''Hormurus litodactylus'' is a species of

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 ...

in the

Hormuridae Hormuridae is a family of scorpions in the order Scorpiones. There are about 10 genera and more than 90 described species in Hormuridae. Genera These 11 genera belong to the family Hormuridae: * '' Cheloctonus'' Pocock, 1892 * '' Chiromachetes ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. It is native to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where it occurs in the

Wet Tropics The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

. It was first described in 2004.

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''litodactylus'' comes from the Greek ''litos'' (‘plain’) and ''daktylos'' (‘finger’), with reference to the lack of certain sculptural features on the pincers of the males.

Description

The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

specimen is 46.5 mm in length. Colouration is mostly tan brown, with some darker brown markings.

Distribution and habitat

The scorpion has only been recorded from the Thornton Uplands north of Mossman, in high altitude

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

above an elevation of 700 m. The species may be restricted to the Thornton massif, which has an area of less than 1,000 km².

References

litodactylus Scorpions of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Arachnids of Queensland Animals described in 2004 {{Scorpion-stub