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Authors: Blasco-Aróstegui, J., Blick, T., and Prendini, L.
Accurate publication dates are essential in taxonomy because they determine the availability and priority of scientific names. However, older works, often issued in multiple parts over several years, frequently recorded only the date of the final compiled volume, obscuring the true publication dates of individual parts. The series Die Arachniden by Carl Wilhelm Hahn and Carl Ludwig Koch (1831–1847) exemplifies this problem, with hundreds of arachnid species described across 16 volumes, including scorpions, spiders, and other orders. Many names have been synonymized, invalidated, or transferred, whereas ambiguous descriptions and type localities added further confusion. Carl Ludwig Koch described seven genera and 97 scorpion species, 34 of which remain valid more than 150 years later. The present contribution provides a list of C. L. Koch's scorpion names with corrected publication dates and a guide to the proper citations for each part of Die Arachniden. Six nomina dubia are proposed: Androctonus thoas C. L. Koch, 1839, Brotheas maurus C. L. Koch, 1838, Tityus fatalis C. L. Koch, 1844, Tityus perfidus C. L. Koch, 1844, Tityus serenus C. L. Koch, 1844, and Vaejovis flavescens C. L. Koch, 1842. Similar efforts are recommended for other arachnid orders in the series to stabilize nomenclature.