ON THE OCCURRENCE OF Scorpiops longimanus (POCOCK, 1893) (ARACHNIDA: SCORPIOPIDAE) IN MIZORAM, NORTHEAST INDIA

In this study, we confirm the occurrence of the tropical forest scorpion Scorpiops longimanus (Pocock, 1893) in Mizoram, India based on specimens collected from 13 different localities within the state. The total length of the animal was found to range from 42.22 mm up to 65.16 mm. The number of trichobothria on the ventral surface of the pedipalp patella and that of the external face alternates between 10–11 and 18–19, respectively. The pectines showed dissimilarities in the structure of the lamellae and in the number of teeth. We generated the first molecular data for the species and performed a maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis using the partial mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene which showed the formation of a distinct clade of S. longimanus. The uncorrected k2p distance showed an intraspecific genetic variation of 2.9% among the species studies.