Table Of Content1991. TheJournal ofArachnology 19:122-125
DIPLOCENTRUS PEREZI, A NEW SPECIES OF SCORPION
FROM SOUTHEASTERN MEXICO (DIPLOCENTRIDAE)
W. David Sissom: Department ofBiology, Elon College, Elon College, North Carolina
27244 USA
Abstract. Diplocentrusperezi, a newspeciesofdiplocentridscorpion, isdescribedfrom
the Mexican state ofVeracruz, representingthe first report ofthe genus from that area. A
femalespecimenfromTabascoispossiblyreferabletothisspecies.Thenewspeciesismost
similar to D. mexicanus Peters, but differs from that species in carapacial granulation,
tarsomere II spine formula, and carination ofthe pedipalpsand metasoma.
Studiesin the lastdecade haveshown thatthe maI-IVwith 10keels;dorsolateralcarinaestrong,
genus Diplocentrus in southern Mexico and the crenulate; ventrolateral and ventral submedian
Yucatan Peninsula is quite diverse (Francke carinae moderate, smooth to irregularly granu-
1977a, 1977b, 1978). However, there are cur- lar. MetasomaVwithdorsolateralcarinaemod-
rently no known records ofthis genus from the erate, granular; ventrolateral and ventromedian
poorly-sampled southeastern coastal states. It is carinaestrongwithlargespinoiddenticles. Chel-
the purpose here to describe a distinct new spe- iceral chela length/chela width 1.27; fixed finger
cies based on an adult male specimen from length/chela width ratio 0.69; movable finger
southern Veracruz. A subadultfemale specimen length/chela length 1.00. Pedipalps: dorsal sur-
from Tabasco may also be referable to this spe- face of femur relatively flat, width distinctly
cies. greater than depth; pedipalp patella with two
Nomenclature and mensuration follows that dorsal carinae, the dorsomedian strong, smooth
ofStahnke(1970),withthefollowingexceptions: andthedorsoextemalweak, smooth; chela fixed
carinal terminology and cheliceral measure- finger length/carapace length 0.95; movable fin-
ments are after Francke (1975, 1977a) and tri- ger length/carapace length 1.26; dorsal and ex-
chobothrial terminology is afterVachon (1974). ternal surfaces of chela palm moderately to
strongly reticulate, with outer palm carinae well
Diplocentrusperezi, new species developed. Chela length/width ratio 2.86. Tar-
Figs. 1-7 somere II spine formula: 3/4 4/4: 4/4 4/4: 5/5
Typedata.— Holotypemalefrom San Martin 5/5: 5/5 5/5.
Tuxtla Volcano, Veracruz, Mexico (1300 m), Description.— Based on holotype male.
September 1985byGonzaloPerez-Higareda;de- Prosoma: Carapace (Fig. 1) base color dark
positedintheAmericanMuseumofNaturalHis- orange brown with distinct dusky pattern. An-
tory, New York. teriorportionofcarapacecoveredwithmedium-
Etymology.— This species is dedicated to Dr. sized granules; area around ocular tubercle
Gonzalo Perez-Higareda, whocollectedthetype densely, finely granular; remainder ofcarapace
specimen and made it available for study. sparsely granular. Coxostemal region yellow
Distribution.- Known from the type locality brown to light brown, lustrous. Sternum with
in southern Veracruz, with a possible record in about 9 pairs ofsetae; coxae sparsely setose.
Tabasco. Mesosoma:Tergitesbrown,withdistinctdusky
mm
Diagnosis.— Adultmale62 inlength.Base pattern throughout. Tergites I-IV acarinate, V-
colordark orange brown to brown, with distinct VII weakly monocarinate, with median carina
duskymarkingsthroughout.Carapacewithcoarse weak, smooth. Tergites I-II with minute granu-
granulation restricted to area surrounding ante- lationonlateralportions;III-VIwithdensemin-
rior margin. Tergite VII moderately bilobed, ute granulation interspersed with sparse, coarse
granulose. Pectinal tooth count 14-13. Metaso- granulation.TergiteVIImoderatelybilobed,with
122
SISSOM-NEWDIPLOCENTRUSFROM VERACRUZ, MEXICO 123
each lobe granulose. Pectines pale yellow, with twosmoothcarinae;dorsointemalcarinastrong,
14-13 teeth. Stemites uniformly yellow brown; dorsoextemalcarinaweak; ventrointemalcarina
III-VIsmooth,lustrous,moderatelysetosealong moderate, granular; ventroextemal carinaweak,
lateral and posteriormargins. Stemite VII tetra- smooth. Basal tubercle ofinner surface moder-
carinate; lateral carinae moderate, unevenly ate, followeddistallybythree to fourlargegran-
smooth; submedian pairweaker, smooth; about ules; remainder of inner surface covered with
10 pairs ofreddish setae present. moderatelydense,finegranules. Externalsurface
Metasoma:SegmentsI-IIIdarkorangebrown; relativelyflat,withveryweakreticulations. Ven-
IV and V slightly darker than preceding seg- tralfaceslightlyconvex,essentiallysmooth. Che-
ments. Segment I 1.09 times longer than wide; la: (Figs. 6,7) Dorsal marginal carina strong,
11 1.33 times longer than wide; V 2.83 times granulose;dorsalsecondarycarinaweak, smooth;
longer than wide. Segments I-IV: Dorsolateral digitalcarinastrong,smooth;externalsecondary
carinae strong, irregularly crenulate. Lateral su- carina weak, smooth; ventroextemal carina ob-
pramedian carinae on I-III strong, granular; on solete basally, but strong on distal one-fourth of
IV moderate, subgranose. Lateral inframedian manus, smooth; ventromediancarinastrong,es-
carinae weak on all four segments, irregularly sentially smooth; ventrointemal carina weak,
granular. VentrolateralcarinaeonI-II moderate, smooth; two additional carinae on inner face,
smooth; on III-IV moderate, granular. Ventral thesevestigial,smoothtofeeblygranular. Dorsal
submediancarinaeonI-IIImoderate,irregularly and external faces ofmanus moderately reticu-
granular; on IV vestigial, with some granulation late (Fig. 6), ridges smooth. Inner and ventral
anteriorly. Intercarinal spaces with sparse, fine faceswithirregulargranulationandpunctations.
