''Buthus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

belonging and being

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

to the family

Buthidae The Buthidae are the largest family of scorpions, containing about 100 genera and 1339 species as of 2022. A few very large genera ('' Ananteris'', '' Centruroides'', '' Compsobuthus'', or '' Tityus'') are known, but a high number of species-poor ...

. It is distributed widely across

northern Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, including

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

, as well as the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, including

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

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Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, and possibly

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and southern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an range includes the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced by W.E. Leach (1815: 391). It was only the second

of scorpion as all species known to this date were included in the sole genus '' Scorpio'' Linné, 1758. Leach found '' Scorpio occitanus'' Amoreux, 1789 to differ from the other species of ''Scorpio'' known to him by having eight eyes (two median eyes and six lateral eyes) instead of six (two median eyes and four lateral eyes). C.L. Koch (1837) expanded this concept and subdivided the scorpions in four families according to the number of their eyes. He named his second family, the "eight-eyed scorpions", Buthides. The use of the number of eyes in the classification of scorpions has been discarded since, however the name Buthidae is still in use for the most diverse family of scorpions.

Diversity

The content of this genus may vary, depending on the authority. The best known species, ''B. occitanus'', was once thought to be widespread from southern France, throughout Spain and Morocco, along the southern coast of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, and eastwards as far as Israel. However, recent research has shown that it forms a highly diverse cluster of closely related but separate species. A number of taxa formerly considered as subspecies or "varieties" have been granted full species status, others have been described as entirely new. The Moroccan

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

region is a hot-spot of diversity with at least 14 species. This diversity is explained by the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

which led to a high degree of

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

in populations which are separated from others by mountain ranges. Four species are considered to occur in Europe: ''B. occitanus'' (southern France, eastern and southern Spain), ''B. montanus'' (mountain ranges of southeastern Spain), ''B. ibericus'' (western Spain and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

), and ''B. kunti'' (Cyprus). At least 75 species are known, many of which are quite similar in appearance: *'' Buthus adrianae'' Rossi, 2013 *'' Buthus ahaggar'' Ythier, Sadine, Haddadi & Lourenco, 2021 *'' Buthus ajax'' (C. L. Koch, 1839) *'' Buthus alacanti'' Teruel & Turiel, 2020 *'' Buthus albengai'' Lourenço, 2003 *'' Buthus amri'' Lourenço, Yağmur & Duhem, 2010 *'' Buthus apiatus'' Lourenço, El Bouhissi & Sadine, 2020 *'' Buthus atlantis'' Pocock, 1889 *'' Buthus aures'' Lourenço & Sadine, 2016 *'' Buthus awashensis'' Kovařík, 2011 *'' Buthus baeticus'' Teruel & Turiel, 2020 *'' Buthus barcaeus'' Birula, 1909 *'' Buthus berberensis'' Pocock, 1900 *'' Buthus bobo'' Ythier, 2021 *'' Buthus bonito'' Lourenço & Geniez, 2005 *'' Buthus boumalenii'' Touloun & Boumezzough, 2011 *'' Buthus boussaadi'' Lourenço, Chichi & Sadine, 2018 *'' Buthus brignolii'' Lourenço, 2003 *'' Buthus centroafricanus'' Lourenço, 2016 *'' Buthus chambiensis'' Kovařík, 2006 *'' Buthus confluens'' Lourenço, Touloun & Boumezzough, 2012 *'' Buthus danyii'' Rossi, 2017 *'' Buthus delafuentei'' Teruel & Turiel, 2020 *'' Buthus draa'' Lourenço & Slimani, 2004 *'' Buthus dunlopi'' Kovařík, 2006 *'' Buthus duprei'' Rossi & Tropea, 2016 *'' Buthus egyptiensis'' Lourenço, 2012 *'' Buthus elhennawyi'' Lourenço, 2005 *'' Buthus elizabethae'' Lourenço, 2005 *'' Buthus elmoutakoualiki'' Lourenço & Qi, 2006 *'' Buthus elongatus'' Rossi, 2012 *'' Buthus gabani'' Ythier, 2021 *'' Buthus garcialorcai'' Teruel & Turiel, 2020 *'' Buthus goyffoni'' Abidi, Sadine & Lourenco, 2021 *'' Buthus halius'' (C. L. Koch, 1839) *'' Buthus hassanini'' Lourenço, Duhem & Cloudsley-Thompson, 2012 *'' Buthus ibericus'' Lourenço & Vachon, 2004 *'' Buthus intermedius'' (Ehrenberg, 1829) *'' Buthus intumescens'' (Hemprich ''in'' Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828) *'' Buthus israelis'' Shulov & Amitai, 1959 *'' Buthus jianxinae'' Lourenço, 2005 *'' Buthus karoraensis'' Rossi & Tropea, 2016 *'' Buthus kunti'' Yağmur, Koç & Lourenço, 2011 *'' Buthus labuschagnei'' Lourenço, 2015 *'' Buthus lienhardi'' Lourenço, 2003 *'' Buthus lourencoi'' Rossi, Tropea & Yagmur, 2013 *'' Buthus lusitanus'' Lourenço, 2021 *'' Buthus malhommei'' Vachon, 1949 *'' Buthus manchego'' Teruel & Turiel, 2020 *'' Buthus mardochei'' Simon, 1878 *'' Buthus mariaefrancae'' Lourenço, 2003 *'' Buthus maroccanus'' Birula, 1903 *'' Buthus montanus'' Lourenço & Vachon, 2004 *'' Buthus nabataeus'' Lourenço, Abu Afifeh & Al-Saraireh, 2021 *'' Buthus nigrovesiculosus'' Hirst, 1925 *'' Buthus occidentalis'' Lourenço, Sun & Zhou, 2009 *'' Buthus occitanus'' (Amoreux, 1789)

