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| Euscorpius olympus Blasco-Aróstegui & Prendini, 2023 DOI: 10.1206/4003.1 |
Abstract
Mediterranean mountains and Pleistocene glacial cycles are responsible for much of the unique biodiversity of the Western Palearctic, acting respectively as refugia and drivers of diversification. Mount Olympus, a legendary Greek landmark, is a perfect example. This massif provided a glacial refugium for many species, resulting in a unique biota. In the present contribution, a new euscorpiid scorpion with a distinctive morphology, Euscorpius olympus, sp. nov., is described from an isolated population in the foothills of Mount Olympus. This new species raises the number of species in the genus Euscorpius Thorell, 1876, to 74, in Greece to 32, and in the vicinity of Mount Olympus, to three. The roles of climatic oscillations, altitudinal gradients and habitat heterogeneity on the diversity and distributions of the three species occurring around Mount Olympus are briefly discussed.
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| Euscorpius olympus, sp. nov., live habitus, dorsal aspect. A. Holotype ♂ (AMNH). B. Paratype ♀(AMNH). |
Family Euscorpiidae Laurie, 1896
Euscorpius Thorell, 1876
Euscorpius olympus, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Euscorpius olympus, sp. nov., most closely resembles E. aquilejensis, a widespread species distributed from the southeastern Italian Peninsula to Slovenia and Croatia (Tropea, 2013a). The two species are somewhat similar in coloration, with a slender, elongated pedipalp chela, similar trichobothrial patterns, and a broad telson in both sexes. However, E. olympus differs from E. aquilejensis in the following respects. Euscorpius olympus is a proportionally larger species, measuring 38.2–48.4 mm in length (fig. 5; tables 2, 3), whereas E. aquilejensis is medium-sized, usually measuring 29–38 mm but occasionally reaching 41 mm (Tropea, 2013a). The subdistal teeth on the movable finger of the chelicera are clearly separated in E. olympus, but almost united, forming a bicuspid in E. aquilejensis. The carapace anterior margin possesses a shallow median notch in E. olympus (fig. 6) but is sublinear in E. aquilejensis. The carapace surface is almost asetose in the male of E. olympus (fig. 6), but noticeably more setose in the male of E. aquilejensis. The carapace lateral surfaces and pedipalp femur prodorsal surface are less finely and sparsely granular in E. olympus (figs. 6, 7A, B) than E. aquilejensis. The medial lobe of the pedipalp chela movable finger is rounded in the male of E. olympus (fig. 8B) but slightly conical in the male of E. aquilejensis. The ventromedian row of spinules on the leg IV telotarsi comprise 10–13 short, blunt spinules in E. olympus (fig. 10A–D) and 9–11 elongate spinules in E. aquilejensis. The median lateral carinae of metasomal segment I are obsolete and incomplete, restricted to the anterior half of the segment in E. olympus (figs. 11B, 12B), but distinct and complete in E. aquilejensis.
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| Euscorpius olympus, sp. nov., habitat at type locality. A. Peaks and mixed forests on slopes of Mount Olympus, Greece. B. Microhabitat, crevices in limestone rocks in predominantly deciduous forest in northern foothills of Mount Olympus. |
Javier Blasco-Aróstegui and Lorenzo Prendini. 2023. Glacial Relicts? A New Scorpion from Mount Olympus, Greece (Euscorpiidae: Euscorpius). American Museum Novitates. (4003):1-36. DOI: 10.1206/4003.1
