Asian Forest Scorpian ID Help Please.

[Tanner Dzula]

So Last Week i bought my first scorpion, at the shop they said she was an Asian forest scorpion but not which Specific species, and upon googling and checking the site here, it looks like there are about a dozen different species of Asian forests.

Now i have it narrowed down to a few i think it might be:
Due to the Blue Sheen of its body im thinking:
Heterometrus spinifer
Heterometrus cyaneus
But might also be:
Heterometrus laoticus
What i would LOVE for her to be(due to the size of these guys)
Heterometrus swammerdami


Now i noticed she has a very destinct Blue Shine to her, like very obviously blue more so then pure black/grey or green like some of the other species have been stated to have.


But i was hoping you guys would be able to help me figure out which specific species she is.
if so, im also interested in getting any opinions on my current Enclosure and if there is anything i should change or fix! any feedback at all really would be amazing!

EDIT: after reading some other posts on here about Asian Forest scorps in general, i did take the Rocks out of her water dish as it seems everyone agrees they are just kind of a Mold Attracter, and with the raised center i dont think there would ever be a problem anyway with her current water dish.

 

[Ginron]

Looks allot like mine, and i am also try to figure out what my species is. I have been told that mine is either H. Spinifer or H. Petersii so yours is probably the same.

Her are the pics of mine for you to compare:

 

[Collin Clary]

@Tanner Dzula There's actually 36 described species that could be called "Asian forest scorpions." ;-)

Clear pictures of the carapace, chela, and 5th metasomal segment would be needed for an accurate ID. Pictures of the pectines would also be helpful. I suspect however that it's a H. petersii.

@Ginron I still say H. petersii for you as well.

 

[Ginron]

.

 

[G. Carnell]

Scorpion199810,
How are you distinguishing this from H.laoticus?

I'm curious as the Kovarik review suggests the only differences being
-'slight' sexual dimorphism in H.petersii pedipalps
-laoticus 'smoother' carapace and manus of pedipalps
-laoticus 'more' punctuae on manus
-petersii patella with 'more' pronounced internal tubercle

Is there a more up to date ID-key for these guys? its been a while since i've had a dig through current literature

 

[Red Eunice]

Here are pictures of my H. spinifer (F) and H. petersii juvie. Not the best, but may help in the ID of yours. I have some H. longimanus, no photos, small and don't stay still long enough to grab a picture of them.

 

[Collin Clary]

Scorpion199810,
How are you distinguishing this from H.laoticus?

I'm curious as the Kovarik review suggests the only differences being
-'slight' sexual dimorphism in H.petersii pedipalps
-laoticus 'smoother' carapace and manus of pedipalps
-laoticus 'more' punctuae on manus
-petersii patella with 'more' pronounced internal tubercle

Is there a more up to date ID-key for these guys? its been a while since i've had a dig through current literature

The most up to date key is from Kovařík's "Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions, Part I", which was published in 2009.

Unfortunately, much of the key is still the same as in the 2004 review of the genus; the only real differences being the addition of more species. Some of the errors in the key (i.e., the supposed presence, or lack thereof, of a "pronounced" internal tubercle on the patella of some species) still exist. I was hoping that some of the issues would be addressed, but alas, they were not.

That being said while H. laoticus and H. petersii are very similar, there are noticeable differences.

For starters, H. petersii has noticeable sexual dimorphism in the chela. Males have an enlarged "tooth" on the tarsus (moveable finger) that females lack. This feature is not present in H. laoticus. If you do a google search you should be able to find images of the sexual dimorphism.

The other notable difference has to do with the granulation on the carapace (prosomal shield). In H. laoticus the carapace is completely smooth and devoid of granules, while H. petersii has noticeable granulation. I've attached an image from Couzijn's 1981 revision of the genus showing the extent of the granulation.

There are other minor differences regarding the carinae and puntae of the manus, but unless you are looking at two specimens side by side, it is extremely difficult to determine.