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

*'' Buthus orientalis'' Lourenço & Simon, 2012 *'' Buthus oudjanii'' Lourenço, 2017 *'' Buthus paris'' (C.L. Koch, 1839) *'' Buthus pedrosousai'' Teruel & Turiel, 2021 *'' Buthus pococki'' Kovarik, Stahlavsky & Elmi, 2020 *'' Buthus prudenti'' Lourenço & Leguin, 2012 *'' Buthus pusilus'' Lourenço, 2013 *'' Buthus pyrenaeus'' Ythier, 2021 *'' Buthus rochati'' Lourenço, 2003 *'' Buthus saharicus'' Sadine, Bissati & Lourenço, 2015 *'' Buthus serrano'' Teruel & Turiel, 2020 *'' Buthus somalilandus'' Kovarik, Stahlavsky & Elmi, 2020 *'' Buthus tassili'' Lourenço, 2002 *'' Buthus trinacrius'' Lourenço & Rossi, 2013 *'' Buthus tunetanus'' (Herbst, 1800) *'' Buthus yemenensis'' Lourenço, 2008 *'' Buthus zeylensis'' Pocock, 1900

General characteristics

Members of ''Buthus'' are generally medium-sized scorpions (40–85 mm total length). Coloration is generally yellow, with different tones of brown to red-brown. Darker patterns may occur on various parts of the body. The

pedipalps Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

(pincers) are relatively gracile with slender digits and a globose base. The

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

bears strong ornamentation with small granules arranged to form carinae (ridges). The most prominent carinae form a

lyra , from ; pronounced: ) is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was often represented on star ...

-shaped pattern behind the median eyes in many species. The mesosoma is also often granulated and commonly bears three ridges on the tergites. The metasoma is slender but not thin with well developed carinae of granules, and some short spines in some species. A large vesicle terminates in a sharp and long aculeus (stinger).

Toxicity

Though generally not considered lethal, the venom of ''Buthus'' species is considered of medical importance. They form a considerable part of scorpion envenomation cases, especially in northern Africa. According to a study by Touloun et al. (2001) scorpions of the ''B. occitanus'' complex caused 26% of all recorded cases in southwestern Morocco, but none of them resulted in death.

Habitat

Species of ''Buthus'' live in

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

in various terrains, from mountain valleys to coastal plains mostly with sparse vegetation, even in

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

s. As most scorpions they are predominantly

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and hide in shallow burrows, most commonly below stones.

References

External links

* Images of various species of ''Buthus''
The Scorpion Fauna. Scorpions of Europe
{{Authority control Buthidae Scorpions of Africa