A systematic revision of the genus Charmus Karsch, 1879 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), and an assessment of phylogenetic location within Buthidae Cl Koch, 1837
Abstract
India and Sri Lanka are known to exhibit high levels of biological diversity in many endemic taxa, including the mysterious 1879 scorpion Carmus Karsch. Members of this genus are rarely encountered in this field and are known to be very morphologically similar, impeding systematic evaluation. Our dedicated efforts to sample members of the genus have resulted in the collection of important material and have been able to implement thorough and systematic revisions of the genus using an integrated taxonomic approach. We propose several taxonomic changes based on the results of detailed morphological studies supported by molecular data. In 1915, Charmus Indicus Hirst is synonymous with the 1879 Charmus Laneus Karsch due to the morphological differences between the two taxa and the lack of low genetic divergence. The Neotypes of Charmus sinhagadensis tikader and Bastawade were designated in 1983, and describes a new species of Sirumalai (Tamil Nadu, India). Additionally, we provide the first molecular lineage of Charmus based on the cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA (16S), and 28S rRNA (28S) genes. The phylogenetic locations of the genera within the 1837 family Buthidae Cl Koch have been tested using an independent genome-wide data set (supercanned elements). Topological agreements and inconsistencies between Sanger sequences and lineages generated with supercamvalian elements are commented, further explaining the reliability of these datasets in assessing phylogenetic relationships at different hierarchical levels.
