Genus Orthochirus Karsch,
1891
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Index of danger
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Orthochirus genus
is composed of: |
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Orthochirus
afghanus Kovarík,
2004 |
Afganistan. |
Unknown 17-19 |
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Adults
are about 3,6 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV-V ventrally ponstuate
and without median carinae. Spaces
among punctate smooth except for
anterior margin of metasomal segment
IV. Entire metasoma glabrous (short,
thin setae may issue from some
punctate). Dorsal surface of all
metasomal segments mesially smooth.
Several solitary granules may be
present on segments I, II and V.
Mesosoma and metasoma black, telson
reddish brown. Femur and patella
of legs and pedipalps black or
yellowish grey, chela more slightly
colored. Manus of pedipalp darker
than fingers. Movable finger bear
8 or 9 rows of granules that have
internal and external granules
and 2 or 3 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
aristidis (Simon, 1882) |
Djibouti,
Somalia. |
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- In search of informations
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Orthochirus
bicolor (Pocock, 1897) |
Afghanistan?,
India, Pakistan? |
?? 18 |
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Adults
attain 4 cm. long. Metasomal segments
IV and V ventraly without carinae
and deeply punctate. Spaces among
punctate smooth and without hairs.
Dorsal surface of all metasomal
segments bears conspicuous pointed
granules arranged in median belt
with wider anterior and posterior
ends. Metasomal segments I-III
yellow to yellowish brown, IV-V
black. Legs mostly yellow, only
femur may bear dark spots. Movable
fingers bear 8 or 9 rows of granules
that have internal and external
granules and 4 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
danielleae (Lourenço & Vachon,
1997) |
Afganistan. |
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- In search of informations
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Orthochirus
erardi * (Lourenço & Vachon,
1997) |
Afganistan,
Pakistan. |
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- In search of informations
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Orthochirus
feti Kovarík,
2004 |
Uzbekistan. |
22-23 18-20 |
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Adults
are about 4,2 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally punctate
and without carinae. Space among
punctae smooth, without granules.
Dorsal surface of all metasomal
segments mesially smooth, without
granules.
Entire metasoma and telson densely
hirsute. Mesosoma ad metasoma black,
telson reddih brown, femur and
patella of legs and pedipalps brown
to black, tibia of legs and chela
of pedipalps brownish yellow. Movable
fingers of pedipalps bear 8 or
9 rows of granules with internal
granules and without external granules.
Movable fingers with 3-5 distal
granules.
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Orthochirus
flavescens (Pocock,
1897) |
India. |
21 ?? |
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Small
scorpions rarely attain 3 cm. long.
Metasomal segments
IV and V ventraly without carinae
and deeply punctate. Spaces among
punctae nearly smooth and without
hair. Dorsal surface of all metasomal
segments bear median strip of densely
spaced, pointed granules. Mesosoma
and metasoma brown to reddish brown.
Legs and pedipalps yellow. Femur
of pedipalps with four granulose
to crenulate carinae. Patella and
chela smooth, with smooth carinae
conspicuous namely on fixed finger.
Movable fingers bear 7 or 8 rows
of granules that have internal
and external granules and 3 distal
granules.
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Orthochirus
fuscipes (Pocock, 1900) |
India,
Iran, Pakistan. |
21-24 19-22 |
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Metasomal
segments IV and V ventraly without
carinae and deeply punctate, dorsally
weakly punctate only on margins
and lacking punctae on smooth median
surface. Median area of metasomal
segent V may be in part granulated.
Spaces among punctae smooth, dorsally
as well as ventrally without granules.
Entire metasoma glabrous (very
short, thin setae may issue from
punctae). Mesosoma and metasoma
dark brown to black, I-II metasomal
segments may be more lightly colored.
Legs and pedipalps predominantly
yellow, femur grayish green or
black, patella grayish yellow or
yellow. Movable fingers of pedipalps
bear 8 or 9 rows of granules with
internal and external granules
and 2 to 4 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
gromovi Kovarík,
2004 |
Turkmenistan. |
17-20 15-18 |
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Adults
are about 3,5 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventraly without
carinae
and deeply punctate. Spaces among
punctae smooth, without granules.
