Pseudolychas Explained

Pseudolychas is a genus of scorpion in the family Buthidae. Species of the genus are known as the pygmy-thicktail scorpions and are found in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Their venom is mild and not medically important.^[1]

Pseudolychas ochraceus reproduces by parthenogenesis.^[2]

Range

Their range is restricted to the humid habitats of coastal and Afromontane forests; but are also found in the suburban setting of the South African highveld.

Species

There are three species recognised:^[3]

• Plain pygmy-thicktail scorpion (Pseudolychas ochraceus) (Hirst, 1911)
• Eastern pygmy-thicktail scorpion (Pseudolychas pegleri) (Purcell, 1901)
• Transvaal pygmy-thicktail scorpion (Pseudolychas transvaalicus) Lawrence, 1961

Notes and References

1. Prendini . Lorenzo . 2004-01-01 . Systematics of the Genus Pseudolychas Kraepelin (Scorpiones: Buthidae) . Annals of the Entomological Society of America . 97 . 1 . 37–63 . 10.1603/0013-8746(2004)097[0037:sotgpk]2.0.co;2 . 0013-8746.
2. Seiter . Michael . Schramm . Frederic D. . Barthel . Alexander . 2016-04-01 . The South African scorpion Pseudolychas ochraceus (Hirst, 1911) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) can reproduce by parthenogenesis . The Journal of Arachnology . 44 . 1 . 85–87 . 10.1636/M15-68.1 . 0161-8202.
3. Web site: The Scorpion Files - Buthidae . 2024-01-08 . www.ntnu.no.