Scorpion Fauna of Hatila Valley National Park (Artvin, Turkey)

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1 Research Article Scorpion Fauna of Hatila Valley National Park (Artvin, Turkey) Ersen Aydın Yağmur 1*, Halil Koç 2, Gioele Tropea 3, Fatih Yeşilyurt 4 1. Ege University, Science Faculty, Biology Department,Zoology Section, Bornova, İzmir, Turkey 2. Sinop University, Science and Art Faculty, Biology Department, Sinop, Turkey 3. Società Romana di Scienze Naturali, Rome, Italy 4. Kırıkkale University, Science and Art Faculty, Biology Department, Zoology Section, Kırıkkale, Turkey *ersen.yagmur@gmail.com Abstract: During , we studied scorpion fauna of Hatila Valley National Park in Artvin Province. A total of 40 specimens were collected from five different localities, and three species belong to three families were identified: Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1838) (Buthidae) Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1874) (Euscorpiidae) and Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899 (Iuridae). This is the first study of the scorpion species of Hatila Valley. Keywords: Scorpion, Fauna, Hatila Valley, Artvin, Turkey. Hatila Vadisi Milli Parkı (Artvin, Türkiye) Akrep Faunası Özet: yılları arasında Hatila Vadisi Milli Parkı'nın akrep faunasını araştırdık. Toplam 5 lokaliteden toplam 40 örnek toplanmış 40 örnek toplanmış ve üç familyaya ait üç tür tespit edilmiştir: Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1838) (Buthidae) Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1874) (Euscorpiidae) ve Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899 (Iuridae). Bu araştırma Hatila Vadisi nin akrep türlerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılmış ilk çalışmadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Akrep, Fauna, Hatila Vadisi, Artvin, Türkiye. Introduction Hatila Valley National Park is the 18 th largest national park of Turkey and it is located on one of the main branches of the Çoruh River. It is very rich in fauna and flora. Eminağaoğlu and Anşin (2003) stated that Hatila Valley has 769 plant species. Kutrup (2001) listed two species of urodelans tailed amphibians, six species of anurans, six lizard species and eight snake species from neighbouring area of Murgul (Artvin Province). Bear (Ursus arctos), wild boar (Sus scrofa), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), European badger (Meles meles), wild goat (Capra sp.), marten (Martes sp.), jackal (Canis aureus), sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), mountain roosters (Tetrao mlokosiewiczi) are most abundant mammal and bird species in this national park (Anonymous, 2011). Turkey has a rich scorpion fauna with 24 recorded species (Fet et al., 2000; Crucitti and Vignoli, 2002; Varol et al., 2006; Fet et al., 2009; Yağmur et al., 2009; Kovařík et al., 2010, 2011; Yağmur, 2010). Following scorpion species have been recorded from Eastern Black Sea Region: Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899, Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1874), E. italicus (Herbst, 1800), Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1838) (Birula, 1899, 1917a, 1917b; Fet et al., 2009; Karataş & Karataş, 2003; Kovařík et al., 2011). All records are based on randomly collected specimens. There is no record of scorpions from Hatila Valley National Park, but C. nordmanni, E. mingrelicus, E. italicus, M. eupeus eupeus were recorded from Artvin Province. Of these taxa, C. nordmanni, E. mingrelicus and M. eupeus eupeus were determined in this study from Hatila Valley National Park