Dorsal surface of all metasomal
segments mesially smooth, without
granules. Entire metasoma and telson
hirsute. Mesosoma and metasoma
black, telson reddish brown, legs
yellow, pedipalps yellow to greenish
yellow. Movable fingers of pedipalps
bear 8 or 9 rows of granules with
internal granules and without external
granules. Movable fingers with
3-5 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
heratensis Kovarík,
2004 |
Afganistan. |
18-21 15-17 |
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Adults
males attain 3 cm. long and females
are up to 4 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally punctate
and without
carinae. Spaces among punctae smooth,
without granules. Dorsal surface
of all metasomal segments medially
smooth, without granules. Metasoma
and telson hirsute, posterior margin
ot metasomal segments IV and V
with row of horizontal hairs. Mesosoma
and metasoma black, telson reddish
brown. Legs and pedipalps yellow,
femur and patella may be yellowish
green. Movable fingers of pedipalps
with 8 or 9 rows of granules, without
external granules, with internal
granules, and with 2 or 3 distal
granules.
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Orthochirus
innesi Simon, 1910 |
Algeria,
Egypt, Morocco. |
17-19 15-16 |
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Adults
are about 3 cm. long. Metasoma
and mesosoma black to blackish
green, telson reddish brown. Pedipalps
bicolor, femur blackish, patella
brownish, chela and finger of chela
pale yellow. Legs are bicolor too.
Metasomal segments IV and V punctate
but whitout carinae. Segment V
definitely longer than broad. Vesicle
of telson punctate.
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Orthochirus
iranus Kovarík,
2004 |
Iran. |
19-21 17-18 |
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Adults
males are up to 3 cm. long, and
females close to 4 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally punctate
and without carinae. Dorsal surface
of metasomal segments smooth execpt
for segment V, which bears median
row of minute granules that widens
in posterior half. Spaces among
punctae on ventral surface smooth,
only metasomal segment IV may be
sparsely granulated. Entire metasomal
glabrous (very short, thin setae
may issue from punctae). Mesosoma
and metasoma black. Telson reddish
brown. femur and patela of legs
and pedipalps black, chela of pedipalps
and tibia of legs pale yellow to
yellowish brown. Movable finger
of pedipalps bear 8 or 9 rows of
granules with internal and external
granules and 4 or 5 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
iraqus Kovarík,
2004 |
Irak. |
21 21 |
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Very
small scorpions, adults male are
up to 2 cm. long, and females about
3 cm. long. Metasomal segments
IV and V ventrally without carinae
and distinctly punctate. Dorsal
surface of metasomal segments delimited
by two lateral carinae, smooth
without punctae, with sparse granules
only in postero-median part of
segment V. Ventral surface punctate,
space among punctae smooth. Entire
metasoma glabrous (very
short, thin setae may issue from
punctae). Metasoma and mesosoma
black. Telson reddish brown. Femur
and patella of legs and pedipalps
reddish brown, tibia of legs and
chela of pedipalps yellow to reddish
yellow. Movable finger of pedipalps
bear 7 or 8 row of granules with
external and internal granules
and 4 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
jalalabadensis Kovarík,
2004 |
Afganistan. |
20-23 16-21 |
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Most
adults are about 3,3 cm. long,
but some females may reach 4,2
cm. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally without
median carinae and usually only
shallowly
punctate. Space among punctae granulated
equally on segments IV and V. Entire
metasoma glabrous (short,
thin setae may issue from punctae).
Dorsal surface
of all metasomal segments mesially
smooth. Several solitary granules
may be present. Females with mesosoma
and metasoma black, telson brown
to reddish brown, legs yellow,
and pedipalps yellowish grey. Males
with mesosoma and metasomal segments
I-IV yellow, metasomal segments
V and carapace dark brown to black,
and egs and pedipalps light yellow.
