Received: July 5, 2005.

Accepted: April 17, 2006.

Abstract published online: May 17, 2006.

Full paper published online: November 30, 2006.

PARAMETRIC VALUES OF Androctonus crassicauda (OLIVER, 1807) (SCORPIONES: BUTHIDAE) FROM TURKEY

OZKAN O. (1), ADIGUZEL S. (1), KAR S. (2)

(1) Refik Saydam Hygiene Center, Ankara, Turkey; (2) Department of Entomology and Protozoology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to analyze the parametric values of Androctonus crassicauda (Oliver, 1807), the most significant scorpion species in Turkey. For this purpose, 11 male and 11 female A. crassicauda specimens were collected from Sanliurfa region. The body parts most important for species identification were measured by using sensitive calipers. Differences between sexes were statistically significant for pectinal organ length (: 7.50±1.26mm; : 8.63±1.05mm; p=0.033), pectinal tooth count (: 25.36±0.86; : 33.36±0.80; p=0.000), and carapace width (: 10.27±1.19mm; : 9.09±0.73mm; p=0.000). However, body length (: 90.09±14.74mm; : 82.95±5.40mm), abdomen width (: 12.09±1.90mm; : 11.09±0.88mm), and metasoma length (: 43.09±3.08mm; : 44.63±6.50mm) were not significantly different between sexes.

KEY WORDS: scorpion, Androctonus crassicauda, morphometry, Turkey.

CORRESPONDENCE TO:

OZCAN OZKAN, Poison Research Center, Refik Saydam Hygiene Center, Ankara, Turkey. Phone: + 90 312 458 23 72. Email: ozcanozkan_62@hotmail.com.