2 Material Method Hatila Valley National Park is approximately 25 km long and 10 km far from Artvin. In 1994 Hatila Valley was declared a national park, which covers ha area (Figure 1). The rocks of Hatila Valley originated from deep volcanic activity. It is V-typed, narrow-based, young valley. The national park is situated between 41 03' ' North and 41 31' ' East. The branch of Çoruh River in Valley is surrounded by Kurt Mountains (3224 m), Alacadağ Mountains (2844 m), Keçi Mountains (2047 m) and Otluca Mountains (2887 m). The materials of present study were collected during five field expeditions to Hatila Valley in June and July of scorpion specimens were collected from five different localities. Scorpions were collected from under the stones and rock cracks by hand in day time and by using UV lamp at night. Samples were preserved in 70% ethanol. The specimens were identified according to Birula (1917a), Fet et al. (2009) and Kovařík et al. (2011) and deposited in the Museum of Turkish Arachnology Society (MTAS) and Zoology Museum of Sinop University. Results and Discussion Family Buthidae C.L. Koch, 1837 Figure 1. Map of the study area (Hatila Valley National Park). Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1838) Examined material 1. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, Taşlıca Köyü, N, E, 912 m, , 1, leg. A. Avcı & K. Olgun. 2. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, , 1 subadult, leg. K.B. Kunt & A. Kızıltuğ. 3. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, N, E, 563 m, , 1, 2, leg. E.A. Yağmur & H. Koç. Comments Mesobuthus eupeus is widespread in the Palaearctic Region from Turkey to China. The subspecies M. e. eupeus (Figure 2) is found in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, and Turkmenistan (Birula, 1896, 1905, 1911, 1917a; Fet et al., 2000; Kovařík et al., 2011). M. eupeus was first recorded from Artvin, Erzurum (Oltu)

3 and Kars Provinces by Birula (1917a) as Buthus eupeus eupeus. While many subspecies of Mesobuthus eupeus were described in neighbouring countries of Turkey, some authors still refer to Birula (1917a) for Turkish M. eupeus (Fet et al., 2000; Karataş & Karataş, 2001, 2003; Teruel, 2002). Recently, Kovařík et al. (2011) revised all M. eupeus population in Turkey (including Artvin population) and presented data to consider two different subspecies existing in Turkey. They examined the populations of Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Eastern Black Sea Region (only Artvin Province) and determined that these populations belong to M. e. eupeus. Ecological Notes M. e. eupeus specimens were found in the roadside under stones; this area is dry and has very sparse vegetation. M. e. eupeus generally prefers arid, sandy or steppe areas (Figure 3). Hatila Valley is a humid area thus is not a suitable habitat for M. e. eupeus. Because of this unsuitable conditions, we came across a sparse population in Hatila Valley. The climate of Eastern Black Sea Region is very humid so it could not be expected to occur this region. However, judging from the locality records, Hatila Valley is northernmost limit of distribution of M.e. eupeus in Turkey. Figure 2. The general appearance of an adult male of Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus. Figure 3. A general view of Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus habitat from the southern slopes of Hatila Valley

4 Family Euscorpiidae Laurie, 1896 Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1874) Examined material 1. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, Taşlıca Köyü, N, E, 912 m, , 1, leg. A. Avcı & K. Olgun. 2. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, Taşlıca Köyü, N, E, 1145 m, , 3, 1, leg. A. Avcı & K. Olgun. 3. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, Taşlıca Köyü, N, E, 1397 m, , 3, leg. A. Avcı & K. Olgun. 4. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, 32 nd km, N, E, 1320 m, , 2, 1, leg. A. Avcı & K. Olgun. 5. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, N, E, 563 m, , 5, 2, 1 subadult, leg. E.A. Yağmur & H. Koç. Comments E. mingrelicus was first reported from Turkey by Birula (1898, 1917a, 1917b). E. m. ciliensis was described from Bolkar Mountain by Birula (1898) as E. ciliciensis and E. mingrelicus was recorded by Birula (1917a) as E. mingrelicus mingrelicus. Although Vachon (1966), Capra (1939), Caporriacco (1950) and Kinzelbach (1975) classified these taxa as subspecies of E. germanus, Bonacina (1980) considered these as subspecies of E. mingrelicus and also described E. m. phrygius. Subsequently, Lacroix (1995) established three new subspecies from Turkey: E. m. legrandi, E. m. ollivieri and E. m. uludagensis. Lacroix (1995) suggested that E. m. ollivieri was distributed in the Central and in the Eastern Black Sea Region. In contrast with Birula (1917a, 1917b) and Fet (1993), Lacroix (1995) regarded E. m. mingrelicus as existing only in the Caucasus. E. mingrelicus (Figure 4) was reported from Artvin by Birula (1917a) as E. mingrelicus mingrelicus and then Fet (1993) and Bonacina (1980) followed his record at species level. Fet (1993) examined a large number of E. mingrelicus specimen from Caucasus (Georgia and Russia) also including some collected from Artvin and stated that: The entire Caucasian (including north-east Turkey) population is more or less uniform in trichobothrial patterns of ventral (Tv) and external (Te) surfaces of pedipalp tibia [=patella]. Lacroix (1995) suggested that Artvin population of E. mingrelicus does not belong to the nominal subspecies; he also examined as the subspecies E. m. ollivieri with the same trichobothrial number of subspecies E. m. mingrelicus. According to Lacroix (1995) trichobothrial configuration of V1, V2 and V3 on chela forms the straight line ("ligne droite oblique"), whereas in the nominal subspecies the line is discontinuous ("ligne brisée oblique") form. However, Lacroix (1995) did not illustrate explanatory drawings or give additional diagnostic characters to justify the two subspecies. Because of the subspecific ambiguity in E. mingrelicus, we did not take into account the subspecies E. m. ollivieri until further study that will clarify the true taxonomic situation of this subspecies, and we accepted the Hatila Valley population at the species level. Ecological Notes E. mingrelicus were always found on the most humid places of valley (Figure 5). Specimens were collected under the stones and rock cracks. E. mingrelicus requires higher humidity; therefore this scorpion species is more abundant on sea shore of Black Sea Region. Southern part of Hatila Valley in Artvin is drier then northern part, and Hatila Valley probably represents the southern distribution limit of E. mingrelicus