Movable fingers bear 8 or 9 rows
of granules with external and internal
granules and 2 or 3 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
krishnai Tikader & bastawade,
1983 |
India. |
?? 22 |
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Scorpion
deep blackish blue colored, medium
sized (for an Orthochirus...),
4,5 cm, thickly granular on carapace
and mesosoma, caudal region thick,
incrassate and all segments covered
with pits, telson reddish and pyriform.
Appendage dark on femur and patella
white, clear yellow on tibia and
tarsus. Pectines well developed.
Mesosomal sternites III with yellow
triangular spot on posterior margin.
Last mesosomal sternite provided
with two pairs of smooth carinae.
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Orthochirus
monodi (Lourenço & Vachon,
1997) |
Afganistan. |
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- In search of informations
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Orthochirus
pallidus (Pocock, 1897) |
Pakistan. |
Unknown 16 |
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Adults
3,5 cm. long. Yellowish in color
but darker on metasomal segments.
Carapace and mesosoma finely granular
but carapace smooth on lateral
portion of interocular region.
No carinae on carapace, mesosomal
tergites with only median carina.
Metasomal segments weakly granular,
carinated and posterior segments
covered with many pits. Telson
pyriform, provided with few pits.
Appendages yellow, coxa of the
appendages smooth. Pectines welle
developed. Last mesosomal sternite
provided with two pairs of weakly
granular carinae.
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Orthochirus
samrchelsis Kovarík,
2004 |
Afganistan. |
22-23 18-19 |
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Adults
are about 3,5 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally without
median carinae and punctate. Spaces
among punctae smooth (only in one
juvenile with scattered granules).
Entire metasoma glabrous (short,
thin setae may issue from some
punctae). Dorsal surface of metasomal
segment IV mesially smooth (several
solitary granules may be present).
Mesosoma and metasoma black, telson
reddish brown, legs and pedipalps
yellow to yellowish grey. Movable
fingers bear 9-10 rows of granules
with internal and external granules
and 2 or 3 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
scrobiculosus (Grube,
1873) |
Afganistan,
Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. |
19-20 15-18 |
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Scorpions
adults attain 3,5 cm. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally punctate
without carinae. Spaces among punctae
smooth,
without granules. Dorsal surface
of all metasomal segments mesially
smooth, without granules. Entire
metasoma glabrous (very short,
thin setae may issue from
punctae). Mesosoma and metasoma
black, telson reddish brown, legs
yellow, pedipalps yellow to greenish
yellow. Movable fingers of pedipalps
bear 8-10 rows of granules with
internal granules witout esternal
granules. Movable fingers with
2-5 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
sobotniki Kovarík,
2004 |
Iran. |
Inconnu 21-23 |
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Males
adults
are about 3 cm. long, and females
are up to 4 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally punctate
and without carinae. Spaces
among punctae smooth, without granules.
Entire metasoma glabrous (short,
thin setae may issue from punctae).
Dorsal surface of all metasomal
segment mesially smooth, without
granules (several scattered granules
may be present on segment V). Mesosoma
and metasoma black, telson reddish
brown, femur of pedipalp gray.
In adults legs and pedipalps yellow,
in juveniles femur of legs and
pedipalps black. Movable finger
od pedipalps bear 8 rows of granules
with internal and external granules
and 2 distal granules.
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Orthochirus
varius Kovarík,
2004 |
Iran. |
22-23 21 |
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Small
scorpions, males range between
2 and 2,5 cm. long, and females
are up to 3,5 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally without
carinae and shallowly punctate
(punctation absent in some males).
Spaces
among punctae smooth, without granules.
Entire metasoma glabrous (short,
thin setae may issue from punctae).
Dorsal surface of all metasomal
segment smooth, without granules
and with lateral granulated carinae.
%esosoma and metasoma brownish
or greenish black, telson reddish
brown, femur and most of patella
og legs and pedipalps greenish
grey to black, tibia yellow to
greenish grey or dark brown. Movable
fingers of pedipalps bear 7-9 rows
of granules. With internal and
external granules and 2 distal
granules.
