Biogeographic and demographic changes in the distribution and abundance of scorpions inhabiting the Mediterranean region in northern Israel

A recent survey of the scorpion fauna in the Mediterranean region of northern Israel, has shown that the desert buthid, Leiurus quinquestriatus, formerly restricted to the arid and semi-arid regions in southern and eastern Israel, has penetrated through the Jordan Valley deep into the Mediterranean region, reaching into the northern Galil Mountains. At the same time, the oakwood scorpionid, Scorpio maurius fuscus, formerly the most abundant scorpion in the Mediterranean region, showed a marked decline in numbers. Various aspects of this apparent colonization and replacement in the scorpion fauna are discussed.     

On the scorpion fauna of Egypt,with an identification key (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

The taxonomy and diversity of the scorpion fauna of Egypt was examined based on a large collection from most parts of the country and in view of recent revisionary systematics. We assessed the validity of listed records in light of new taxonomic findings and geographic distribution data and present a new list and an identification key to the scorpion fauna of Egypt consisting of 31 species, 18 of which were collected during this survey. Four species were not accepted for the list because no voucher material was available.     

A new relictual buthid scorpion from the region of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya (Scorpiones,Buthidae)

A new genus and species of peri-Saharian buthid scorpion is described on the basis of single specimen collected in the Great Rift Valley, North of Kenya. This new scorpion taxon represents yet another endemic relict element for the faunas of the peri-Saharian regions. Comments are also included on the evolution of the Sahara and peri-Saharian regions and its possible consequences on the distribution of the extant scorpion fauna.     

The southern limit of the Mediterranean vegetation in the Sahara during the Holocene

Holocene records from the southern Sahara in Niger allow a reconstruction of the vegetation history and inform us about the former extension of the Mediterranean. Both pollen and charcoal analyses evidenced the direct contact of Sudanian and Saharan savannas during the middle Holocene at about 19°N, whereas at 20°N the transition from the Saharan savanna to the desert was found. In southwestern Libya (26°N) a combination of a Saharan desert vegetation and a semi‐desert Artemisia shrub on the plateaus demonstrated the contact with Mediterranean influenced formations. Regular ash and charcoal layers in middle‐Holocene sediments of the northern Niger prove an early interference of man with the vegetation development. One has to imagine that, in combination with the cattle‐keeping and the later metal production, man could have changed the former northern Sudanian vegetation into the present Sahelian savanna system from the middle Holocene on.     

A new subgenus and species of Alloscorpiops Vachon, 1980 from Laos (Scorpiones,Euscorpiidae, Scorpiopinae); implications for the taxonomy of the group

Alloscorpiops (Laoscorpiops) calmonti subgen. n., sp. n., belonging to the family Euscorpiidae Laurie, is described on the basis of single female specimen collected in the Pathoumphone District of southern Laos. This new scorpion taxon may represent yet another endemic element for the fauna of Laos. The new subgenus is characterized by a previously unknown and possible unique trichobothrial pattern.     

Scorpions from the Island of Côn Son (Poulo Condore), Vietnam and description of a new species of Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Scorpiones, Chaerilidae)

The scorpion fauna of the Island of Côn Son (Poulo Condore), Vietnam is briefly discussed and a new species, Chaerilus phami sp. n. is described. The new species is morphologically distinct from all the other species of Chaerilus described from the mainland in Vietnam.     

Buthid scorpions found in caves; a new species of Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones,Buthidae) from southern Vietnam

A new species, Isometrus (Reddyanus) deharvengi sp. n., is described from caves of the region of Hon Chong, Kien Giang in southern Vietnam. Comments are also added about the scorpion fauna of Southeast Asia and cave dwelling buthid scorpions.     

Monitoring Rarity: The Critically Endangered Saharan Cheetah as a Flagship Species for a Threatened Ecosystem

Deserts are particularly vulnerable to human impacts and have already suffered a substantial loss of biodiversity. In harsh and variable desert environments, large herbivores typically occur at low densities, and their large carnivore predators occur at even lower densities. The continued survival of large carnivores is key to healthy functioning desert ecosystems, and the ability to gather reliable information on these rare low density species, including presence, abundance and density, is critical to their monitoring and management. Here we test camera trap methodologies as a monitoring tool for an extremely rare wide-ranging large felid, the critically endangered Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki). Two camera trapping surveys were carried out over 2–3 months across a 2,551km² grid in the Ti-n-hağğen region in the Ahaggar Cultural Park, south central Algeria. A total of 32 records of Saharan cheetah were obtained. We show the behaviour and ecology of the Saharan cheetah is severely constrained by the harsh desert environment, leading them to be more nocturnal, be more wide-ranging, and occur at lower densities relative to cheetah in savannah environments. Density estimates ranged from 0.21–0.55/1,000km², some of the lowest large carnivore densities ever recorded in Africa, and average home range size over 2–3 months was estimated at 1,583km². We use our results to predict that, in order to detect presence of cheetah with p>0.95 a survey effort of at least 1,000 camera trap days is required. Our study identifies the Ahaggar Cultural Park as a key area for the conservation of the Saharan cheetah. The Saharan cheetah meets the requirements for a charismatic flagship species that can be used to “market” the Saharan landscape at a sufficiently large scale to help reverse the historical neglect of threatened Saharan ecosystems.     

