Buthacus
| Buthacus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| 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.
Taxonomy[edit]
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[edit]
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]
- Buthacus arenicola (Simon, 1885)
- Buthacus birulai Lourenço, 2006
- Buthacus buettikeri Hendrixson, 2006
- Buthacus calviceps (Pocock, 1900)
- Buthacus clevai Lourenço, 2001
- Buthacus ehrenbergi Kovařík, 2005
- Buthacus foleyi Vachon, 1949
- Buthacus huberi Lourenço, 2001
- Buthacus leptochelys (Ehrenberg, 1829) (Also Known As "Egyptian green scorpion ")
- Buthacus macrocentrus (Ehrenberg, 1828)
- Buthacus mahraouii Lourenço, 2004
- Buthacus maliensis Lourenço & Qi, 2007
- Buthacus nigerianus Lourenço & Qi, 2006
- Buthacus nigroaculeatus Levy, Amitai & Shulov, 1973
- Buthacus occidentalis Lourenço, 2000
- Buthacus pakistanensis Lourenço & Qi, 2006
- Buthacus spatzi (Birula, 1911)
- Buthacus striffleri Lourenço, 2004
- Buthacus villiersi Vachon, 1949
- Buthacus williamsi Lourenço & Leguin, 2009
- Buthacus ziegleri Lourenço, 2000
General characteristics[edit]
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[edit]
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]
| Species | Median lethal dose (LD50 [mg/kg]mice) |
|---|---|
| B. arenicola | 0.99 - 3.50 [8] |
| B. leptochelys | 0.77 - 5.62 [8] |
Habitat[edit]
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.
References[edit]
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Vachon, M. 1952. Etudes sur les Scorpions. 482 pp. Alger (Institut Pasteur d’Algérie).Fulltext
- ^ 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. [1]
- ^ Rein, J.O. 2010. The Scorpion Files [Last accessed: 11MAR2010]
- ^ 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. [2]
- ^ 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) - ^ a b Chua Kian-Wee. 1997-2000. Relative toxicity of scorpions [Last accessed: 11MAR2010]
External links[edit]
Images of Buthacus leptochelys and Buthacus sp.. Exotics.nl
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