Phylogenetics of Scorpions of Medical Importance

Borges, Adolfo; Graham, Matthew R.

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6416-3_36

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Tityus is unquestionably the most complex genus of scorpions from a taxonomical standpoint (over 200 described species), accountable for the majority of severe and lethal scorpionism cases in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including Ecuador, due to the high lethality of their venoms towards vertebrates (intraperitoneal LD50 for mice ranging from 0.7 to 12 mg/kg) [ 22 , 47 , 55 – 57 ]. The genus has been divided into the subgenera Archaeotityus Lourenço , Atreus Gervais, Brazilotityus Lourenço, and Tityus Koch to accommodate taxa previously assigned to the morphological groups “ androcottoides ,” “ asthenes ,” “ bahiensis ,” “ bolivianus ,” “ clathratus ,” “ crassimanus,” “forcipula,” “melanostictus” and “quisqueyanus” [ 58 ].…”

Section: Annotated List Of Ecuadorian Scorpion Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…such as Tityus ( Atreus ) fuhrmanni Kraepelin, Tityus ( Atreus ) metuendus Pocock, Tityus ( Atreus ) pachyurus Pocock, Tityus ( Atreus ) macrochirus Pocock, and Tityus ( Atreus ) festae Borelli, all [with the exception of T. ( A. ) macrochirus ] known to be responsible for high morbidity and pediatric mortality across their distribution range in Panama, Colombia, and Peru [ 22 , 47 , 56 ]. The epidemiological status of the Ecuadorian species in the “ Tityus forcipula ” group has not yet been determined.…”

Section: Annotated List Of Ecuadorian Scorpion Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most species within this group produce highly toxic venoms and are accountable for severe/lethal scorpionism, mainly in Venezuela [ 22 ]. Kovařík et al [ 76 ] synonymized T. ( A. )…”

Section: Annotated List Of Ecuadorian Scorpion Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A center of endemism in Ecuador for Teuthraustes has been proposed based on its extreme local diversity [ 20 ]. Despite such diversity, little is known about the toxicity of local scorpions, particularly within the speciose genus Tityus , which contains all medically important species in South America, and exhibits a phylogenetic divergence paralleled by functional, structural, and immunological differences among their toxins [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A checklist of the scorpions of Ecuador (Arachnida: Scorpiones), with notes on the distribution and medical significance of some species

Brito

Borges

2015

J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis

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Ecuador harbors one of the most diverse Neotropical scorpion faunas, hereby updated to 47 species contained within eight genera and five families, which inhabits the “Costa” (n = 17), “Sierra” (n = 34), “Oriente” (n = 16) and “Insular” (n = 2) biogeographical regions, corresponding to the western coastal, Andean, Amazonian, and the Galápagos archipelago regions, respectively. The genus Tityus Koch, in the family Buthidae, responsible for severe/fatal accidents elsewhere in northern South America and the Amazonia, is represented in Ecuador by 16 species, including T. asthenes, which has caused fatalities in Colombia and Panama, and now in the Ecuadorian provinces of Morona Santiago and Sucumbíos. Underestimation of the medical significance of scorpion envenoming in Ecuador arises from the fact that Centruroides margaritatus (Gervais) (family Buthidae) and Teuthraustes atramentarius Simon (family Chactidae), whose venoms show low toxicity towards vertebrates, frequently envenom humans in the highly populated Guayas and Pichincha provinces. This work also updates the local scorpion faunal endemicity (74.5 %) and its geographical distribution, and reviews available medical/biochemical information on each species in the light of the increasing problem of scorpionism in the country. A proposal is hereby put forward to classify the Ecuadorian scorpions based on their potential medical importance.

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Section: Annotated List Of Ecuadorian Scorpion Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Annotated List Of Ecuadorian Scorpion Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most species within this group produce highly toxic venoms and are accountable for severe/lethal scorpionism, mainly in Venezuela [ 22 ]. Kovařík et al [ 76 ] synonymized T. ( A. )…”

Section: Annotated List Of Ecuadorian Scorpion Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A checklist of the scorpions of Ecuador (Arachnida: Scorpiones), with notes on the distribution and medical significance of some species

Brito

Borges

2015

J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis

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“…This hypothesis, although interesting, does not address all possible questions, since it cannot clearly justify the evolution of mammal-targeting toxins in New-World lineages and, in particular, in those present in regions where intensive aridification did not take place, such as in South America. Possibly the absence of more up to date explanations leads some recent authors to reconfirm this hypothesis [ 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution and distribution of noxious species of scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Lourenço

2018

J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis

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This contribution attempts to bring some general information on the evolution and, in particular, on the geographic distribution of scorpion species noxious to humans. Since 95% of the scorpions incidents are generated by specimens of the family Buthidae C. L. Koch, the analysis will be limited to this familial group. As in previous similar contributions, the content of this work is mostly addressed to non-specialists whose research embraces scorpions in several fields such as venom toxins and public health. Only in recent years, efforts have been made to create better links between ‘academic scorpion experts’ and other academic non-specialists who use scorpions in their research. Even if a larger progress can yet be expected from such exchanges, crossed information proved to be useful in most fields of scorpion studies. Since the taxonomy of scorpions is complex, misidentifications and even more serious errors concerning scorpion classification/identification are often present in the general literature. Consequently, a precise knowledge of the distribution patterns presented by many scorpion groups and, in particular, those of infamous species, proves to be a key point in the interpretation of final results, leading to a better treatment of the problems caused by infamous scorpion species.

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Venomics of the Scorpion Tityus ocelote (Scorpiones, Buthidae): Understanding Venom Evolution in the Subgenus Archaeotityus

Díaz

Chang-Castillo

Lomonte

et al. 2022

Int J Pept Res Ther

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The subgenus Tityus (Archaeotityus) includes small variegated species considered until recently, a basal group within Tityus, one of the most diverse and medically relevant genera of scorpions in the New World. Archaeotityus species are distributed in the humid forests of Lower Central America and the Choco, Guiana Shield, and Amazon regions. Due to their size and habits, Archaeotityus species are not usually considered dangerous, however, there are some clinical reports that show otherwise. To contribute to the toxinological knowledge of these poorly explored species, we characterized the venom of Tityus ocelote from three localities in Costa Rica. In addition, we assessed the evolutionary relationships of putative sodium channel modulating peptides found in this species with those reported for other members of the genus, through a maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis based on their amino acid sequences.We observed the presence of homologs of previously identi ed NaTx from the species T. (Archaeotityus) clathratus and some other putative Na + and K + channel modulating peptides related to the T. bahiensis group. In addition, we sequenced some peptides related to toxins present in the venom of the subgenus Atreus, such as those reported T. obscurus, T. pachyurus, and the Costa Rican endemic species T. dedoslargos. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that the venom of this Archaeotityus species is very complex and that some of the ion channel toxins expressed in it are related to distinct lineages within the genus Tityus, which could represent a plesiomorphic condition conserved in this group of scorpions of the New World.

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Phylogenetics of Scorpions of Medical Importance

Cited by 13 publications

References 54 publications

A checklist of the scorpions of Ecuador (Arachnida: Scorpiones), with notes on the distribution and medical significance of some species

A checklist of the scorpions of Ecuador (Arachnida: Scorpiones), with notes on the distribution and medical significance of some species

The evolution and distribution of noxious species of scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones)

Venomics of the Scorpion Tityus ocelote (Scorpiones, Buthidae): Understanding Venom Evolution in the Subgenus Archaeotityus

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