Document Type : Original Articles
Authors
1
Department of Venomous Animals and antivenom production, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran
2
Ghods Town, Tehran Province, Iran.
3
Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran.
4
Zagros Herpetological Institute, P.O. No 12, Somayyeh 14 Avenue, Qom 37156-88415, Iran.
10.22092/ari.2025.371272.3928
Abstract
Recent research has clarified the historically complex taxonomy of the medically significant scorpion genus Androctonus in Iran, chiefly by resolving the A. crassicauda Olivier, 1807 species complex and describing numerous new species. However, the taxonomic status of certain populations in Khuzestan Province (south-western Iran) has remained unsettled. Here, we describe a new species, Androctonus nazarii sp. nov., from Baghmalek in the Zagros Mountains of Khuzestan Province, Iran. The new scorpion species, Androctonus nazarii sp. nov., is described from two male specimens based on a suite of distinct morphological features. Its key diagnostic traits include a brownish-yellow coloration, a light brown carapace without ocular black patches and with fine granulation, uniformly yellow legs, and a specific yellowish-brown, finely granulated chela manus. The species is distinguished via detailed comparison with its closest relatives (A. crassicauda, A. zagrosensis, A. sumericus, and A. barahoeii). Its discovery fills an important taxonomic gap in south-western Iran and carries significant implications for public health and conservation.
The new species is most similar to A. sistanus in overall light coloration but can be separated by the lack of black patches on the carapace and the uniformly yellowish-brown metasoma and telson, contrasting with the black metasomal segments IV–V and telson in A. sistanus.
The combination of coloration (uniformly brownish-yellow carapace, metasoma, and chela manus), granulation (densely and finely granulated carapace and internal chela manus, smooth intercarinal surface of tergite VII), and morphological features (smooth sixth sternite lacking carinae) serves to unequivocally diagnose A. nazarii sp. nov. from all other known species in the genus.
This discovery highlights the ongoing taxonomic diversity within Androctonus and underscores the importance of detailed morphological analysis for species delineation.
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