A New Species of the Medically Vital Scorpion Genus Hemiscorpius Peters, 1861 (Hemiscorpiidae Pocock, 1893) from Kurdistan, Iraq

Summary

The scorpion genus Hemiscorpius Peters, 1861 is famend for its medically essential species, notably Hemiscorpius lepturus Peters, 1861, the kind species of the genus and solely species beforehand recorded in Iraq. Nevertheless, the scorpion range of the rugged, arid landscapes of the Kurdistan Area, particularly Erbil Governorate, in northern Iraq, stays largely unknown. Intensive fieldwork in Erbil Province in 2024 resulted within the discovery of a beforehand unknown species, described herein as Hemiscorpius kurdistanus sp. n. The Halgurd-Sakran Mountains within the Bradost Area, to which it seems to be endemic, most likely performed a job in its speciation, offering a barrier that contributed to geographical isolation. The brand new discovery helps the speculation that Kurdistan represents an space of endemism for arthropods attributable to its isolation and distinctive environmental situations. The addition of a brand new, probably medically essential scorpion species to the Iraqi fauna emphasizes the necessity for continued research on the systematics of Hemiscorpius and different scorpion taxa in addition to up to date public well being consciousness and envenomation administration methods throughout the Center East.