Androctonus maroccanus is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of scorpion, belonging to the family Buthidae

Buthidae

Buthidae is the largest family of scorpions, containing about 80 genera and over 800 species as of mid-2008. Its members are known as, for example, thick-tailed scorpions and bark scorpions. There are a few very large genera , but also a high number of species-poor or monotypic ones...

. Along with other members of the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Androctonus it is also known by the collective vernacular name fat-tailed scorpion

Fattail scorpion

Fattail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion is the common name given to scorpions of the genus Androctonus, which is one of the most dangerous groups of scorpions species in the world. They are found throughout the semi-arid and arid regions of the Middle-East and Africa. They are a moderate sized...

. A. maroccanus is endemic to the Atlantic coast

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 of central Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 2009 by Wilson R. Lourenço, Eric Ythier and Elise-Anne Leguin. The type specimens were collected by F. Principaud in September 2009. It was named after its country of origin.

Description

Adult specimens reach a considerable size of about 70 mm. The overall color is uniformly yellow to yellow-reddish with darker carinae on the metasoma

Metasoma

The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the mesosoma. In insects, it contains most of the digestive tract, respiratory system, and circulatory system, and the apical segments are typically...

. The scorpion shows the typical characteristics of the genus Androctonus including slender pedipalp

Pedipalp

Pedipalps , are the second pair of appendages of the prosoma in the subphylum Chelicerata. They are traditionally thought to be homologous with mandibles in Crustacea and insects, although more recent studies Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi), are the second pair of appendages of the...

 chelae and a thick, robust metasoma

Metasoma

The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the mesosoma. In insects, it contains most of the digestive tract, respiratory system, and circulatory system, and the apical segments are typically...

 with a proportionally large vesicle (bulbous part of telson

Telson

The telson is the last division of the body of a crustacean. It is not considered a true segment because it does not arise in the embryo from teloblast areas as do real segments. It never carries any appendages, but a forked "tail" called the caudal furca is often present. Together with the...

 containing the venom

Venom

Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...

 gland

Gland

A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...

s). Granulation of the cephalothorax

Cephalothorax

The cephalothorax is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. The word cephalothorax is derived from the Greek words for head and thorax...

 and mesosoma

Mesosoma

The mesosoma is the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings....

 is slightly more pronounced in the male than in the female and the males have an excavation at the base of the fixed finger of the chelae to accommodate the females pincers during mating "dance".

A. maroccanus is distinct from most of the potentially sympatric, dark-colored species of Androctonus by its brighter coloration. It differs from the similar A. australis in having a strongly hirsute "fore-arm" (patella) of the pedipalps and a more reddish coloration. Furthermore, in Morocco A. australis is so far known only from the easternmost part of the country. Another yellow-colored species, A. amoreuxi, occurring in the south and southwest of Morocco, is distinguished by a much slender metasoma.

Toxicity

There are no data on the toxicity

Toxicity

Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...

 of this species. However, as it is the case in many other species of Androctonus, the presence of very potent toxins and a potential medical importance to humans can be anticipated.

Range and Habitat

A. maroccanus is known so far only from its type locality, the semi-arid coastal plain at Sidi Smaïl, c. 120 km southwest of Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...

, Region

Regions of Morocco

Regions of Morocco As part of a 1997 decentralization/regionalization law passed by the legislature 16 new regions were created. It is the current highest administrative division of Morocco. The regions are subdivided into a total of 61 second-order administrative divisions, which are prefectures...

 of Doukkala-Abda

Doukkala-Abda

Doukkala-Abda ) is one of the sixteen regions of Morocco. It is situated in west-central Morocco. It covers an area of 13,285 km² and has a population of 1,984,039 . The capital is Safi.The region is made up into the following provinces :...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. As several other of the seven species of Androctonus currently known from Morocco, it is considered endemic.