ID and sexing a (theoretically) Heterometrus Spinifer.

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Lorenzo Benevento

Arachnosquire
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May 21, 2017
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78
Hi everyone.
I'd like to know if there is someone able to ID and sex my scorpion. It should be a Heterometrus Spinifer.
I'm opening a new thread because the last one didn't have a correct title and nobody replied me (I think because of non pertinent title).
Thanks in advance.
Lorenzo Benevento.
 

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ArachnoDrew

ArachnoDrew

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Feb 1, 2017
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Their are a few people who can ID (Not many) they aren't always on... I'll tag a few to see if it grabs attention but someone will eventually get to you.. it's a pretty common question... my best guess is a female. @Collin Clary is an expert on heterometrus whenever hese on he can ID.

Your Blacklight pictures won't help. But the other pics you posted might be enough.

@gromgrom @Red Eunice @Scorpionluva @Collin Clary
 
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Lorenzo Benevento

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May 21, 2017
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Thanks, I think is a female too! Blacklight photos are to see genital operculum, if someone who can ID and sex needs other photos, just ask!
 
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Galapoheros

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Hey Lorenzo, this is one of those times when the differences described in words help, but in a practical sense it will often leave people still unsure without pics. It's one of those things that when seeing them with your own eyes says it all and you would learn to know with a fast glance between the two. I haven't seen many spinifers either but for one thing, spinifer appears to be kind of rare in the hobby, I have yet to see one somebody that has acquired one recently, they have practically all been petersii people are getting that were told they are spinifer. Petersii is obviously common in their native habitat, it's often one that is used for food in parts of Asia but I read spinifer is protected in areas so people are likely to get petersii instead. At a glance, spinifer has a shiny buffed out look, a little bigger than petersii in general but not always of course. Petersii has a dirty black matte finish look all the time, like laoticus but there is some granulation on the carapace unlike on laoticus. Spinifer can appear lankier also than petersii and highly suspect it is often mistaken for longimanus among dealers and keepers. But I know, a picture is worth a thousand words. Go type in ....Heterometrus spinifer pdf.... in a search engine and you will see what anybody could type here, here's an example. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...15.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGYIAiGmmHIkpxs_pAy0-x4Qv4EBg
 
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Lorenzo Benevento

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May 21, 2017
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I've red the document you sent! But it doesn't help very much. You're totally right, without pictures is kinda impossible to understand. I can't find granulation patterns online, can't find "tricobotri" (don't know in English, maybe is the same) patterns... Maybe they don't have patterns like those, but I was wondering if there are stuff like that as for Euscorpion! Anyway, thanks to everyone, I'll search more. For now, I assume is a petersii and if I'll buy a male on, I'll buy a petersii. If someone have some usefull documents/links... Send it!
 
Collin Clary

Collin Clary

Arachnobaron
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Jul 3, 2011
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Lorenzo Benevento said:
I'm searching all around the web, but I'm absolutely not finding anything useful. I'd like to learn how to id those scorpion!!
@Collin Clary Do you have some documents or discussion to link? Something like this http://euscorpiuseco.altervista.org/euscorpius.html would be so good.
Click to expand...
There are four species of Heterometrus in the hobby that look extremely similar to each other.

H. petersii and H. laoticus have dark telsons, rounder chela, and dorsal keels on the 5th metasomal segment that consist of relatively minute granules, while H. spinifer and H. longimanus usually have telsons that are lighter than their metasomas (usually red in adults, and various shades of yellow/orange as juveniles), narrower chela, and dorsal keels on the 5th metasomal segment that consist of relatively large, pointed granules.

H. petersii and H. laoticus can be distinguished from each other in that H. petersii has granulation on the carapace and tergites while H. laoticus is totally devoid of any granulation, and H. petersii shows sexual dimorphism in that males have an enlarged tooth on the movable finger of the chela. Both species have a pectine tooth count of 15-19 in both sexes.

H. spinifer and H. longimanus can be distinguished from each other in that H. spinifer has a pectine tooth count of 15-19 in both sexes, while H. longimanus has a pectine tooth count of 12-18 in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism in proportions of pedipalps in H. spinifer is not noticable, with chela slightly lobiform and a length to width ratio of 2.4-2.6 in both sexes. In H. longimanus on the other hand, the chela, patella, and femur of the pedipalps in males are narrower and more elongate than in females. Chela not lobiform in male, slightly lobiform in female. Length to width ratio of chela 3.3-4.4 in males, roughly 2.4 in females.

Females of H. spinifer and H. longimanus are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Some small differences are that in H. spinifer the manus has smooth carinae forming irregular reticulations, while the manus of H. longimanus is sparsely tuberculate, and that while both species usually have the carapace with disc smooth and margins granulate, sometimes in H. longimanus the entire surface is granulate.

As for scientific resources...

Couzijn's 1981 revision of the genus, despite being outdated, still contains some helpful illustrations and relevant information.

Then there's the review of the genus by František Kovařík that was posted above. Since then however, Kovařík has published more recent keys (and descriptions and pictures of species) in his book "Illustrated Catalog of Scorpions Part I."
 
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