A newly-discovered scorpion species is small, nondescript in its colorless armor, and typically appears only at night in the pine forests of Turkey, The Guardian reported. With a poison no stronger than a mosquito bite, it's little surprise then that the Euscorpius lycius, or small wood scorpion, has remained undocumented for this long in scientific history.
Its genus, Euscorpius, is also poorly understood, especially in Turkey, where few of its members have been studied, The Guardian reported. Though Euscorpion scorpions have been studied in depth in other countries, they shifts classification frequently, according to the study.
"Taxonomy of Euscorpius genus is complicated and still unresolved throughout its range, because of type specimens lost, lack of specimens from many areas and existence of cryptic species complex, which exhibiting the same, or very similar, standard characters," wrote research authors Ersen Aydin Yağmur, Gioele Tropea, Fatih Yeşilyurt, who published their work in the open access journal, "Zookeys."
The majority of Euscorpius knowledge is contained within the most common species of the genus, E. carpathicus, which is found in North Africa, Eurasia, and Russia, and, like the rest of its genus, is neither particularly poisonous nor large, according to The Guardian.
With its latest addition, Euscorpius now comprises five difference species in Turkey - a relatively small figure compared to the 17 species that make up the genus. As scientists continue to probe the area, they may find more, according to Yağmur.
"Further studies are in progress to understand the quantity and distribution of the different species and populations of the genus Euscorpius in Turkey and their relationship with the Greek populations," he said.
Yagmur and his team drew on 26 samples of the new species, nearly all of them captured on mossy stones in cool, humid conditions, according to the press release.
