A new species of Pseudoscorpion from Hainan Island, south China.

Pseudoscorpions (or False Scorpions) are small Arachnids with flattened oval or pear-shaped bodies; they have pincers resembling those of true Scorpions, but lack stinging tails. The largest species reach 12 mm, but most are considerably smaller. They have a fossil record dating back to the Devonian, and may be considerably older since the oldest fossils closely resemble modern forms.

In a paper published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on 26 September 2012, Jun-fang Hu and Feng Zhang of the College of Life Sciences at Hebei University, describe a new species of Pseudoscorpion from Hainan Islans, off the south coast of mainland China.

The new species is placed in the genus Atemnus, and given the specific name limuensis, after Mount Limu, where it was discovered living under the bark of an Ormosia tree (a type of Legume). Atemnus limuensis is a small, reddish brown Pseudoscorpion, with females larger than the males; 5.4-6.25 mm, compared to 4.38-4.88 mm. 

Atemnus limuensis, male specimen. Hu & Zhang (2012).

See also Two new species of Pseudoscorpion from China and An Eocene False Scorpion from Baltic amber. 

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Two new species of Pseudoscorpion from China.

Pseudoscorpions, or False Scorpions, are small carnivorous Arachnids resembling Scorpions without the stinging tail. Most species are between two and eight millimeters in length, although the largest can reach 12 mm. The fossil record of Peudoscorpions reaches back 380 million years, to the Late Devonian, when animals essentially similar to the modern forms are preserved.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 1 August 2012, Junfang Hu and Feng Zhang of the College of Life Sciences at Hebei University describe two new species of Pseudoscorpions in the genus Stenohya, (a small genus of Pseudoscorpions from east Asia) from China.

The first new species is named Stenohya pengae, in honour of Ms Yan-qiu Peng, who collected the samples from which the species is described. Mrs Peng collected 18 adult male and 25 adult female specimens, from the leaves of Chinquapin trees in the Damingshan National Nature Reserve, in the heavily forested Daming Mountains in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, at an altitude of 1250 m.

Stenohya pengae is a dark brown Pseudoscorpion with reddish legs and claws. The females are larger than the males, between 3.9 and 5.0 mm in length, compared to 3.3-3.6 mm for the males.

Stenohya pengae, adult male. Hu & Zhang (2012).

Hu & Zhang also examined Pseudoscorpions collected by Fusheng Huang from Gushan Mountain in  Fujian Province in 1975, from which they identified one (female) specimen as not belonging to any previously described species. This specimen is formally described as Stenohya huangi, named after the collector. This is a yellow Pseudoscorpion 4.2 mm in length. 

Stenohya huangi, adult female. Hu & Zhang (2012).

Map showing the known distributions of members of the genus Stenohya in China. Hu & Zhang (2012).

See also A new species of Scorpion from Western Australia, New species of Scorpion from Arizona, An Eocene False Scorpion from Baltic amber and Preserved Trilobite digestive tracts from the Middle Cambrian of Utah.

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An Eocene False Scorpion from Baltic amber.

False Scorpions are Arachnids related to Camel Spiders, Harvestmen and True Scorpions; they resemble Harvestmen with enormous, Scorpion-like claws, but are very small (the largest known species is only 12 mm in length) and consequently quite harmless. They have a long fossil history, dating back 380 million years to the Middle Devonian, and have changed little in this time.

In a paper published in the May 2012 edition of the journal Palaeontologica Electronica, Hans Henderickx of the Department of Biology at Universiteit Antwerpen and Paul Tafforeau and Carmen Soriano of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility describe a new species of False Scorpion from two specimens in Baltic amber.

The new species is placed in the genus Pseudogarypus; modern members of this genus are known from North America and Tasmania, but fossil European species have previously been described, including at least one species from Baltic amber. It is named Pseudogarypus synchrotron in honor of the equipment that allowed detailed visualization of the optically hidden parts of the fossil.

(1) Photograph of the first specimen in the amber. (2) Magnified view. Henderickx et al. (2012).

Pseudogarypus synchrotron is a 2.5 mm False Scorpion with elongated, slender pincers. It has been described from two specimens obtained from (separate) commercial dealers, both being set in Baltic amber, thought to be about 46 million years old.

Synchrotron images of the first specimen of Pseudogarypus synchrotron. Henderickx et al. (2012).

Synchrotron images of the second specimen of Pseudogarypus synchrotron. Henderickx et al. (2012).

Baltic amber is the preserved resin of Eocene coniferous trees that formed huge forests covering much of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Since this floats it is often found on beaches around the Baltic Sea, and sometimes further afield, making the precise dating of individual pieces difficult.

Interpretive drawing of Pseudogarypus synchrotron. Henderickx et al. (2012).

See also Two new species of True Bug from the Mesozoic of China, An Assassin Bug from the Palaeocene of Spitsbergen Island, A fossil termite from the Late Oligocene of northern Ethiopia, Preserved Trilobite digestive tracts from the Middle Cambrian of Utah, Evidence of fungal parasites modifying the behavior of ants from the Eocene Messel Shale.

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