Persistence pays. For many years, biologist Zeeshan Mirza had a hunch that he had encountered a new species of scorpion. “I first saw this species in 2008 at Amboli Ghat, and again in 2010, but reviewers didn’t accept it as a new species,” Mirza said.
In 2013, he met the herpetologist and conservationist Nirmal Kulkarni, who also suspected he had come across a new species of scorpion. Kulkarni had observed that the scaled vipers he was studying in Goa’s Chorla Ghat used to feed on these scorpions. “I had seen macro images of other scorpions. This one’s tail, abdomen, the way it moves — for many years, I thought it was different,” he said.
Mirza, now an independent researcher at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, decided to collaborate with Kulkarni and Mayuresh Ambekar, who was at the time an intern at NCBS.
They went back to Amboli to collect the species for scientific observation. Mirza and Ambekar began testing it at the molecular and genetic level to confirm their hunch. The team looked at the cytochrome oxidase I gene, a gene that has remained unchanged throughout evolution across arachnids. “Any change or mutation in the gene would mean a new species,” said Ambekar.
DNA analysis and close observation revealed that it was indeed a new species. Their tests confirmed that it belonged to the genus, Hottentotta, one of the most common scorpion genera found in India, and one which accounts for the majority of scorpion stings in the country. They named the species, Hottentotta vinchu, after ‘vinchu’, the Marathi word for scorpion.
Hottentotta vinchu is smaller in size compared to other closely related species of the same genus. It has a yellowish brown body with a black sting, and resembles the commonly found species Hottentotta rugiscutis, but has a comparatively wider abdomen.
Even the experts who reviewed Mirza’s submission in 2010 believed it was a variation of H rugiscutis. “Even if you get a new species, it’s hard to name them and convince reviewers who are sitting in another part of the world,” says Mirza. It was DNA analysis that helped prove it as a different species.
So far, Hottentotta vinchu has been collected from Amboli and Chorla Ghats, both of which receive heavy rainfall. Whether it is exclusive to the Western Ghats or lives in other areas too, is yet to be established.
So far, 130 species of scorpion have been classified in India. According to Mirza, “New species are being identified now and then, but sometimes we don’t see them after that.” Scorpions are abundant in nature, but there is no data on how habitat loss, development, or illegal trade is affecting their numbers.
“It basically means that we still have a lot to do in India, there’s a lot more to be discovered. Evolution is something that never stops and discovering new species just proves that, and makes the tree of life richer,” added Ambekar. Thanks to DNA technology and biodiversity hotspots becoming more accessible, we can expect to see many new species being discovered.
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