Androctonus maroccanus (Lourenço, Ythier & Leguin, 2009)
A. maroccanus Lourenço, Ythier & Leguin, 2009*
Figures 1–2: Androctonus maroccanus sp. n. Male holotype, dorsal and ventral aspects.
Figures 3–4: Androctonus maroccanus sp. n. Female paratype, dorsal and ventral aspects.
Figure 16: Map of Morocco showing the known distribution of Androctonus species in the country and the type locality of A.Androctonus maroccanus sp. n. (Figs. 1–16)
Morocco, Atlantic Coast, Sidi Smaïl, September 2009
(F. Principaud leg.), 1 male holotype (MNHN-RS-8750),
1 female paratype (MNHN-RS-8751). Deposited in the
collections of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle,
Paris.
Etymology: The specific name refers to the country in
which the new species was found.
Diagnosis
A scorpion of medium to large size, reaching a total
length of 69–70 mm. General coloration yellow to
reddish-yellow, without spots; only metasomal carinae
are darker, almost blackish. Carinae and granulations on
carapace and tergites moderately developed. Metasomal
segments I to V only moderately enlarged distally; dor-
sal depression on segments I to IV moderately to
strongly marked. Anal arc with three rounded lobes.
Pedipalps with a conspicuous setation on femur and
patella; fixed and movable fingers with 13–14 (14–14)
rows of granules. Pectines with 26–27 teeth in the male,
25–23 in female.
Relationships
Androctonus maroccanus sp. n., can be disting-
uished from the other species of Androctonus, which are
also distributed in Morocco and Mauritania, and in
particular from Androctonus gonneti Vachon, 1948, by
the following characters: (i) its overall yellow to
reddish-yellow coloration; the other species are dark to
blackish; (ii) a smaller overall size, see Table I; (iii)
aculeus with the same length as vesicle; aculeus is
longer than vesicle in A. gonneti; (iv) presence of a
conspicuous setation on femur and patella of pedipalps;
setation absent on A. gonneti; (v) granulation on cara-
pace and tergites is better marked in males of the new
species.
Description based on male holotype and female
paratype (measurements in Table 1)
Reference:
Lourenco WR, Ythier E, Leguin E-A. A new species of Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 from Morocco (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 2009(89):1-8. [Free fulltext]
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