A new Mesobuthus from China

The scorpion fauna of China has been quite unknown and not studied for many years. Fortunately, a group of Chinese researchers are now working on updating our knowledge about the scorpion fauna of China. A new species of Mesobuthus (Buthidae) has now been described from Xinjiang, China:

Mesobuthus longichelus Sun & Zhu, 2010

The article has an identification key for the Mesobuthus species in the region.

Abstract:
A new species of the genus Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950 is described, based on specimens collected in the northern piedmont of the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang. It is characterized by a slender chela, general coloration yellow to pale brownish-yellow, elongate aculeus and 2–4 markedly large and moderately extroversive lobed granules of the ventrolateral carinae of metasoma segment V. With the description of this new species, the number of known Chinese species of Mesobuthus is raised to five.

Reference:
Sun D, Zhu MS. A new species of the genus Mesobuthus Vachon, 1950 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Xinjiang, China. ZooKeys. 2010;37:1-12. [Free fulltext]

Family Buthidae