A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran

Seven species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 have been recorded in Iran. Due to the medical importance of this genus, the scorpion populations of southern Kerman Province, in the south of Iran, were studied. Scorpion specimens were collected in 2023 and 2024 from mountainous areas i...

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Main Authors: Esmaeil Amiri Ghanat Saman, Hossein Barahoei, Hossein Dehghan, Mohammad Ali Oshaghi, Javad Rafinejad, Amrollah Azarm, Lorenzo Prendini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Diversity
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/5/321
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author Esmaeil Amiri Ghanat Saman
Hossein Barahoei
Hossein Dehghan
Mohammad Ali Oshaghi
Javad Rafinejad
Amrollah Azarm
Lorenzo Prendini
author_facet Esmaeil Amiri Ghanat Saman
Hossein Barahoei
Hossein Dehghan
Mohammad Ali Oshaghi
Javad Rafinejad
Amrollah Azarm
Lorenzo Prendini
author_sort Esmaeil Amiri Ghanat Saman
collection DOAJ
description Seven species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 have been recorded in Iran. Due to the medical importance of this genus, the scorpion populations of southern Kerman Province, in the south of Iran, were studied. Scorpion specimens were collected in 2023 and 2024 from mountainous areas in Bam and Jiroft counties. Morphological, morphometric, and molecular data revealed a new species, described herein as <i>Hemiscorpius jiroftensis</i> sp. n. The genetic distances between the new species and other species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> varied from 0.105 with samples of <i>H. lepturus</i> from Iran to 0.138 with samples of <i>H. enischnochela</i>. The Jebal Barez Mountains appear to have provided a geographical barrier, separating the new species from its closest relative, <i>Hemiscorpius acanthocercus</i> Monod & Lourenço, 2005. It is important to understand the geographical distributions and morphological differences among the species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> to implement appropriate medical responses to envenomation by these scorpions.
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spelling doaj-art-a37b2ace1b57466ba6ee3698de63b5a92025-08-20T03:47:52ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182025-04-0117532110.3390/d17050321A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern IranEsmaeil Amiri Ghanat Saman0Hossein Barahoei1Hossein Dehghan2Mohammad Ali Oshaghi3Javad Rafinejad4Amrollah Azarm5Lorenzo Prendini6Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, IranAgriculture Institute, Research Institute of Zabol, Zabol 9861335884, IranDepartment of Public Health, School of Health, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft 7861634200, IranDepartment of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, IranDepartment of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417613151, IranDepartment of Medical Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran 1411713116, IranArachnology Lab and Scorpion Systematics Research Group, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USASeven species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 have been recorded in Iran. Due to the medical importance of this genus, the scorpion populations of southern Kerman Province, in the south of Iran, were studied. Scorpion specimens were collected in 2023 and 2024 from mountainous areas in Bam and Jiroft counties. Morphological, morphometric, and molecular data revealed a new species, described herein as <i>Hemiscorpius jiroftensis</i> sp. n. The genetic distances between the new species and other species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> varied from 0.105 with samples of <i>H. lepturus</i> from Iran to 0.138 with samples of <i>H. enischnochela</i>. The Jebal Barez Mountains appear to have provided a geographical barrier, separating the new species from its closest relative, <i>Hemiscorpius acanthocercus</i> Monod & Lourenço, 2005. It is important to understand the geographical distributions and morphological differences among the species of <i>Hemiscorpius</i> to implement appropriate medical responses to envenomation by these scorpions.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/5/321Cytochrome <i>c</i> Oxidase IJebal BarezJiroftmorphologysystematicstaxonomy
spellingShingle Esmaeil Amiri Ghanat Saman
Hossein Barahoei
Hossein Dehghan
Mohammad Ali Oshaghi
Javad Rafinejad
Amrollah Azarm
Lorenzo Prendini
A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran
Diversity
Cytochrome <i>c</i> Oxidase I
Jebal Barez
Jiroft
morphology
systematics
taxonomy
title A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran
title_full A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran
title_fullStr A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran
title_full_unstemmed A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran
title_short A New Species of the Medically Important Scorpion Genus, <i>Hemiscorpius</i> Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae), from Southern Iran
title_sort new species of the medically important scorpion genus i hemiscorpius i peters 1861 hemiscorpiidae from southern iran
topic Cytochrome <i>c</i> Oxidase I
Jebal Barez
Jiroft
morphology
systematics
taxonomy
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/5/321
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