andcoarsegranulation. Segment V:(Fig. 2) Dis- Dorsal and external surfaces ofmanus sparsely
tinctlynarrowerthansegmentsI-IV, withlateral setose; internal and ventral surfaces moderately
sidessubparallel. Dorsolateralcarinaemoderate, to densely setose; fixed and movable fingers
granular. Lateromedian carinae vestigial, with a denselysetose.Innermarginsofchelafingerswith
fewsharpgranulesanteriorly.Ventrolateral,ven- moderate scalloping.
tromedian,andventraltransversecarinaestrong, Legs:Contrastingincolorationwith thebody;
withdistinctlyenlarged, subconicalgranules(Fig. proximal segmentsyellowbrown; tarsi lightyel-
2).Dorsalintercarinalspacewithdensefinegran- low.
ulation anteriorly; lateral intercarinal space Measurements (of holotype, in mm): Total
sparsely, coarsely granular; ventral intercarinal length, 62.2; carapace length 7.6; mesosoma
spaces smooth, moderately setose. length 17.8.Metasomalsegments:Ilength/width,
Telson:(Fig. 2)reddishtoorangebrown. Ven- 4.7/4.3;IIlength/width, 5.3/4.0;IIIlength/width,
tral surface ofvesicle densely setose, proximally 5.5/3.9;IVlength/width,6.3/3.5;Vlength/width,
with numerous sharp granules. Subaculear tu- %.l/2.9. Telson length 6.8; vesicle length/width/
berclestrong, subconical,coveredwithsetaeand depth, 5.5/3.1/2.5; aculeus length, 1.3. Chelic-
fine white microchaetes. erae: chela length/width, 2.24/1.77; fixed finger
Chelicerae: (Fig. 3) light yellow brown, lus- length, 1.23; movable finger length, 2.24. Pedi-
trous,withdistinctduskymottlingondorsalsur- palps:femurlength/width, 1 patellalength/
face ofmanus; teeth dark reddish brown. Mov- width, 1.'i/2.1-, chela length/width/depth, 15.4/
able finger with subdistal tooth closely apposed 5.4/3.5; fixed finger length, 7.2; movable finger
to distal tooth. length, 9.5.
Pedipalps: Base color orange brown, femur Comparisons.— Diplocentrus perezi is most
lighterthanpatellaandchela; distalend ofchela similar to D. mexicanus Peters. From this spe-
manusand fingersinfuscate. Trichobothrial pat- cies, D. perezi may be distinguished by the fol-
tern Type C, orthobothriotaxic (Vachon 1974). lowingcharacteristics; (1) carapacialgranulation
Femur:(Fig.4)Dorsointemalandventrointemal limited to area immediately surrounding anter-
carinae strong, granulose; dorsoextemal carina omedian notch; (2)lowertarsomere II spinefor-
strong, irregularlygranuloseproximally, smooth mula (in D. mexicanus mexicanus 5/6 5/6: 6/6
distally; ventroextemal carina obsolete. Internal 6/7: 7/7 7/7: 7/7 7/7 and in D. mexicanus oax-
surfacemoderatelygranulose;dorsalsurfaceflat, acae Francke 5/6 5/6: 6/7 6/7: 7/8 7/8: 7/8 7/
moderately granular; ventral and external sur- 8); (3) the dorsal margin ofthe pedipalp chela is
facessmooth.Patella:(Fig. 5)Dorsalaspectwith relatively straight in D. perezi, but noticeably
124 THEJOURNALOFARACHNOLOGY
Figures 1-7.— Morphology ofDiplocentrusperezi, newspecies: 1, dorsal aspectofcarapace; 2, lateral aspect
ofmetasomal segmentVandtelson; 3, dorsalaspectofrightchelicera; 4, dorsalaspectofrightpedipalpfemur;
5, external aspect ofright pedipalp patella; 6, external aspect ofrightpedipalp chela; 7, dorsal aspect ofchela.
