Menu
Authors: Prendini, L.
The taxonomic status of the endemic South African flat rock scorpion, Hadogenes bicolor Purcell 1899, is reassessed, based on a study of the types and a large series of newly-collected specimens. Specimens identified as H. bicolor by previous authors can be separated into at least three species on the basis of morphology, each of which occupies a discrete, allopatric distributional range. In light of this new evidence, H. bicolor is redescribed and two new species, Hadogenes longimanus and Hadogenes newlandsi, are described. A key is provided for the identification of the three allopatric species, and their ecology and conservation status are discussed. The phylogenetic position of Hadogenes is discussed in light of a recent cladistic analysis, and the monotypic family Hadogenidae Lourenço 2000 is synonymized with the family Ischnuridae Simon 1879.