The first true deserticolous species of Buthus Leach, 1815 from Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae); Ecological and biogeographic considerations

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 (family Buthidae) has been the subject of an important number of studies. These concerned particularly the species belonging to the 'Buthus occitanus' complex. A number of populations previously considered as subspecies or varieties of B. occitanus Leach were raised to the rank of species, but also many new species have been described. Most of the species considered in these studies come from North Africa, in particular from Morocco, Mauritania, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, but only two new species were recorded from Algeria. At present, one more new species of Buthus is described from the Algerian Saharan Desert, raising the number of confirmed Buthus in Algeria to five. Since most Buthus species from North Africa, and in particular those from Algeria, inhabit more mesic environments than the Saharan Central compartment, the new species appears as the first true deserticolous species found in this country.

Keywords: Algeria; Algérie; Buthus; Désert du Sahara; New species; Nouvelle espèce; Sahara Desert; Scorpion.