title: The first true deserticolous species of Buthus Leach, 1815 from Algeria (Scorpiones: Buthidae); Ecological and biogeographic considerations.
abstract: Since the early 2000s, the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 (family Buthidae) has been the subject of an important number of studies. These concerned particularly the species belonging to the 'Buthus occitanus' complex. A number of populations previously considered as subspecies or varieties of B. occitanus Leach were raised to the rank of species, but also many new species have been described. Most of the species considered in these studies come from North Africa, in particular from Morocco, Mauritania, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, but only two new species were recorded from Algeria. At present, one more new species of Buthus is described from the Algerian Saharan Desert, raising the number of confirmed Buthus in Algeria to five. Since most Buthus species from North Africa, and in particular those from Algeria, inhabit more mesic environments than the Saharan Central compartment, the new species appears as the first true deserticolous species found in this country.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de recherche sur la phœniciculture, faculté des sciences de la nature et de la vie, université Kasdi-Merbah, 30000 Ouargla, Algeria; Département des sciences agronomiques, faculté des sciences de la nature et de la vie et sciences de la terre, université de Ghardaïa, BP 455, 47000 Ghardaïa, Algeria. Electronic address: sse.scorpion@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Salah Eddine
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Sadine
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire « bio-ressources sahariennes : préservation et valorisation », faculté des sciences de la nature et de la vie, université Kasdi-Merbah, 30000 Ouargla, Algeria. Electronic address: samia.bouafia@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Samia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bissati
authors.affiliation: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, département « systématique et évolution », UMR 7205, CP 053, 57, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: arachne@mnhn.fr.
authors.forename: Wilson R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Lourenço
mesh_terms: D000462:Algeria; D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D055669:Ecological and Environmental Phenomena; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D058974:Phylogeography; D012605:Scorpions / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: Algeria; Algérie; Buthus; Désert du Sahara; New species; Nouvelle espèce; Sahara Desert; Scorpion