OCR Text |
Show 140 MR. R. I. POCOCK ON THE S C O R P I O N S [Mar. 18, RHOPTRURUS BARONI, sp. n. (Plate XIII. fig. 2.) Colour fulvous, thickly marbled with black like Lsometrus maculatus, the black patches taking the form of irregularly shaped, though symmetrically arranged, spots and bands. In the posterior lateral portions of the cephalothorax the fulvous tint predominates ; the central tubercle and region of the lateral eyes are black; the ante-ocular area of the cephalothorax is black in the middle, lighter at the sides ; a fulvous band runs from the region of the lateral eyes towards, but falls short of, the fulvous portion immediately behind the central tubercle ; an oblique fuscous band runs from the fulvous patch behind the lateral eyes and divides on each of the prominences which defines the hinder third of the median sulcus. Roughly speaking, the tergites are marked on each side by six patches of dark colour, three of these being internal and three external; the two anterior of the internal patches more or less fused with their fellows of the opposite side, but the posterior of them surrounding a yellow patch is separated from the corresponding patch of the opposite side by a yellow patch which marks the median keel. The posterior sternites variegated with black; the inferior and lateral portions of the tail variegated with black, the upper surface of the segments adorned with a V-shaped black mark and the vesicle with straight black lines. The external surface of the legs, the brachium and humerus variegated ; the hand almost wholly fulvous, the fingers darker at the base. Cephalothorax somewhat coarsely granular throughout, very widely and lightly emarginate in front, divided throughout by a median sulcus ; ocular tubercle deeply cleft and granular. Tergites coarsely but somewhat sparsely granular ; marked with a low median granular keel; the seventh furnished on each side with two anteriorly abbreviated denticulated keels. Sternites smooth, sparsely hairy, the last only feebly granular but not carinate. Tail. The first and second segments marked with ten granular keels, the superior keels coarsely granular, the inferior, especially on the first segment, much more feeble; the intercarpal spaces also granular; third segment with inferior keels very weak, the fourth with the superior keel visible and the inferior keels almost or entirely obsolete ; the fifth evenly rounded above and below, without keels; both these segments feebly granular and sparsely hairy. Vesicle hairy, not granular, the spine simple ; aculeus long, slender, and but lightly curved. Palpi. Upper surface of humerus minutely granular, and bounded in front and behind by a series of coarser tubercles ; the anterior surface beset with finer and coarser tubercles: brachium granular and costate above, armed in front with a few strong sharp teeth ; manus rounded and smooth, about as wide as the brachium : dactyli long, slender, in contact throughout, neither lobate nor sinuate in either sex, armed with erect bristles ; of the lateral teeth of the dactyli the internal series is composed of eight larger teeth and the external series of nine pairs of teeth. |