Scorpion diversity of the Central Andes in Argentina

FLORENCIA FERNÁNDEZ CAMPÓN; SUSANA LAGOS SILNIK; ADRIANA FEDELI

JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY

AMER ARACHNOLOGICAL SOC

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2014 vol. 42 p. 163 - 169

0161-8202

Mountain habitats host a large number of endemic species, which are vulnerable to climate change. We studiedscorpion communities of the Central Andes in Argentina at 17 sites located in Andean and extra-Andean areas between 900and 3400 m elevation. Using pitfall traps, we collected 254 individuals from seven species, all from the Bothriuridae family.Although we expected a decrease in richness towards the high altitude sites, we did not find a clear pattern. In turn, thelowest site was the most diverse and rich; other sites had similar richness values regardless of altitude. High-altitude siteswere characterized by the presence of Orobothriurus Maury 1975 species. Orobothriurus alticola (Pocock 1899) has beenfound exclusively on Andean sites located above 3200 m, and O. grismadoi Ojanguren-Affilastro et al. 2009 has only beenfound at extra-Andean sites on Cerro Nevado. Community composition showed an association with altitude, with somespecies exclusive to high altitude sites and others only found at lower sites. Because of the ecological importance ofscorpions in arid environments, this study provides base information that may help design conservation actions for thesehabitats. In particular, the presence of high-altitude specialists like Orobothriurus species seems relevant, since they may beused as bioindicator species.