Inventory of scorpion fauna (Arachnida Scorpiones) in Tiaret region (Algeria)

Abstract

The present work was carried out in the region of Tiaret to study the diversity of scorpions in western Algeria. In this locality, three stations were chosen: the first one is a rocky area, the second one is represented by a scrub and the third is an anthropized zone. The scorpions sampling was done, during the year 2017, randomly and it was carried out by searching the scorpions in their hiding places, where a total of 200 individuals were sampled. The specimens morphometry, based on the measurement of 8 parameters, made it possible to diagnose two families: Buthidae represented by two species Buthus occitanus (Amoreux, 1789) (88.5%) and Buthacus arenicola (Simon, 1885) (7%) and Scorpionidae represented by Scorpio maurus Linnaeus, 1758 (4.5%). Among the measures that make the difference between these species, we mention the width of the chela, which is of the order of 3.03 ± 0.67 for Buthus occitanus and 2.27 ± 0.49 mm for Buthacus arenicola, while Scorpio maurus has larger chela.