Análisis morfológico y morfométrico deTityus (Tityus) sorataensisKraepelin 1911 (Escorpionida: Buthidae) de dos valles mesotérmicos andinos, Quime y Cheje, La Paz-Bolivia

Abstract

Around 2000 species of scorpions divided into 22 families were described in the world. In Bolivia, the scorpions of the family Buthidae are represented by the genus Tityus. The objective of this work is to perform a morpho-logical-morphometric characterization of intraspecific lineages Tityus (Tityus) sorataensis Kraepelin 1911 from two communities of La Paz-Bolivia. 85 samples of Tityus (Tityus) sorataensis from the scientific collection of the INLASA Antivenin Production Laboratory were used. With these, a morphological description was made at the level of species and morphotypes, as well as a traditional morphometric description with 34 variables. The variables were analyzed with the Statistica 7 and JMP programs, in which principal component analysis (PCA) and generalized discriminant analysis (AGD) were performed. It was found that Tityus (Tityus) sorataensis presents six morphotypes for Chime Q, Z, X, Y, G, R and three for Cheje Y, G, R. Sexual dimorphism was found in morphotypes, X, G, R. It was observed that excluding the diagnostic meristic variables, there was still differentiation at the morphometric level. Ten diagnostic phenotypic morphometric variables were identified among all our analyzes: prosome length, median prosome width, posterior prosome width, first lateral eye to median eyes, median eyepiece width, length of caudal segment II, width of caudal segment II, length of caudal segment III, telson length and length of the metasoma.