''Androctonus maroccanus'' is a species of scorpion of the family Buthidae. Along with other members of the genus ''

Androctonus Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus ''Androctonus'', one of the most dangerous groups of scorpion species in the world.Hendrixson, B. E. 2006. Buthid scorpions of Saudi Arabia, with notes ...

'' it is also known by the collective vernacular name

fat-tailed scorpion Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus ''Androctonus'', one of the most dangerous groups of scorpion species in the world.Hendrixson, B. E. 2006. Buthid scorpions of Saudi Arabia, with not ...

. ''A. maroccanus'' is endemic to the Atlantic coast of central Morocco.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 2009 by

Wilson R. Lourenço Wilson R. Lourenço is a French-Brazilian arachnology, arachnologist specializing in scorpions. Biography Wilson R. Lourenço gained his PhD in evolutionary biology in 1978 from the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, and a doctorate in ...

Eric Ythier The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

and Elise-Anne Leguin. The type specimens were collected by F. Principaud in September 2009. It was named after its country of origin.

Description

Adult specimens reach a considerable size of about 70 mm. The overall color is uniformly yellow to yellow-reddish with darker carinae on the metasoma. The scorpion shows the typical characteristics of the genus ''Androctonus'' including slender pedipalp

chelae A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer (biology), pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are ...

and a thick, robust metasoma with a proportionally large vesicle (bulbous part of telson containing the venom

gland In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

s). Granulation of the

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

and mesosoma is slightly more pronounced in the male than in the female and the males have an excavation at the base of the fixed finger of the chelae to accommodate the females pincers during mating "dance". ''A. maroccanus'' is distinct from most of the potentially

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

, dark-colored species of ''Androctonus'' by its brighter coloration. It differs from the similar '' A. australis'' in having a strongly hirsute "fore-arm" (patella) of the pedipalps and a more reddish coloration. Furthermore, in Morocco ''A. australis'' is so far known only from the easternmost part of the country. Another yellow-colored species, '' A. amoreuxi'', occurring in the south and southwest of Morocco, is distinguished by a much slender metasoma.Vachon, M. 1952. Études sur les Scorpions. 482pp., Algiers (Institut Pasteur d'Algerie)
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Toxicity

There are no data on the toxicity of this species. However, as it is the case in many other species of ''Androctonus'',Chua Kian Wee. 1997. Relative toxicity of scorpions.
ast accessed 09MAR2010 the presence of very potent toxins and a potential medical importance to humans can be anticipated.

Range and habitat

''A. maroccanus'' is known so far only from its type locality, the semi-arid coastal plain at

Sidi Smaïl ''Sidi'' or ''Sayidi'', also Sayyidi and Sayeedi, ( ar, سيدي, Sayyīdī, Sīdī (dialectal) "milord") is an Arabic masculine title of respect. ''Sidi'' is used often to mean "saint" or "my master" in Maghrebi Arabic and Egyptian Arabic. Wi ...

, c. 120 km southwest of

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, Morocco. As several other of the seven species of ''Androctonus'' currently known from Morocco, it is considered endemic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Androctonus Maroccanus Buthidae Scorpions of Africa Endemic fauna of Morocco Animals described in 2009 Taxa named by Wilson R. Lourenço Taxa named by Éric Ythier