A Morphometric Study of Mesobuthus eupeus (Scorpionida: Buthidae) in Fars Province, southern Iran

Abstract

<strong>Background: </strong>Scorpions are a group of poisonous invertebrates that are widely distributed in the Middle East countries including Iran. They cause serious injuries and death to humans and domestic animals in Fars province. These arthropods are settled in subtropical regions of the province.<br /> <strong>Methods:</strong> In this study, a total of 35 out of 430 <em>Mesobuthus eupeus</em>, including 15 males and 20 females, were selected, and then their major morphometric characteristics including the whole body length, pedipalp length, length and width of carapace, leg segments, abdomen, and tail segments, as well as the size of the poison gland, pectinal organ length, and pectinal tooth count were measured using a Collis-Vernier caliper scale.<br /> <strong>Results: </strong>The measurements of different body parts were bigger in females than in males, except that pectinal tooth count in males (26.93mm±.88) was greater than that in females (22.20±1.00). The number of simple eyes on each side did not differ between males and females. Other features showed to be higher for females than males.<br /> <strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results of the main morphometric features showed that the mean scores of the characters, except for the pectinal tooth count, in female <em>M. eupeus</em> species were bigger than those in male ones. The findings of this study are suggested to be used to provide a valid identification key for scorpions in Iran.