tityus crassicauda belongs the scorpion family Buthidae. With more than 200 known species, Tityus is the most special one among all the buthid genera. The animals of this group can range from very small to very large species of up to 4.7 inches (12 cm) in length.
All scorpions possess venom glands and several representatives of the family Buthidae, including also species of the genus Tityus, are known to produce powerful venom that can be deadly to humans.
“Although scorpions can be considered as fascinating animals, the interest shown by people in general is only connected with their negative reputation as a ‘killer of man’. Nonetheless, only a limited number of species probably are actually responsible of serious or lethal incidents,” said lead author Dr Wilson Lourenço from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris.
Tityus crassicauda, female (Wilson Lourenço / Eric Ythier)
“Initially, research on scorpions focused primarily on descriptive taxonomy and general anatomy, followed by some medical research on venom biochemistry. More recently, however, research on scorpions expanded greatly to encompass many aspects of evolutionary biology of these fascinating species.”
“Many authors working on the floras and faunas of the Neotropical region seem to agree that the possible epicenter of global diversity occurs namely in the tropical and subtropical Andean region.”
“Ecuadorian scorpion fauna remains one of the less well studied among those of South America. The Ecuadorian Andes may in fact have many surprises stored for future studies of the scorpion fauna there.”
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Bibliographic information: Lourenço WR, Ythier E. 2013. The remarkable scorpion diversity in the Ecuadorian Andes and description of a new species of Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). ZooKeys 307: 1–13; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.307.5334
