Buthacus

Last updated

Buthacus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Scorpiones
Family: Buthidae
Genus: Buthacus
Birula, 1908
Type species
Androctonus (Leiurus) leptochelys
Ehrenberg, 1829
Diversity
About 22 species

Buthacus is a genus of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It is distributed across northern and western Africa, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced in 1908 by A.A. Birula, originally as a subgenus of the genus Buthus . [1] It was elevated to genus rank by M. Vachon in 1949. [2]

Diversity

Species of Buthacus are very similar to each other and have been considered subspecies in some examples. [3] [4] At least 22 species are known, some of them are disputed: [5] [6]

General characteristics

Small to moderately sized scorpions (40–75 mm). Most species are yellow, some are brownish, yellow-grayish or yellow-greenish colored. They show a rather slim habitus with long walking legs and a slender metasoma; pedipalp chelae very gracile and elongate. Cephalothorax smooth or with very weak carinae.

Toxicity

As in other buthids the venom in at least some species of Buthacus is relatively potent and can be of medical importance to humans. [7]

Relative toxicity in species of Buthacus
Species Median lethal dose (LD50 [mg/kg]mice)
B. arenicola0.99 - 3.50 [8]
B. leptochelys0.77 - 5.62 [8]

Habitat

Most species live in arid, rocky and sandy desert habitats, some in semi-arid steppe environments. As most other scorpions they shelter from daylight in rock crevices or burrows.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fattail scorpion</span> Genus of scorpions

Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus Androctonus, one of the most dangerous groups of scorpion species in the world. The genus was first described in 1828 by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buthidae</span> Family of scorpions

The Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions, containing about 100 genera and 1339 species as of 2022. A few very large genera are known, but a high number of species-poor or monotypic ones also exist. New taxa are being described at a rate of several new species per year. They have a cosmopolitan distribution throughout tropical and subtropical environments worldwide. Together with four other families, the Buthidae make up the superfamily Buthoidea. The family was established by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1837.

<i>Androctonus maroccanus</i> Species of scorpion

Androctonus maroccanus is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. Along with other members of the genus Androctonus it is also known by the collective vernacular name fat-tailed scorpion. A. maroccanus is endemic to the Atlantic coast of central Morocco.

<i>Hottentotta</i> Genus of scorpions

Hottentotta is a genus of scorpions of the family Buthidae. It is distributed widely across Africa, except for most of the Sahara desert. Species in the genus also occur in the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, southeastern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Cape Verde Islands, and Sri Lanka (introduced).

<i>Leiurus</i> Genus of scorpions

Leiurus is a genus of scorpion of the family Buthidae. The most common species, L. quinquestriatus, is also known under the common name Deathstalker. It is distributed widely across North Africa and the Middle East, including the western and southern Arabian Peninsula and southeastern Turkey. At least one species occurs in West Africa.

<i>Olivierus martensii</i> Species of scorpion

Olivierus martensii is a species of scorpion in the family Buthidae. Its common names include Chinese scorpion, Manchurian scorpion, Chinese armor-tail scorpion and Chinese golden scorpion. Despite its common name, this scorpion is not only found in Manchuria or China, but also in Mongolia and Korea. The record from Japan is doubtful. Its preferred habitat is warm, dry areas with little vegetation. O. martensii can grow to about 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long, with females usually slightly larger, and has a life-span of about 4 to 6 years.

<i>Compsobuthus</i> Genus of scorpions

Compsobuthus is a genus of buthid scorpions.

<i>Buthus</i> Genus of arachnids

Buthus is a genus of scorpion belonging and being eponymous to the family Buthidae. It is distributed widely across northern Africa, including Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, as well as the Middle East, including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and possibly Saudi Arabia and southern Turkey. Its European range includes the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, and Cyprus.

<i>Chaerilus</i> Genus of scorpions

Chaerilus is a genus of scorpions in the family Chaerilidae. They live in tropical parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. A fossil genus Electrochaerilus is known from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) aged Burmese amber.

<i>Isometrus</i> Genus of scorpions

Isometrus is a genus of scorpion belonging and being eponymous to the family Buthidae. Some species are currently assigned to the genus Reddyanus.

Reddyanus loebli is a species of scorpion in the family Buthidae.

Mesobuthus is an Asian genus of scorpions in the family Buthidae.

<i>Scorpiops</i> Genus of scorpions

Scorpiops is a genus of scorpions in the family Scorpiopidae. It is distributed throughout much of Asia. The taxonomy of the group is unclear because new species and subgenera are described often, and one subgroup may represent a species complex.

Hottentotta jabalpurensis is a species of scorpion, belonging to the family Buthidae. It was first found in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Hottentotta jalalabadensis is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It was first found in Afghanistan.

Hottentotta stockwelli is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. It was first found in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, India.

<i>Hottentotta conspersus</i> Species of scorpion

Hottentotta conspersus, the Sesriem scorpion, is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmus (scorpion)</span> Genus of scorpions

Charmus is a genus of buthid scorpions native to India and Sri Lanka.

<i>Reddyanus</i> Genus of scorpions

Reddyanus is a genus of buthid scorpions native to Oriental region from India, Sri Lanka, China: Tibet, to Melanesia. The genus was previously described as a subgenus of Isometrus.

Orthochirus is a genus of scorpion in the family Buthidae, first described by Ferdinand Karsch in 1891.

References

  1. ↑ Birula, A. A. 1908. Ergebnisse der mit Subvention aus der Erbschaft Treitl unternommenen zoologischen Forschungsreise Dr. F. Werner’s nach dem Anglo-Aegyptischen Sudan und Nord-Uganda. XIV. Skorpiones und Solifugae. Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlich-königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien, 117(1): 121-152.
  2. ↑ Vachon, M. 1949. Etudes sur les Scorpions. III (suite). Description des Scorpions du Nord de l’Afrique. Archives de l’Institut Pasteur d’Algérie, 27(1): 66-100.
  3. ↑ Vachon, M. 1952. Etudes sur les Scorpions. 482 pp. Alger (Institut Pasteur d’Algérie).Fulltext
  4. ↑ Lourenço, W.R. 2004. New considerations on the Northwestern African species of Buthacus Birula (Scorpiones, Buthidae), and description of a new species. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología , 10: 225-231.
  5. ↑ Rein, J.O. 2010. The Scorpion Files [Last accessed: 11MAR2010]
  6. ↑ Kovařík, F. 2005. Taxonomic position of species of the genus Buthacus Birula, 1908 described by Ehrenberg and Lourenço, and description of a new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius, 28: 1-13.
  7. ↑ Kleber, J.J., Wagner, P., Felgenhauer, N., Kunze, M. & Zilker, T. 1999. Vergiftung durch Skorpionsstiche. Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 96(25): A1710-A1715. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2010-04-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. 1 2 Chua Kian-Wee. 1997-2000. Relative toxicity of scorpions [Last accessed: 11MAR2010]

Images of Buthacus leptochelys and Buthacus sp.. Exotics.nl

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.