Redefinition and Systematic Revision of the East African Scorpion Genus Pandinoides (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae) With Critique of the Taxonomy of Pandinus, Sensu Lato

Burrowing into the forest: Phylogeny of the Asian forest scorpions (Scorpionidae: Heterometrinae) and the evolution of ecomorphotypes

Asian forest scorpions (Scorpionidae Latreille, 1802: Heterometrinae Simon, 1879) are distributed across South and Southeast Asia. All are fossorial, constructing burrows under stones or in open ground, in habitats differing in precipitation and vegetation cover, from rainforests and tropical deciduous forests to savanna and scrubland. The systematics of these scorpions has long been confused due to bad taxonomy and the absence of a phylogenetic framework. Although the monophyly of the group was previously confirmed as part of broader phylogenetic analyses based on exemplar species, the only quantitative analysis of species-level variation to date was based on overall similarity. This contribution presents the first species-level phylogenetic analysis of Asian Scorpionidae, based on 186 morphological characters and 4188 aligned base-pairs of DNA sequence data from two nuclear and three mitochondrial loci for 132 terminals including all 41 ingroup species and four outgroup species. Simultaneous analyses of the morphological and molecular datasets with parsimony, Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference provided the framework for a revised classification presented elsewhere. In order to understand how adaptation following dispersal into new habitats has driven the morphological diversification of Asian forest scorpions, species were scored for 10 characters concerning morphology and burrow architecture, which contributed to an ensemble index of adaptation to habitat aridity. Species were classified into three ecomorphotypes based on the index, and ancestral state reconstruction of ecomorphotypes performed on the phylogeny. A pattern was recovered in which lineages and species occurring in different habitats on a continuum from wet (evergreen forest) to dry (savanna, scrubland) exhibited characters presumed to be adaptive and hence responsible for driving scorpion diversification.

An annotated catalogue of the scorpion types (Arachnida, Scorpiones) held in the Zoological Museum Hamburg. Part I: Parvorder Iurida Soleglad & Fet, 2003

Scorpions have always inspired fear and fascination because of the potency of their venoms. Although this ancient arachnid group is relatively small (ca. 2400 species) and has been continuously studied for the past century, the taxonomy is still in a state of flux and the correct identification of species often remains difficult. With more than 725 species and 9000 specimens, the Zoological Museum in Hamburg (ZMH) holds one of the largest and most significant scorpion collections in the world. This collection also contains many historical types described by Karl Kraepelin in the early 20th century. In order to contribute to a more stable scorpion taxonomy and to assist future scorpion researchers, we present an illustrated and annotated catalogue of the ZMH scorpion collections. The type specimens of 89 species belonging to 10 families are documented, imaged and assessed alongside their primary data. For practical reasons, only the taxa belonging to the parvorder Iurida Soleglad et Fet, 2003 are presented here whilst the Parvorder Buthida Soleglad et Fet, 2003 will be catalogued in a second publication.