Trichobothrial patternsare shown forpedipalpal structures.
sinuous in D. mexicanus', (4) the dorsal carinae by(1)thepresenceoftwodorsalpatellarcarinae,
ofthe pedipalp patella are smooth in D. perezi, ratherthan only one; (2) by having strong retic-
butgranuloseorsubcrenateinD. mexicanus-, (5) ulations on the dorsal and external faces ofthe
the patellar et trichobothria form a distinct ob- pedipalp chela (in D. tehuacanus, the reticula-
tuseangle inD. perezi, butarealmostina linear tions are much weaker); (3) by having strong,
arrangement in D. mexicanus-, and (6) in D. per- costatedorsolateralmetasomalcarinae(inD. te-
ezi, the ventrolateral and ventral submedian ca- huacanustheseareweakand smooth; (4)andby
rinae of metasomal segments I-IV are weaker havingwell developed ventrolateral and ventral
than in D. mexicanus and smooth to irregularly submediancarinaeonmetasomalsegmentIV(in
granular, rather than distinctly granulose. D. tehuacanustheventrolateralcarinaearefeeble
Diplocentrus perezi may be easily distin- and smooth and the ventral submedians more
guished fromD. tehuacanusHoffmann, whichis or less obsolete). There are also conspicuous
foundinPuebla,Morelos,Guerrero,andOaxaca morphometricdifferences: in D. perezi, the ped-
SISSOM-NEWDIPLOCENTRUSFROM VERACRUZ, MEXICO 125
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ipalpchelafingersandtheindividualmetasomal
segments are proportionately longer. I am grateful to G. Perez-Higareda ofthe In-
Comments.—Asubadultfemalespecimencol- stitute de Biologia Tropical Los Tuxtlas, Cate-
lected near Villahermosa, Tabasco, June 1985 maco, Veracruz for making the holotype ofD.
byGonzalo Perez-Higaredaispossiblyreferable perezi and the female specimen from Tabasco
to this species. The tarsomere II spine formula available for study. N. 1. Platnick ofthe Amer-
forthis female (4/4 4/4: 4/4 4/5: 5/5 5/5: 5/5 5/ ican Museum of Natural History New York
5) does not differ significantly from that ofthe kindly allowed me to examine the holotype of
male;thepectinaltoothcount, 12-11,isalsovery Diplocentrustehuacanus\bothheandH.W.Levi
close to that ofthe male (female diplocentrids oftheMuseum ofComparativeZoologyprovid-
tend to have slightly lower counts than males). ed other Diplocentrus material for comparative
Itdiffers significantly from the holotype male in purposes. Page chargeswere paidwith the assis-
that its pedipalp chelae are proportionately tance of a Faculty Research and Development
broader, deeper, and more convex, with the ca- grant from Elon College.
rinae ofthe dorsal and external faces obsolete;
its metasomal carinae are slightly weaker; and
its carapace, pedipalps, and tergites are smooth LITERATURECITED
andlustrous. The characterson which thesedif-
ferences are based are all known to be sexually Francke, O. F. 1975. A new species ofDiplocentrus
from New Mexico and Arizona (Scorpionida, Di-
dimorphicinthegenus,andconsequentlyshould
be interpretedwith greatcaution. Given the ho- plocentridae). J. Arachnol., 2:107-118.
Francke, O. F. 1977a. ScorpionsofthegenusD/p/o-
lotype male’s morphology in these characters, centrusfrom Oaxaca, Mexico (Scorpionida, Diplo-
the predicted female morphology would be ex- centridae). J. Arachnol., 4:145-200.
actly that exhibited by the specimen from Ta- Francke,O. F. 1977b. ThegenusDiplocentrusinthe
basco. However, the two specimens were col- YucatanPeninsulawithdescriptionoftwonewtrog-
lected in different habitats and at different lobites (Scorpionida, Diplocentridae). Assoc. Mex.
altitudes: the female from lowlands and the ho- Cave Stud. Bull., 6:49-61.
lotypemalefromwetforestat 1300m(G. Perez- Francke, O. F. 1978. Newtroglobite scorpion ofge-
Higareda, pers. comm., 1987). This leads to the nusDiplocentrus(Scorpionida:Diplocentridae).En-
suggestion, at least, that they may represent dif- tomol. News, 89:39-45.
Stahnke, H. L. 1970. Scorpion nomenclature and
ferentspecies. Becausefemalesofcloselyrelated,
mensuration. Entomol. News, 81:297-316.
butdifferent, speciesofDiplocentrusaredifficult Vachon, M. 1974. Etudedescaracteres utilises pour
todistinguish,accuratedeterminationofthespe- classer les families et les genres de Scorpions. (Ar-
cies identity ofthe female cannot be provided achnides). Bull. Mus. Nat. d’Hist. nat., Paris, 3rd
until males are known from the Tabasco area. series. No. 140, Zool., 104:857-958.
The female specimen is deposited in the collec-
tion ofthe Estacion de Biologia “Los Tuxtlas”, Manuscript receivedNovember 1990, revisedJanuary
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 1991.
Catemaco, Veracruz.