5 Figure 4. The general appearance of an adult female of Euscorpius mingrelicus. Figure 5. A view of the Hatila Valley habitat where Euscorpius mingrelicus was collected. Family Iuridae Thorell, 1876 Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899 Examined material 1. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, Taşlıca Köyü, N, E, 912 m, , 2, 1 juv., leg. A. Avcı & K. Olgun. 2. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, , 1, 4, 1 juv., leg. K.B. Kunt & A. Kızıltuğ. 3. Artvin, Central District, Hatila Valley National Park, N, E, 563 m, , 1, 3 juv., leg. E.A. Yağmur & H. Koç. Comments The genus Calchas was described by Birula (1899) with the type species (by original designation) Calchas nordmanni (Figure 6). The type species was described from Ardanuç (Artvin Province) in the northeast of Turkey. After a long period of time, Kinzelbach (1980) recorded new localities from Oltu and Tortum (Erzurum Province) and Yusufeli (Artvin Province). Most recently Fet et al. (2009) in their revisional work, revised

6 systematic position of Calchas genus and zoogeographic distribution of its three known species. Although Rikhter (1945) and Vachon & Kinzelbach (1987) reported this species from Adjaria in Georgia, Fet et al. (2009) stated that this species is known from only Erzurum and Artvin Provinces. Until now, there is no valid record from Georgia. Kinzelbach (1980) and Fet et al. (2009) reported this species from valleys of Çoruh River and its side branches. Hatila Valley is located close to Ardanuç (type locality of C. nordmanni). They can be found in the side branches of Çoruh River, and appear to exist only in those places that can provide enough humidity. This factor may explain the connection found between C. nordmanni and Çoruh River if we assume that river valleys provide a suitable way for dispersal. Ecological Notes Although some C. nordmanni specimens were collected under the stones, most of them were found in rock cracks (Figure 7). They were also collected from cracks at night. Our observations allow to assume that C. nordmanni is most likely a rupicolous species. In addition, we observed that C. nordmanni prefers low elevations with high humidity. Thus C. nordmanni seems to be isolated in the valleys of Çoruh River. Figure 6. The general appearance of an adult female of Calchas nordmanni. Figure 7. A habitat of Calchas nordmanni

