Check List - 11(1) - New record of Tityus serrulatus in Rio Grande do Sul

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by James

This article reports the first occurrence of the Brazilian scorpion Tityus serrulatus in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, filling a 567 km gap in its known distribution. A specimen was collected in the urban area of Santa Maria on 31 June 2014. An occurrence map for the species in the state was generated, and the record is discussed in relation to prior findings and likely dispersal via human transport activities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

New occurrence and collection details

Species context and distribution background

Discussion of distribution gap and dispersal

10TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Check List the journal of biodiversity data NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION Check List 11(1): 1556, January 2015 doi: [http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/1](http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/1)1.1.1556 ISSN 1809-127X © 2015 Check List and Authors New record and occurrence map of Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello, 1922 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil Conrado Mario da Rosa, Arthur Diesel Abegg*, Leandro Malta Borges, Gabriela S. S. Bitencourt and Rocco Alfredo Di Mare Laboratório de Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Avenida Roraima, 1.000, Camobi, CEP 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil * Corresponding author. E-mail: [arthur_abegg@hotmail.com](arthur_abegg@hotmail.com) Abstract: The Brazilian scorpion Tityus serrulatus is recorded for the first time in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, thus filling a gap of 567 km in its distribution. A specimen of the scorpion was collected in the urban area of the municipality of Santa Maria (29°43′51.31″ S, 053°48′5.74″ W) on 31 June 2014. A map was generated with the points of occurrence of the species in the state. Key words: Tityus serrulatus, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Maria, geographical distribution. The genus Tityus Koch, 1836, has a wide distribution in South America and also occurs in parts of Central America (Fet et al. 2000; Lourenço 2002). It is the richest genus of the order, with 204 described species (Lourenço 2006) . Currently, the Brazilian scorpion Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello, 1922 has as synonyms: T. serrulatus vellardi Mello-Leitão, 1939, synonymized by Lourenço (1981); T. lamottei Lourenço, 1981 and Tityusacutidens Mello-Leitão, 1933, both synonymized by Souza et al. (2009) . Tityus serrulatus belongs to the Tityus stigmurus Thorell, 1876 complex (Lourenço 2001; Souza et al. 2009) . Tityus serrulatus is a species endemic to Brazil (Almeida 2010) . Its holotype is a female from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Souza et al. 2009), the state to which the species was once believed to be restricted (Bortoluzzi et al. 2007) . Currently, the records of occurrence have been added for the states of Rondônia, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Bahia, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (Figure 1; Almeida 2010; Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde 2009; Borges et al. 2010; Bortoluzzi et al. 2007; Lourenço and Eickstead 2003; Souza et al. 2009) . Tityus serrulatus is a scorpion with nocturnal and discrete habits. It measures about 50–70 mm long when adult, and has pale yellow colored legs and pedipalps, but with a darker shade of yellow, tending to brown on the trunk, fingers and tip of the tail. The tail is intensely serrated with four or five teeth on its fourth segment (Almeida 2010; Bortoluzzi et al. 2007) . The species produces a large amount of venom, very active in vertebrates, and is the main cause of severe scorpion accidents in Brazil (Cupo et al. 1994; Eickstedt et al. 1996; Freire-Maia et al. 1994) . The first record of the Brazilian scorpion in Rio Grande do Sul was reported by Torres et al. (2002) . The specimen was discovered at a supermarket in Porto Alegre (30° 00′22.32″ S, 051°09′22.90″ W), after stinging the hand of an employee who was handling fruit. At the time of this accident he was handling a load of fruit coming from the southeast region of Brazil. The second occurrence in the state was made by Bortoluzzi et al. (2007) in Uruguaiana (29°45′18″ S, 057°05′16″ W). Two individuals were found on the premises ofa trucking company. In this study, we notify the encounter of a specimen of T. serrulatus (Figure 2) in the municipality of Santa Maria, in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul. On 31 June 2014, one individual was found in the warehouse of a supermarket located on the BR392 highway (29°43′51.31″ S, 0

FAQs

What is the main finding of the paper?

It documents the first record of Tityus serrulatus in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on a specimen collected in Santa Maria.

When and where was the scorpion specimen collected?

The specimen was collected in the urban area of Santa Maria on 31 June 2014, in a warehouse of a supermarket along BR392.

How does this record affect the known distribution of Tityus serrulatus?

The new record fills an approximately 567 km gap and suggests the species’ presence in Rio Grande do Sul is linked to human activities rather than natural range expansion.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by James