A new genus and species of bothriurid scorpion from the Brandberg Massif, Namibia, with a reanalysis of bothriurid phylogeny and a discussion of the phylogenetic position of Lisposoma Lawrence

Abstract

Abstract. Brandbergia haringtoni, a new genus and species of bothriurid scorpion, is described from the Brandberg Massif, northwestern Namibia. A cladistic analysis, based on seventy‐four morphological characters scored for thirty‐one exemplar species representing all genera of Bothriuridae, and one genus from each of the six remaining families of Scorpionoidea, was conducted to test the phylogenetic placement of the new genus and whether it affects the internal relationships of Bothriuridae. The available data demonstrate, under a range of weighting regimes, that the new genus is the most basal bothriurid, and confirm the scheme of relationships among the remaining bothriurid genera that was recovered in a previous analysis: (Brandbergia (Lisposoma (Thestylus (Phoniocercus (Tehuankea (Cercophonius + Urophonius) (Bothriurus + Brachistosternus +Orobothriurus + Centromachetes (Timogenes + Vachonia))))))). On the basis of this evidence, Lourenço's recent proposal of family Lisposomidae for Lisposoma is rejected and Lisposomidae is synonymized with Bothriuridae. The implications of the phylogeny for understanding the biogeography of Bothriuridae are discussed.