New Species of the Digger Scorpions, Odontobuthus Vachon, 1950 (Buthidae) from Southern Iran
Odontobuthus Vachon, 1950, with nine described species, is a genus of digger scorpions in the Buthidae
family, which can be distinguished by having large tooth-like processes on the ventrosubmedian
carinae of the second and third metasomal segments. Morphological and molecular investigation of
coastal specimens from the Hormozgan province in Iran led to the discovery of a new species named
Odontobuthus persicus sp. nov. that is described here. It is closely related to O. chabaharensis
morphologically. The new Odontobuthus species has two large and conical tooth-like processes on
ventrosubmedian carinae of the second and third metasomal segments, while O. chabaharensis has three
or four medium to large tooth-like processes. Based on phylogenetic analysis using partial COI sequences,
the new species is placed as a sister taxon of O. brevidigitus. Genetic differences with the other species of
Odontobuthus (mean = 0.107) confirmed the validity of this species.
Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Hossein Barahoei (Ms.c) from the Research Institute of Zabol
I.R.IRAN, for forwarding this work and paper.
Barahoei H, Shahi M. 2024. New species of the digger scorpions, Odontobuthus Vachon, 1950 (Buthidae) from Southern Iran. Zool Stud
63:48. doi:10.6620/ZS.2024.63-48.