History of study,updated checklist,distribution and key of scorpions (Arachnida：Scorpiones) from China

This review describes the history of taxonomic research on scorpions and provides an updated checklist and key of the scorpions currently known in China. This checklist is based on a thorough review of the extant literatures on scorpion species whose presence has been confirmed in China through field expeditions and examination of scorpion collections, excepting a few members that have no clear distribution or are currently in doubt. Totally, the scorpion fauna of China consists of 53 species and subspecies belonging to 12 genera crossing five families, with 33 species (62.3%) and one genus being recorded as endemic. Additionally, identification key and the distribution of scorpions from China are provided.     

The relationship between sit and wait foraging strategy and dispersal in the desert scorpion,Scorpio maurus palmatus

We examine the role of the sit and wait foraging strategy and of the stability and predictability of the biotic environment in shaping population biology and life history traits of the desert scorpion, Scorpio maurus palmatus. The study was carried out in a loessial plain in the Negev desert, Israel. We used a grid system (5x80 m) within the Hammada scoparia plant association. The area was divided into 1,600 squares (50x50 cm) and the presence (within ±5 cm) and width of each scorpion burrow was recorded for eight years (1973–1980). It was found that: (1) Dispersal is a common phenomenon for all S. maurus palmatus age groups and takes place only after a heavy rainfall when soil moisture is high. (2) Dispersion patterns change from clumped to random as a function of age. (3) Dispersal is age specific and density dependent. (4) During the dry seasons a high percentage of the population goes into the resting stage. In order to integrate the above findings, a graphical model was constructed with the main assumption that the S. maurus palmatus prey availability relationship is a decreasing function between the scorpion burrow and its food resources. Data and model analysis led to the conclusion that the desert scorpion, S. maurus palmatus, is confronted with a relatively predictable physical environmeent and unpredictable biological environment. Two alternative strategies are available for S. maurus palmatus to overcome prey unpredictability; dispersal during the rainy season and inactivity during the dry seasons. We suggest that many other burrowing desert animals may face the problem of unpredictability of biological resources. Thus it seems that the S. maurus palmatus biological relationship model can be applied, with modifications, to a wide spectrum of desert burrowing animals.     

Non-random distribution of ring recoveries from trans-Saharan migrants indicates species-specific stopover areas

Many long-distance migrant birds regularly have to pass ecological barriers, like the Saharan desert, where fuelling is very difficult, and large fuel loads have to be stored in advance. In this paper, we have investigated how seven species of birds are distributed in autumn close to the Saharan desert in the eastern Mediterranean area by using ring recoveries from northern Europe. The result clearly shows that the species included are not randomly distributed at this point, about 3,000 km from the breeding area. Birds from rather large breeding areas were shown to converge in confined areas, which in several cases completely differ between species. This means that birds of the same species have to follow different migratory directions depending on the location of their starting point. The observed pattern support earlier findings indicating that birds, in combination with a clock-and-compass orientation procedure, must use some external cues in order to find confined species-specific areas. The possibility for birds to use information from the Earth's magnetic field as an external cue in this area is discussed.     

A second species of Euscorpiops Vachon from caves in Vietnam (Scorpiones,Euscorpiidae, Scorpiopinae)

Euscorpiops dakrong sp. n., belonging to the family Euscorpiidae Laurie, is described on the basis of one male and one female collected in the Dakrong Nature Reserve cave system, Dakrong District, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. The new species presents most features exhibited by scorpions of the genus Euscorpiops, but it is characterized by a slender body and elongated pedipalps. This new scorpion taxon represents the second species of Scorpiopinae discovered in a cave system and may be yet another endemic element in the fauna of Vietnam. Some taxonomic propositions on the generic position of Scorpiops oligotrichus Fage, 1933 are also suggested.     

Springtails (Collembola) in the Subpolar Landscapes of the Northern Hemisphere

An overview of previously published and new information on the collembolan fauna and assemblage structure in the polar desert zone is presented. So far, 71 springtail species from 37 genera and 11 families have been reliably recorded within the zone. Eleven species are added to the previously known fauna of Franz Josef Land, and the very north of Novaya Zemlya has been surveyed for the first time. Even the much better known fauna of Bolshevik Island, Severnaya Zemlya is enriched by 3 species. The known species richness of springtails of Ellef Ringnes Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is also increased from 8 to 13 species. Most genera except Folsomia and Hypogastrura include only 1, more rarely 2 species in each study region of the polar desert zone. Species with circumpolar distribution patterns comprise more than 60% of the total list, but only 10 species are common to all the three provinces; this obviously indicates a certain regional specificity. Besides, the faunas of different provinces (and regions within a province) vary markedly in the proportion of species with more southern distribution patterns. Nevertheless, the collembolan assemblages in all the three provinces of the polar desert zone are rather similar at the structural level, this being a direct consequence of the general depletion of the complexes against the background of high total abundance and less pronounced habitat specificity of the common species.     

