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

Abstract

Seven species of Hemiscorpius 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 Hemiscorpius jiroftensis sp. n. The genetic distances between the new species and other species of Hemiscorpius varied from 0.105 with samples of H. lepturus from Iran to 0.138 with samples of H. enischnochela. The Jebal Barez Mountains appear to have provided a geographical barrier, separating the new species from its closest relative, Hemiscorpius acanthocercus Monod & Lourenço, 2005. It is important to understand the geographical distributions and morphological differences among the species of Hemiscorpius to implement appropriate medical responses to envenomation by these scorpions.