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Orthochirus
zagrorensis Kovarík,
2004 |
Iran. |
21-22 18 |
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Male
adult is 2,8 cm. long, and the
females are about 4,5 cm. long. Metasomal
segments IV and V ventrally punctate
and without carinae. Spaces
among punctae smooth, without granules.
Metasoma ventrally glabrous (short,
thin setae may issue from punctae),
dorsolateraly may bear marginal
row of hairs. Dorsal surface of
all metasomal segments mesially
smooth, without granules. Mesosoma
and metasoma black, telson reddish
brown to black, femur and patella
of legs and pedipalps black, tibia
of legs yellow to yellowish green,
manus of pedipalp black, fingers
yellow to yellowish green. Movable
fingers pf êdipalps bear 8 or 9
rows of granules with internal
and external granules and 2 distal
granules.
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Note: According
to Kovarík, Orthochirus
erardi could be a synonym of Orthochirus
fuscipes.
The
Breeding
Temperature:
Orthochirus are, for the majority,
of the scorpions living
in desert medium. They
thus tolerate very strong
temperatures, but also
of the periods with negative
temperatures. In our
breedings, the temperatures
will have to thus be
of at least 30°C
for the summer, with
a fall of temperature
of 10°C the night,
and if possible 15°C
for the winter period,
with a possible fall
with 10°C. A winter
pause would be rather
beneficial for this kind
of small scorpions.
Food:
Considering
the size of the adults
specimen, on average
3 cm, we advise you
to use micro-crickets.
However, we think that
some ants can nourish
Orthochirus,
in the same way for
the large
black drosophila (D.
melanogaster).
For the young people
(stage
II), the drosophilas
of small sizes (red
Drosophilas) will be
very useful, one can
also try to give Collembola.
Terrarium:
The
terrariums will be arid
types, with a coarse
ground, or a mixture
of sand/peat (70/30).
They are not digger scorpions,
therefore it is absolutely
necessary to put to them
hiding-places (stones,
barks etc.). For the
hygroscopy, we advise
a value bordering the
30% for the summer, and
60% for the winter. obviously,
a water point will have
to be placed at the disposal
of time with other (1
X per month). It will
have to be made safe,
i.e. with gravel or little
balls of clay inside,
in order
to avoid the drownings.
Sociability:
The
sociability of this
species is not very
conclusive, a significant
cannibalism
having been noted.
It is to better insulate
the specimens and to
put them in presence
only for the mating.
One will take care
of the first contacts
between the male and
the female at the time
of the reproductions.
It is nevertheless
possible to have a
group in a large terrarium
(20 X 15 cm minimum),
one will decrease the
factor cannibalism
while nourishing and
by watering the group
correctly. However,
there will be some
losses from time to
time.
Note:
Orthochirus is
a species which one
finds more
and more in the breedings
amateurs. O. scrobiculosus and O.
innesi are the
species most usually
met. It is nevertheless
necessary to announce
that the lifespan of
the adult specimens
is very short in breeding,
seldom not exceeding
18 months.
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References :
- Fet,
Victor, Sissom, W. David, Lowe, Graeme & Braunwalder,
Matt E. CATALOG OF THE SCORPIONS OF THE
WORLD, 2000. The New York Entomological
Society.
- Kovarík
Frantisek, EUSCORPIUS N° 16,
2004.
- Levy
G., Amitai P., FAUNA PALESTINA, ARACHNIDA
I : SCORPIONES.
1980
- Pocock,
R. I., THE FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA, INCLUDING
CEYLONG AND BURMA. ARACHNIDA, 1900.
Kluwer Academic Publishers, London.
- Rein,
Jan Ove , The
Scorpion Files
- Tikader,
B. K., Bastawade, D.B. FAUNA OF INDIA,
SCORPIONS Vol. 3. 1983
- Vachon,
Maxime, ETUDES SUR LES SCORPIONS,
1951. Institut Pasteur d'Algerie.
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