Family BUTHIDAE

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Introduction

The Buthidae are the only family currently included within the Buthoidea, although the enigmatic South-East Asian family Chaerilidae is sometimes included as the sister-group to the Buthidae. Buthidae is a diverse family with some 50 genera and over 500 species currently recognised (Sissom, 1990). They are often considered to represent the sister-group to the remaining Recent scorpions, and as there is little consensus regarding a suitable subfamilial classification, we have refrained from using subfamilies for the Australian fauna until a replacement classification can be demonstrated to have any validity. Buthids are widely distributed around the world, but are largely absent from the northern Holarctic Region and from New Zealand.

The Australian buthid fauna is currently assigned to five genera and 11 species (Koch 1977; Locket 1990; Kovarík 1997), but unpublished research by E.S.V. indicates that the fauna is actually much more diverse, with substantial changes at the generic level, and numerous new species yet to be described.

General References

Koch, L.E. 1977. The taxonomy, geographic distribution and evolutionary radiation of Australo-Papuan scorpions. Records of the Western Australian Museum 5: 83-367

Kovarík, F. 1997. Revision of the genera Lychas and Hemilychas, with description of six new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae 61: 311-371

Locket, N.A. 1990. A new genus and species of scorpion from South Australia (Buthidae: Buthinae). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 114: 67-80

Sissom, W.D. 1990. Systematics, biogeography, and paleontology. pp. 64-160 in Polis, G.A. (ed.). The Biology of Scorpions. Stanford : Stanford University Press.

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