The remarkable scorpion diversity in the Ecuadorian Andes and description of a new species of Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones,Buthidae)

A new species of Tityus, subgenus Atreus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) is described from the Province of Pichincha in the Ecuadorian Andes. Ecuadorian scorpion fauna remains one of the less well studied among those of South America. Nevertheless, some comments are addressed about its remarkable diversity and high level of endemic elements.     

Faunal relationships and zoogeographical affinities of mammals in north-west Africa

The nonmarine mammal fauna of the Maghreb region of north‐west Africa is related to that from three potential source areas: the northern Palaearctic (Europe and south‐west Asia; here referred to as the European fauna), subsaharan Africa (the African fauna) and the arid Palaearctic (Sahara Desert: the desert fauna). On the basis of geographical distribution patterns, this fauna divisible into two groups: the bats, whose affinities are most closely related to southern Europe and south‐west Asia, and nonflying species, most closely related to subsaharan Africa but with an appreciable northern Palaearctic element. These affinities are even more pronounced if desert fauna are removed from the analysis. The nonflying European fauna probably colonized via south‐west Asia and north Africa, rather than direct from western Europe. The results demonstrate that terrestrial habitat barriers are less of an impediment to dispersal, for all mammals except bats, than even narrow stretches of water. The fauna of the Maghreb may be undergoing faunal relaxation, following immigration from tropical Africa and south‐west Asia during mesic phases in the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene.     

荒漠草原土壤动物与降雨关系研究现状

在全球性气候变化背景下,极端降雨事件频发,总结土壤动物多样性与降雨变化间的关系及其响应机制,有助于理解全球变化对土壤生态系统结构与功能的作用过程,对于探讨陆地生态系统应对全球变化具有重要科学意义。荒漠草原生态系统极度脆弱,对气候变化敏感,但是关于荒漠草原土壤动物与降雨变化间关系的研究报道比较少,严重制约了对荒漠草原生态系统的有效管理和可持续利用。本文从地上、地面和地下3个方面总结了土壤动物和降雨变化间的关系,并就荒漠草原土壤动物应对气候变化研究提出了一些建议。研究表明,降雨变化直接影响土壤动物群落结构;土壤动物对降雨变化反应强烈,不同动物类群产生了积极的响应规律;某些土壤动物类群对于降雨变化还具有重要指示作用。在荒漠草原生态系统中,今后需要从降雨变化对土壤动物产生的长期影响、土壤动物对降雨变化的适应方式和某些动物类群对土壤水分敏感性以及土壤动物与气候变化间的互为反馈关系等方面加强研究。     

Evidence of Mate Trailing in the Giant Hairy Desert Scorpion, Hadrurus arizonensis (Scorpionida, Iuridae)

During the mating season, male desert scorpions are often found wandering through dune environments, presumably in search of female conspecifics. For a male desert scorpion, finding a receptive female is a potentially difficult and hazardous task, suggesting that wandering by the male may actually be a form of guided mate searching. In this study we examined whether male giant hairy desert scorpions (Hadrurus arizonensis) were capable of trailing female conspecifics using a Y-maze choice test. In three separate experiments, a significant proportion of male scorpions preferred the arm of the maze that a reproductive female scorpion had walked down. Male scorpions did not prefer maze arms that male conspecifics had walked down, indicating that this response was sex specific. When the substrate was repeatedly exposed to a reproductive female, males took significantly longer to complete the Y-maze test, exhibited an increase in pausing behavior, and displayed precourtship behaviors and a novel lunging behavior resembling sex-specific mate seizing behavior. The results from this study suggest that male H. arizonensis can orient and respond to substrate-borne signals from female conspecifics that are likely chemical in origin.     

Seed germination responses of the Saharan plant species Ephedra alata ssp. alenda to fungicide seed treatments in the laboratory and the field

Given its importance in the functioning of arid ecosystems, Ephedra alata ssp. alenda has drawn some attention and appeared to be suitable for desert re-vegetation. An experimental study has been carried out on the germination properties of seeds of this strictly Saharan species. Analyses of temperature effects, and fungicide seed treatments in the laboratory and the field enabled to determine the optimum germination conditions.     

Implications paléobiogéographiques de la découverted'une nouvelle localité éocène à vertébrés continentaux en afrique nord-occidentale: El Kohol (Sud-Oranais,Algérie)

The new fossil locality of El Kohol is located on the southern flank of the Saharan Altas, near Brezina (Algeria). It has been discovered in a thick Palaeogene continental series divided into 4 members: a transitional gypsiferous member, a lower red detritic member, a middle marly-calcareous member, and an upper red detritic member. The new flora and fauna have been obtained by excavation and washing-screening of a marly level of the middle member. The main finds are charophytes, lower vertebrates, a marsupial and eutherian mammals (lipotyphlan Insectivora, hyracoids, creodonts and Proboscidea). Geological and palaeontological data allow to refer these fossil remains, at least provisorily, to the end of the early Eocene. Palaeobiogeographical comments are made about forms with Holarctic affinities.