7 Acknowledgments We wish to thank Dr. Kurtuluş Olgun, Dr. Aziz Avcı, Mr. Kadir Buğaç Kunt and Mr. Altuğ Kızıltuğ for providing several specimens, Mr. Mehmet Özkörük for his help in the field trip, Dr. Pierangelo Crucitti, Michiel Cozijn and Gerard Dupre for the availability. We also greatful to Dr. Victor Fet for corrections on manuscript. References Anonymous Birula, A. A Miscellanea scorpiologica. I. Zur Synonymie der russischen Scorpione. Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg. 1: Birula, A. A Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Scorpionen fauna Kleinasiens. Horae Soc. Ent. Ross. 33: Birula, A. A A new species of scorpions for the Russian fauna. Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'academie Imperiale des Sciences de St.- Petersbourg. 4: XIV XV (in Russian, with Latin diagnosis; see Fig. 1). Birula, A. A Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Scor-pionenfauna Persiens (Dritter Beiträge). Bulletin de l Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg. 23: Birula, A.A Arachnologische Beiträge. I. Zur Scorpionen- und Solifugen-Fauna des Chinesischen Reiches. Revue Russe d Entomologie. 11: Birula, A. A. 1917a. Chlenistobryukhie paukoobraznye Kavkazskogo Kraya [Arthrogastric arachnids of Caucasia]. Part I. Scorpiones. Tiflis: Mémoires du Musée du Caucase. Sér. A 5: [English translation: Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translation, 1964]. Birula, A.A. 1917b. Faune de la Russie et des pays limitrophes fondee principalement sur les collections du Musée Zoologique de l'académie des Sciences de Russie. Arachnides (Arachnoidea). Petrograd, 1(1): xx, 227 pp. (in Russian). English translation: Fauna of Russia and Adjacent Countries. Arachnoidea. Vol. I. Scorpions. Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations, xix, 154 pp. Bonacina, A Sistematica specifica e sottospecifica del complesso Euscorpius germanus (Scorpiones, Chactidae). Riv. Mus. Sc. Nat. Bergamo. 2: Caporiacco, L. Di Le specie e sottospecie del genere Euscorpius viventi in Italia ed in alcune zone confinanti. Memorie/Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. 8(2): Capra, F L Euscorpius germanus (C. L. Koch) in Italia (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Memorie della Società Entomologica Italia. 18 (2): Crucitti, P., Vignoli, V Gli scorpioni (Scorpiones) dell Anatolia sud-orientale (Turchia). Bollettino del Museo Regionale di Scienze naturali, Torino. 19 (2), Eminağaoğlu, Ö., Anşin, R The flora of Hatila Valley National Park and its close environs (Artvin). Turkish Journal of Botany. 27: Fet, V Notes on Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1874) from the Caucasus. Rivista del Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali "Enrico Caffi" (Bergamo). 16: 1-8. Fet, V., Sissom, W.D., Lowe, G., Braunwalder, M.E The Catalog of Scorpions of the World. New York Entomological Society, 680 pp. Fet, V., Soleglad, M.E., Kovařík, F Etudes on iurids, II. Revision of genus Calchas Birula, 1899, with the description of two new species (Scorpiones: Iuridae). Euscorpius. 82: Karataş, A., Karataş, A First record of Mesobuthus eupeus (C.L. Koch, 1839) from Central Anatolia (Scorpiones: Buthidae). In: Fet V., & Selden P.A. (Eds.) Scorpions 2001: Memoriam Gary A. Polis. British Arachnological Society, Burnham Beeches, Bucks, UK. pp Karataş, A., Karataş, A Mesobuthus eupeus (C.L. Koch, 1839) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) in Turkey. Euscorpius. 7: 1-7. Kinzelbach, R Die Skorpione der Aegäis. Beitrage zur Systematik, Phylogenie and Biogeographie. Zool. Jahrb., Abt. Syst. 102 : Kinzelbach, R Zur Kenntnis des Kaukasischen Skorpions Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899 (Scorpionida: Chactidae). Verh. naturwiss. Ver. Hamburg, (NF). 23: Kovařík, F., Fet, V., Soleglad, M.E., Yağmur, E.A Etudes on iurids, III. Revision of the genus Iurus Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Iuridae), with a description of two new species from Turkey. Euscorpius. 95: Kovařík, F., Yağmur, Е. А., Fet, V., Navidpour, S On two subspecies of Mesobuthus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839) in Turkey (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Euscorpius. 109: Kutrup, B On the Amphibia and Reptilia species of Murgul (Artvin). Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 4(9): Lacroix, J.-B Euscorpius mingrelicus (Kessler, 1876) en Turquie Anatolienne (Arachnida: Scorpionida). Arachnides. 26: 4-6. Rikhter, A. A Skorpiony Armenii [Scorpions of Armenia]. Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR, Yerevan. 44 pp. (in Russian). Teruel, R First record of Mesobuthus eupeus (Koch, 1839) from western Turkey (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Revista Ibérica de Aracnologia. 5:

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