Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia
Intraspecific molecular and morphological variations among geographically isolated populations are useful for understanding the evolutionary processes, which is considered early stage of allopatric speciation. Also, the knowledge of the regional variation of scorpion venom composition is needed to i...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/14198.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797417568815808512 |
|---|---|
| author | Abdulaziz R. Alqahtani Ahmed Badry Fahd Mohammed Abd Al Galil Zuhair S. Amr |
| author_facet | Abdulaziz R. Alqahtani Ahmed Badry Fahd Mohammed Abd Al Galil Zuhair S. Amr |
| author_sort | Abdulaziz R. Alqahtani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Intraspecific molecular and morphological variations among geographically isolated populations are useful for understanding the evolutionary processes, which is considered early stage of allopatric speciation. Also, the knowledge of the regional variation of scorpion venom composition is needed to improve antivenom therapeutic management. Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) is the most common and medically important species in Arabia and the Middle East. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the geographic morphological variation among A.crassicaudapopulations, regarding its geographical distribution in unexplored arid regions in Saudi Arabia. Samples were collected and examined morphologically under a dissecting microscope from different four eco-geographical regions. The results of ANOVA and multivariate statistical analyses provide strong evidence of geographical variation. The two populations from OTU3 and OUT4 showed the greatest degree of morphological difference from populations of OUT1 and OUT2. Each OTU3 and OTU4 populations showed significant speciation without overlapping in the two groups, while the remaining overlapped groups comprised two other populations. Several body variables influenced male separation, including carapace posterior width, metasoma 3rd length, and metasoma 2nd length. For females, telson length, metasoma 1st width, and sternite 7th width were highly influential variables. Such variation may suggest the existence of cryptic taxa within A. crassicauda populations in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, metasoma ratios can be used as good indicators in intraspecific variation studies of Scorpions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:21:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41f1d1ddf71c48a68e7bc895dc9176cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:21:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-41f1d1ddf71c48a68e7bc895dc9176cb2023-12-03T11:37:13ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592022-10-0110e1419810.7717/peerj.14198Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi ArabiaAbdulaziz R. Alqahtani0Ahmed Badry1Fahd Mohammed Abd Al Galil2Zuhair S. Amr3Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, EgyptDepartment of Biology, College of Science, University of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan, JordanIntraspecific molecular and morphological variations among geographically isolated populations are useful for understanding the evolutionary processes, which is considered early stage of allopatric speciation. Also, the knowledge of the regional variation of scorpion venom composition is needed to improve antivenom therapeutic management. Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) is the most common and medically important species in Arabia and the Middle East. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the geographic morphological variation among A.crassicaudapopulations, regarding its geographical distribution in unexplored arid regions in Saudi Arabia. Samples were collected and examined morphologically under a dissecting microscope from different four eco-geographical regions. The results of ANOVA and multivariate statistical analyses provide strong evidence of geographical variation. The two populations from OTU3 and OUT4 showed the greatest degree of morphological difference from populations of OUT1 and OUT2. Each OTU3 and OTU4 populations showed significant speciation without overlapping in the two groups, while the remaining overlapped groups comprised two other populations. Several body variables influenced male separation, including carapace posterior width, metasoma 3rd length, and metasoma 2nd length. For females, telson length, metasoma 1st width, and sternite 7th width were highly influential variables. Such variation may suggest the existence of cryptic taxa within A. crassicauda populations in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, metasoma ratios can be used as good indicators in intraspecific variation studies of Scorpions.https://peerj.com/articles/14198.pdfMorphological StructuringScorpionsOperational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) |
| spellingShingle | Abdulaziz R. Alqahtani Ahmed Badry Fahd Mohammed Abd Al Galil Zuhair S. Amr Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia PeerJ Morphological Structuring Scorpions Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) |
| title | Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Morphometric and meristic diversity of the species Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | morphometric and meristic diversity of the species androctonus crassicauda olivier 1807 scorpiones buthidae in saudi arabia |
| topic | Morphological Structuring Scorpions Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/14198.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdulazizralqahtani morphometricandmeristicdiversityofthespeciesandroctonuscrassicaudaolivier1807scorpionesbuthidaeinsaudiarabia AT ahmedbadry morphometricandmeristicdiversityofthespeciesandroctonuscrassicaudaolivier1807scorpionesbuthidaeinsaudiarabia AT fahdmohammedabdalgalil morphometricandmeristicdiversityofthespeciesandroctonuscrassicaudaolivier1807scorpionesbuthidaeinsaudiarabia AT zuhairsamr morphometricandmeristicdiversityofthespeciesandroctonuscrassicaudaolivier1807scorpionesbuthidaeinsaudiarabia |