Exploring species diversity and abundance of scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) in certain regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

Despite scorpion diversity has long been acknowledged, the mystery of how it develops remains unresolved. The geographical distribution, species abundance and biodiversity of scorpions fauna in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is poorly explored with many aspects like morphological, geographical, ecological and phylogenetically. As a result of faunaistic study on scorpions a total of 171 specimens from various regimes, Charsadda, Mardan, Peshawar and Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan from March 2018 to October 2018 were collected. GarminTM GPS V Plus device. The software Arc GIS 10.2 was used to create maps of the study areas. Pitfall traps were used to gather samples from sandy habitats and pastureland. Five species Hottentotta tamulus Fabricius, 1798, with (35%), Scorpiops pseudomontanus Kovarik and Ahmed, 2009, (26%), Orthochirus fuscipes Pocock, 1900, (15%), Hottentotta buchariensis Birula, 1897, (13%) and Deccanometrus latimanus Pocock, 1894, (11%) were detected in our proposed study. The research indicates that abundance and temperature have a favorable connection, while abundance and humidity get a negative correlation. The value of evenness shows the strong equilibrium between the effectiveness of sampling species, and the Shannon's index suggests that the Pakistani region has a high level of scorpion variety.