Unlocking the genetic diversity of Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) in a lowland area of Sistan: a DNA barcoding study

The identity of the scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) in the Sistan region, southeast Iran, was explored using a molecular marker. The list of identified species is as follows: Androctonus rostami Barahoei, ۲۰۲۵, Androctonus sistanus Barahoei & Mirshamsi, ۲۰۲۲, Kraepelinia palpator (Birula, ۱۹۰۳), Mesobuthus rakhshanii Barahoei, ۲۰۲۲, Odontobuthus tirgari Mirshamsi et al., ۲۰۱۳, Orthochirus persa (Birula, ۱۹۰۰), and Sassanidothus gracilis (Birula, ۱۹۰۰). Initially, at least five fresh specimens of Mesobuthus rakhshanii and Orthochirus persa were selected from different populations of each species. The Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I gene was extracted, amplified, and sequenced using specific primers to evaluate the genetic variations among different genera and species. Sequences of other species were derived from GenBank. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using the Maximum Likelihood method and Bayesian Inference and analyzed. Specimens of Mesobuthus rakhshanii and Orthochirus persa were sequenced for the first time. Sassanidotus gracilis, Mesobuthus rakhshanii, and Kraepelinia palpator are morphologically similar and, as expected, are placed together in a clade as sister groups. The validity of all taxa was confirmed.

Unlocking the genetic diversity of Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) in a lowland area of Sistan: a DNA barcoding study Keywords:

Buthidae , Iran , Phylogenetic tree , Sistan , Systematics , taxon validity